Beverley, Western Australia
History
History
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The town is believed to be named after [Beverley](/wiki/Beverley "Beverley") in [Yorkshire](/wiki/Yorkshire "Yorkshire"), from where some of the earliest explorers of the [Avon](/wiki/Avon_River_%28Western_Australia%29 "Avon River (Western Australia)") valley originated, including Colonial Surgeon Charles Simmons, an early landowner in the district. Land at Beverley was set aside for a townsite in 1831, just two years after the [Swan River Colony](/wiki/Swan_River_Colony "Swan River Colony")'s foundation, after a glowing report to [Governor James Stirling](/wiki/James_Stirling_%28Australian_governor%29 "James Stirling (Australian governor)") by Ensign (later Lieutenant) [Robert Dale](/wiki/Robert_Dale_%28explorer%29 "Robert Dale (explorer)"), who made three trips to the [York](/wiki/York%2C_Western_Australia "York, Western Australia")\-Beverley area. The district was surveyed in 1843\.

While settlers arrived from the 1860s onwards, and a town was established in 1868, it wasn't until the arrival of the [Great Southern Railway](/wiki/Great_Southern_Railway_%28Western_Australia%29 "Great Southern Railway (Western Australia)") in 1886 that the town started to grow, and with the completion of the railway in 1889 to [Albany](/wiki/Albany_railway_station%2C_Western_Australia "Albany railway station, Western Australia"), Beverley became an important centre. By early 1898 the population of the town was 190, 93 males and 97 females.

In 1908, the [Goldfields Water Supply Scheme](/wiki/Goldfields_Water_Supply_Scheme "Goldfields Water Supply Scheme") was extended to supply the town with water, and by [World War I](/wiki/World_War_I "World War I"), the town had four hotels, four banks, two bakeries, two tailors, three tearooms, a jeweller and two hairdressers, amongst other businesses, and in 1938, a new town hall opened.

However, since the 1950s, with improved transport, communications and farming methods, the population of the Shire of Beverley fell from 1,968 in 1954 to 1,433 in 1991,Australian Bureau of Statistics census data, 30 June 1954 and 30 June 1991\. Progressive figures in  and several banks and other town services closed. The population has started to grow again due to the popularity of rural residential estates and the town's proximity to Perth.


Who were some of the earliest explorers of the Avon valley?