Edward’s youngest son, Duncan Ross (known as Ross) followed his father into politics, holding the seat of Murray-Wellington (1930-1962). During a distinguished political career Ross was leader of the Liberal Party (1946-1957), State Premier and Treasurer (1947-1953) and Leader of the Opposition (1953-1957). In 1953 he was knighted for his service to the State.  This elegant residence remained in the family until the death of Sir Ross McLarty in 1962.

By the late 1970s, the Homestead and grounds were in a poor state and there was talk that the property would be demolished. The property was bought by the Shire in 1980 after the local community rallied together to demand that the property be saved.  The site is now used by a number of community groups, for events such as the Pinjarra Festival, as a popular wedding venue and is one of Pinjarra’s main tourist attractions.

Gilmour’s Garage was an authorised Ford Dealer, and here you could buy the latest models, including in 1929 a 40 brake horse power truck designed to meet “the exacting conditions of Australian roads”. Cars became very popular in the early 1920s and the businesses in Pinjarra thrived with the influx of new car owners, especially as Pinjarra was on the only road from Perth to the South West at the time. The “road”, South-Western Highway, was very poor and in many parts little more than a sandy, boggy track. Reportedly, Ernie did a great deal of business repairing cars damaged on the dangerous road from Perth.

The business finally closed in 1960 before being converted into a rural supply and hardware shop.

Fawcett migrated to the colony in the 1850s after inheriting land in the Murray District on the death of his father. Setting up a homestead, Pinjarrah Park Estate on the east side of the river along Pinjarra-Williams Road, Fawcett was industrious, working a pastoral lease near Marradong, a small shop and flour mill from Pinjarrah Park as well as producing large quantities of wine and brandy. Fawcett also created the Pinjarrah Mounted Volunteers (PMV) in 1862. The PMV was a local reservist mounted force to provide some measure of defence after the partial withdrawal of Imperial forces from the Swan River Colony and absence of any formal police force at the time.

The Copper Kettle was also a popular meeting spot for community groups and organisations, including the Pinjarra unit of the Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC).  The VDC was formed soon after the outbreak of World War 2 and comprised of returned servicemen too old to fight, invalid servicemen recently returned from fighting in Europe and Asia and civilians who wanted to help with homeland defence in the case of full scale invasion. Thankfully, their services were never required.

The Mechanics’ Institute served as the district’s community centre for many years and was used by locals for wedding receptions, balls, bazaars, political meetings and theatre productions. Moving picture shows could also be seen with the first full-length movie Quo Vadis being shown in January 1914. Films were shown until the mid-1960s and were only stopped due to the introduction of the television in 1959.

Mechanic’s Institutes were once common in many towns and functioned as the forerunner to the public library. Before television or radio, the Institute provided people with the opportunity to stay up-to-date through a communal source of newspapers and information. The movement was created in Glasgow in 1821, with the Swan River Mechanic’s Institute founded in Hay Street in 1851.

The 1884 hall was expanded in 1927 with the original façade simplified at that time. In the 1930s the hall was passed onto the Murray Roads Board (which became the Shire of Murray in 1961) as the Institute could not afford the upkeep of the building. Due to a rapid decline in use, in 1964 the Shire sold the building where it was converted to a supermarket, with many modifications completed at this time.

In 2013 the building was demolished to make way for the current shopping centre. The George Street entry mirrors the original entry of the Mechanic’s Institute. The four pillars fronting the main street are clad in brick from the original hall.

In its early years, the Board met at members’ homes. In the late 1880s, the Roads Board found a more central place to meet at the Mechanics’ Institute Hall. Though more exclusive quarters were soon needed with the employment of staff and use conflicts. The Mechanics’ Hall was a private club which provided a number of community based services such as a lending library, film screenings, theatre performance and wedding receptions.

The Roads Board Office was constructed in 1909 for £217 18s and is one of the early Roads Board Offices built in the State. The building was the offices of the Murray Roads Board from 1909-1935. By the mid-1930s, the Murray Roads Board has outgrown the building. The Board proposed the construction of new offices but this was fiercely opposed by local residents who didn’t want their rates spent on the project. Instead, the Murray Roads Board shifted quarters to the Old School House on Henry Street, opposite Edenvale Homestead. The building is now occupied by the owners of Jarra Infusion, one of Pinjarra's best loved cafes.

By the early twentieth century the first Court House was falling into disrepair. When the new school opened in 1921, court services were transferred to the Old School House in Henry Street. The first Court House was demolished in about 1925 with a new building planned to be built soon after. However, the Depression severely reduced state funds and any plan to build a new court house was shelved.  By the mid-1930s the economy was recovering and the State Government commissioned the building of the second Court House.

The main types of cases heard at the Court House included all the standard- traffic, illegal betting and petty crimes, but also a high proportion of fishing offences. This was not so unusual given that Pinjarra was located on the Murray River and included the Peel-Harvey Estuary, and that there was a successful fishing industry at the time.

