Yornaning, Western Australia

The name is believed to mean "land of many waters" in the local Noongar language and was first recorded as a place name in a survey of the area in 1869; it was previously spelt "Yornanmunging" or "Yernanunging". In the late 1890s, a siding on the Great Southern Railway called simply "Water Tank" was established here, and the name Yornaning was finally arrived at in 1905 after several renamings. A townsite was gazetted adjacent to the siding in 1907,[3] and maintenance workers for the railway were encouraged to move there. The siding was important as a major water-taking stop for the steam engines passing through – an average of 30 passenger and freight trains passed through per week.

The Yornaning Hall, a wooden building, was opened in 1912[4] by the Minister of Agriculture. A dam had been constructed sometime prior to 1912 and had filled with a reasonable amount of water, so much so that the Fish Acclimatisation Society were considering stocking it with fish.[5] In 1923 a young man named William Johnstone drowned in the dam.[6]

The railway's decline brought an end to the town's progress and all that remains today is the wheat silo, community hall and one or two buildings.[7]

In 1993, the Shire of Cuballing obtained the area on which the Yornaning Dam sits, and upgraded it for recreational use. There is a 1.5 kilometre (almost 1 mi) walk trail around the water area, as well as picnic and barbecue facilities.