Beverley Bed & Breakfast - The Bed & Breakfast in Beverley, Western Australia, Accommodation in Beverley Australia, the better Alternative to York

Beverley Bed & Breakfast
08 9646 0073

beverleybb@westnet.com.au

131 Forrest Street, Beverley, Western Australia

The town of Beverley is situated in the upper reaches of the picturesque Avon Valley, surrounded by rolling paddocks of wheat, canola and sheep. It lies between the Avon River and the Great Southern Highway which meanders, like the river, between the low hills of the Avon Valley. Founded in 1838, the town was named by Charles Simmons, then the Surgeon General of WA, after his home town of Beverley in England. The Shire currently has a population of around 1,700 and Beverley is a typical West Australian country town, clean and tidy with a friendly, helpful population.

Beverley is noted for its historic buildings and attractive main street which is totally unspoiled by commercial tourism, unlike some of the surrounding towns and there is a project to install underground power and a new road surface by April 2022. The town has much to offer the visitor who is prepared to look just below the surface as there are a number of older buildings in good repair and the Art Deco Town Hall built in 1938 is worth a look. Likewise, the facade of the Hotel Beverly, formally the Railway Hotel built in 1885, was restyled in Art Deco style to match the Town Hall, also in 1938. The Freemason's Hotel on Forrest Street dates back to 1884 as does the Hardware store across the street.

During the Second World War a training airfield was built for the Australian Navy, opened in 1942. The airfield is now home to the Beverley Soaring Society, Western Australia's largest gliding club, who offer a gliding experience on weekends. However, Beverley's association with aviation goes back to 1930s. The Silver Centenary bi-plane was built in the Beverley Power House shed in Dawson Street from plans hand drawn on the concrete floor. On completion, the plane was carried by hand across Hunt Street (now the Great Southern Highway) then over a narrow river bridge in Vincent Street to Bensons Paddock (the large field on the right when entering Town from York) and then flown to Maylands Airfield in Perth. But there was difficulty in licensing the bi-plane as there were no plans on paper, only on the shed floor!

Places to Visit

The Beverley Aeronautical Museum and Tourist Bureau is located at the Cornerstone Building which houses the Tourist Bureau and CRC. It is usually open daily 9.00am - 4.00pm, and is situated on Vincent Street, the town's main street, opposite the Town Hall, The museum contains information on the Silver Centenary bi-plane, first flown in 1930. The Silver Centenary was built in Beverley by local man Selby Ford, and his assistant, Tom Shackles. It was the first privately built aircraft in Western Australia and was flown to Perth by Captain Nesbit where it was inspected at Maylands Aerodrome by two world famous names in aviation, Amy Johnson and Major de Havilland. The Silver Centenary is now in Perth, having been restored to a flying state by Rod Edwards, grandson of Selby Ford. The museum also has information on the Flying Flea, an ultra light aircraft designed by Frenchman Henri Mignet in 1933. This replica was built by John Cork and donated to the museum for display. This machine, plus a variety of aircraft engines, aircraft parts and a photographic display present a fairly complete picture of the early days of flying in Western Australia. On the main road is a wheel strut from the DC-4 "Amana" which crashed near York in June 1950 with no survivors. Also there is a Vampire jet fighter on display and there is another Vampire Jet displayed at the entrance to the Airfield.

The Old Court House is near the river on Vincent Street. This building was constructed for £1,891 in 1897 by S.S. Leonard and is a fine brick structure with stone facings and beautiful arches and an excellent example of the pre Federation style of architect George Temple Poole. It was closed as a Court House in 1980.

The Beverley Railway Station, Vincent Street. The Station first opened on 5th August 1886 and was the northern terminus of the private Great Southern Railway to Albany. Passengers and mail travelling by ship arrived in Albany as Perth didn't have a proper port and would travel by train to Beverley to stay overnight in one of the several Hotels. The journey to Perth was then completed on the Government Railway from Beverley via York. The last passenger service ran in about 1975 but the Station continued to be used as a freight depot until the 1980s. The restored Station is now used as an Art Gallery and community Amphitheatre.

