Follow in the footsteps of the early pioneers who journeyed east into the West Australian Wheatbelt

A historic self drive trail with character and charm

Discover the people who have helped make the Wheatbelt the place it is today.

The Pioneers’ Pathway is the self-drive route that traverses the Wheatbelt following the well worn trail many prospectors once took on their way to the Yilgarn and Kalgoorlie Goldfields.

Learn their stories, of the men from bushrangers to farmers and pastoralists and how the company that is Australia’s largest exporter of grain was started right here in the Wheatbelt.

Hear the accounts of the women who were lawyers, nurses, teachers, wives and mothers who conquered, survived and thrived in the harsh conditions of these towns that remain today.

Toodyay’s most infamous character

Moondyne Joe

Joseph Bolitho Johns aka Moondyne Joe seemed to have been the Artful Dodger of Western Australia. His life resembled a character in a Charles Dickens novel.

Joe seems to have spent the better part of his life captured and then escaping nimbly from various prisons. Legend has it the then Governor found him to be a painful and irritating thorn in his side.

Goomalling’s true pioneers

The Slater Family

If you want to feel the true spirit of the word ‘pioneer’ then George Slater would be it. Making progress where there was none, George was a man ahead of his time and given to many firsts.

Think the 19th century equal of Elon Musk, living in Goomalling.

The past and present and the spirit

Joe Anderson

The thick vegetation in Dowerin posed a challenge for early pioneers. However, the men who bought land were undaunted by the massive task.

One of Dowerin’s most notable pioneers, Joe Anderson, came from Kalgoorlie in 1897 after he heard about a proposed railway line. In the beginning, he worked on clearing other people’s land before buying his own. Unfortunately, a mix-up in names with another pioneer – Johansen – meant that Joe spent a week clearing land that wasn’t even his!

Tractor fan? Come to Wyalkatchem

John Lindsay

John Lindsay was Wyalkatchem’s early pioneers and a key advocate for the bulk handling of wheat.

As a farmer, John struggled from day one; he scrimped and saved to buy land from the government, did jobs for local people to earn money, lost all his personal and valued possessions in a fire that destroyed his camp and made expensive mistakes in farming his land.

The pioneering spirit of women

Jane Adams

It’s not often that women are credited with showing the pioneering spirit. They are often painted as silent spectators tending to the home and children while the men go off to explore uncharted territory.

However, Jane Swain Adams’s name is known with the best of the pioneers. Affectionately known as ‘Granny Adams’, she showed resilience and foresight in maintaining the Mangowine Homestead in Nungarin.

Changing Merredin’s fate

Alice Cummins

Alice Mary Cummins might have felt completely at home in the 21st century given her progressive upbringing, interest in arts and culture, and an entrepreneurial streak – rarely seen in a woman in the pioneer era.

Her two (out of many) notable achievements are WA’s first female barrister admitted to the Bar in 1930 and Managing Director of Kalgoorlie Brewing & Ice Co. Ltd after her father’s death.

Listen to the character, charm and unique history through the Storytowns audio tour.

Storytowns immersive audio guide offers authentic tales from the heart of each community.

Download the Storytowns app for free from the app store before you take your journey.

Follow the Pathways

Wander past expansive Wheatbelt farmlands on this scenic journey through the small towns of Goomalling, Dowerin, Wyalkatchem, Kununoppin and Nungarin, providing a classic experience of Western Australia’s Wheatbelt heartland.