Regional Visit to Northam

The Governor travelled to the town of Northam, located in the heart of the Avon Valley, visiting the Muresk Institute and officially opening the Farmers’ Home Hotel.

The Farmers’ Home Hotel has been at the heart of the Northam community for over 150 years, recently undergoing a complete transformation into a 16-room boutique hotel. Having toured the newly renovated hotel last year, the Governor returned to help Hotelier and Dome Group CEO Nigel Oakey officially open the venue.

The hotel began life as a general store, before being transformed into a hotel and going on to become an important landmark in the gold rush era.

The Governor’s great-grandfather John Beazley was a resident of the Northam District and a close friend of the hotel’s first licensee George Throssell. It’s believed that John Beazley more than likely worked on the hotel transformation from its original function as a general store, given his trade as a carpenter in Northam at that time.

The Governor congratulated the hotel’s new owners on doing an extraordinary job to ensure the history of the building and the stories associated with it were showcased throughout, before helping to declare the hotel officially open.

As part of the Governor’s trip to Northam he also travelled to the town’s Cemetery, taking a moment to visit the headstone of John Beazley who was transported to WA as a convict at the age of 19 before establishing a home for himself in Northam and being recognised as an esteemed pioneer of the region.

A visit to Muresk Institute

As part of his regional visit to Northam the Governor also toured WA’s agriculture skills hub Muresk Institute.

The Governor met with staff including General Manager Prue Jenkins, Farm Manager Steven Wainewright, Senior Project Officers Jim McMahon and Carla Swift, as well as Grant Arthur from the Wheatbelt Development Corporation.

He received an update on the range of agricultural courses on offer to students, before being taken on a tour of the campus facilities and a look at just some of the many research and development projects in progress at the Muresk Farm.

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