The Dead Finish Museum is on the Great Southern Highway which passes through Beverley. This building has had a varied history, having been built as the Wheatsheaf Inn in 1872. At that time it was near the centre of old Beverley but the coming of the railway fourteen years later drew the town towards the Railway Station, leaving the Dead Finish out of the main stream of business. The museum, which will give you a fascinating insight into the early days of settlement in Beverley, has a lovely garden featuring sandalwood. The museum staff are helpful and extremely knowledgeable. A visit to the Dead Finish is highly recommended and it is usually open 10am to 2pm Sundays (but check first 08 9646 1246).

Barry Ferguson's collection of old memorabilia is usually open on weekends and is located on the Great Southern Highway just down from the Vincent Street intersection. Also along this stretch of road is one of the original Churches, now the Baptist Church, and the Beverley Freemason's Lodge which was built in 1909 and has been in operation ever since.

Road Board Building. At the start of the last century, Beverley was one of the few WA country towns to have two councils, a Town Council and a Road Board. The original Road Board building is in Vincent St near the river and the Town Council building is nearby, next door to the Bank Building. The Town Council was abolished in 1913 after only 20 years and the building then became Beverley's first Fire Station. The Road Board became the Shire of Beverley in the 1960s. The current Town Hall and Lesser Hall was built in 1938 and the Fire Station beside it, now the Beverley Mens Shed, was built in 1949.

Billy Noongale Kickett's Grave is in the Catholic Cemetery on Brooking Street. Billy was a friend and companion of John Forrest on his exploration trips from Perth to Adelaide in the 1870's.

Lonely Grave marks the resting place of baby Francis Wansbrough who died on New Years Day in 1883, aged three months. At that time there was no cemetery in town so little Francis was buried close to Main Camp, the name given to the temporary settlement of the railway construction workers building the Great Southern Railway, just south of Beverley, as his father was a railway labourer. His grave lies close to the Great Southern Highway leading south towards Brookton; look for the hand painted sign on the left. Visit his grave and spare a thought for the sorrow of Matilda and Joseph, the baby's parents, all those years ago.

St Mary's Anglican Church and Rectory in John Street has some beautiful stained glass windows. The Rectory was completed in 1890 and the church consecrated two years later with Canon Groser as the first rector. Originally the Church had a tower at the east end but this proved unsafe and was removed in 1923.

St John in the Wilderness is a picturesque little church in the Dale area and is aptly named as it is situated in beautiful but lonely surroundings some 27 kms from Beverley. The church dates back to 1885 (though recently restored), and regular services are still held there. The church has an adjacent Community Hall in matching style and an interesting graveyard. Drive about 3 kms south of Beverley towards Brookton and turn right at the signpost to Perth onto Westdale Road. This road connects to the Brookton Highway, a pleasant wooded drive to Perth via Karragullen.

St Paul's Church, was consecrated in 1862 and has been recently restored. This little church stands in delightful scenery opposite the old Edwards Crossing Trading Post on the convict built "Top Beverley Road", the original road and scenic drive to York. The Trading Post predates the Town of Beverley. Slow down as you cross the bridge over the Avon just after the turnoff and you will see the remains of the old Edwards Crossing Bridge, 100 meters downstream. The main Great Southern Highway is built on the line of the railway access road from 1886.

Seaton Ross Hill is also on the "Top Beverley Road". It affords magnificent views of the Avon Valley with Beverley in the distance. Beverley was originally surveyed and laid out by G Roe on the eastern side of the river, near the present Town River Bridge, but the Avon's frequent flooding made access to the area difficult leading to the surveying of the present town site on the west side of the bridge by the Chief Surveyor, Sir John Forrest, who named Forrest Street after himself.