History of Eyre
History of Eyre
Edward John Eyre’s expedition - 1841
Mercilessly beaten by the sun, day after day, huddled frozen and bone-weary in his blankets at night, Edward John Eyre must often have felt that the life of an explorer was indeed harsh.
It was 1841 and 26 year old Eyre, together with his companion John Baxter and three Aborigines, was intent on breaking the barrier of desert, scrub and salt-pan that kept Western Australia isolated from the eastern colonies. Across almost 2000 kilometres of bleak, harsh, unyielding terrain, the small party struggled on to cross the lower western half of the continent. No rivers or streams irrigated this dry, dusty land and the explorers were frequently thirsty.
Among the coastal sand dunes south of what is known as Cocklebiddy, Eyre and his party dug for, and found, life-saving water. The place eventually became known as Eyre’s Sand Patch but was later abbreviated to Eyre. They recuperated here for 28 days before heading westward again on April 27, 1841. Two days later Baxter was murdered when two of the Aborigines deserted. Eyre, accompanied by Wylie, the remaining Aborigine, continued and became the first to walk from east to west.
The Eyre Telegraph Station is established - 1877
Because of the good supply of fresh water and proximity to the coast, Eyre’s Sand Patch was destined to become one of the repeater stations for the Inter-Colonial Telegraph Line which first linked Western Australia to the outside world. In 1877, when the line came through from Albany, the telegraph station was built. The original telegraph station was a weatherboard building with an office, kitchen, dining room and bedrooms. When William Graham arrived to take charge a similar building was erected for him, his wife Emily and their six children. The station opened for telegraph traffic on July 17, 1877.
Twenty years later in 1897, a limestone building was erected. The following year there were 17 people living at Eyre.
William Graham, first Station Master
Of all the people who worked on the Inter-Colonial Telegraph Line, William Graham, or Iron Man Graham as he was known to his contemporaries, was the most outstanding personality. He came from Kadina in South Australia and was a builder, an amateur anthropologist, a magnificent horseman, a long-distance swimmer, a successful horse breeder and a capable cross-country cyclist.
He learned the language of the local Aborigines and studied their culture. As a hobby he bred thoroughbred horses at Eyre and several of them were very successful racers. His own horse, a fine stallion appropriately named Wire, stood seventeen and a half hands high – almost as big as a Clydesdale.
Legend has it that he rode Wire 160 kilometres in one day to repair a break in the telegraph line. He is reputed to have regularly stayed on board the supply vessels which serviced Eyre until sailing time and then swam a kilometre back to shore through the shark-infested waters of the Southern Ocean. Also, he is believed to have ridden his bicycle 100 kilometres from Israelite Bay to Eyre in the days when there was nothing except scrub and mallee, and certainly no roads.
The Grahams brought up 10 children on the station. William Graham held the position of stationmaster until his retirement in 1901 to a farm in Narrogin. Some of his daughters married telegraph staff who later became stationmasters at Eucla and Israelite Bay.
Eyre Telegraph Station served Western Australia for fifty years until the original line closed in 1927 to be replaced by a telegraph route along the Trans Australian Railway, 150 kilometres to the north. The original buildings were sold for 30 pounds and some of the timber and iron was removed and transferred to Rawlinna. The beautiful limestone building fell into disuse until 1976.
Bird Observatory established - 1977
In 1976 discussions began between the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (now Birds Australia) and the Post Office Historical Society on the feasibility of restoring the building and using it as a full-time bird observatory and museum. The Utah Foundation made $ 13,500 available to cover establishment costs and in 1977 the first joint work party repaired the roof and later built rainwater tanks so that the building could be used all year round. Additional work provided hot and cold water, stainless steel sinks, wood and gas stoves, bathroom and shower, and a kerosene refrigerator.
Extracted from an article by Roger Burridge, Curator of the Post and Telegraph Museum, in Eyre’s Sand Patch to Eyre Bird Observatory, A Compilation of Memories, Reminiscences, and Stories (2008). Edited by Alma de Rebeira.