Bonnie Rock Townsite - WA

Bonnie Rock is a townsite on the edge of the Eastern Wheatbelt, and was the terminus of the railway line through Beacon. The townsite was gazetted in 1932, its lateness due to the land around Bonnie Rock not being surveyed until 1928-29. The name was suggested by the district Surveyor, S Smith, in 1930 and was taken from a nearby rock.The Bonnie Rock district was at its peak in 1934-35 with 119 ratepayers, two shops, a butcher, garage, a boarding house, railway and a large area cleared for a sports ground . By 1944, after a series of droughts and the Depression, there was no Bonnie Rock townsite as the ratepayers left and the only remaining building was the Town Hall. By 1949 there was only 29 ratepayers left in the district. The Town Hall still stands today and is used by the community as well as the sports area by the Bonnie Rock Horse and Pony Club.Bonnie Rock is in the vicinity of Berinbooding Rock and Elachbutting Rock. It offers travellers a place to stop and rest on the way to these attractions. Ample sign posting indicates where the original streets were, with the main street being lined with the lot numbers of original owners.