Before the construction of the Pinjarra Post Office, mail was delivered to civilian contractors. Mrs Mary Ann McLarty, who had settled to the district with her husband John after arriving in the Swan River Colony in 1839 from Scotland, was Postmistress for the district from 1844 to 1868, operating out of Old Blythewood (2 km’s south of Pinjarra).  Agitation from local residents for a more convenient postal service meant that the mail service moved to Pinjarra, with Mrs Sutcliffe acting as Postmistress for 25 years out of her cottage home on the west side of George Street, opposite the Police Station and Court House.

In the early 1890s residents lobbied for the construction of a purpose built Post Office with all modern conveniences, including telegraph services.  George Temple-Poole was Principle Architect for the colony during the Federation period (1890-1915) and whilst influenced by contemporary British movement, he designed buildings responsive to the unique environment and spaces of Western Australia. Temple-Poole oversaw many of the iconic building projects across the State of Western Australia during the gold boom of the 1890s, including the Perth Mint, Perth Railway Station, Perth Boys School, York Post and Telegraph Office, Toodyay Post Office and Cossack Port.

The Meckering Earthquake of 1968 caused extensive structural damage to the second storey, although the damage wasn’t reported for another 4 years. In 1972, Post Master Joe Katnich noticed a distinct bulge in the second storey façade facing George Street, and that the window frame was loose. The Commonwealth Public Works Department inspected the building and declared it sound, however Katnich closed off the room and forbade anyone to enter. A second inspection revealed that the mortar between the bricks had perished and that the only thing keeping the wall up was the inside plaster. The entire second storey was then rebuilt as a result.

The building ceased operating as a Post Office in July 2008.

Council had been looking for ways to better connect the residents of the east to the main street and decided that lobbying the Army to construct the bridge as a training mission was the best way forward. After a few years of correspondence, the bridge was built and officially opened on 10th of November 1985 by the Hon. Wendy Fatin MP, Member for Brand.  The project looked like it would not go ahead as the Federal Government agreed only to fund travel and labour. Alcoa of Australia Ltd stepped in to show their community support by not only donating materials, but also providing accommodation for army personnel during their stay in Pinjarra.

Murray River Square

The town square was developed in the late 1990s, being dedicated on 26th of January 2000, and is a tangible link to the Murray River which flows behind the main street. The town square features the town clock, constructed by Dwellingup artisan Carl Macmillan, and mosaic art bench seats, created by local artists and students. The motifs include:

•   Sandy banks- a swimming hole and turtle hunting ground
•   G-class locomotive- timber to tourists
•   Town of Friendship- the importance of youth and friendship
•   Murray River- travelling down the river from Pinjarra to Cooper’s Mill in the Delta Islands.

Dr Bedingfeld was the Resident Magistrate and Medical Officer for the Murray District from 1864. He was initially based at Creaton Estate, 3.5km north of Pinjarra, on Paterson Road, which was the main population centre at the time.

Pinjarra was largely undeveloped, featuring only the St. John’s Church and Military Barracks. Though in 1865 the land in Pinjarra was formally subdivided and offered for sale in the Government Gazette. Within two years most of these lots had sold. Bedingfeld purchased two lots between George Street and the Murray River, where he constructed a residence. The home featured two separate rendered buildings roofed in shingle. One building was built parallel to George Street, whilst the second at right angles to the first. These two buildings have remained largely intact and form the core of the Exchange Hotel.

It is said that the Exchange Hotel got its name from a property exchange. Bedingfeld wanted to return to Creaton Estate so that he could be located closer to the people he was serving. It also may have had something to do with the state of the roads at the time. The “roads” were little more that cleared tracks that became boggy, wet, clay during winter months. Dr Bedingfeld was forced to travel by cart drawn by two bullocks in the winter, often arriving at his destination covered in mud, as were the bullocks and cart. James Rummer Greenacre was the licensee of the Queens Hotel at Creaton Estate. Greenacre wanted to relocate his business to Pinjarra to take advantage of the passing travelers from Perth to the Vasse. The two men swapped properties in 1871, giving rise to the name, the Exchange Hotel.

The Perth to Bunbury mail service began in 1880, passing through Pinjarra. The Exchange quickly became the most significant hotel in the area with coach loads of passengers now arriving.

The Exchange Hotel did not undergo major modification and addition until the 1890s with the extension of the rail line from East Perth, a gold rush in North Dandalup and the opening of the first saw mill in the District at Marrinup (east of North Dandalup). This new economic prosperity brought with it new people and further competition with the Premier Hotel being built in 1894 by Edward McLarty. The Premier was closer to the rail station than the Exchange Hotel, and more modern. The Exchange Hotel had to expand and modernize to keep up.

The motel units of the south west side of the complex were added in 1920. The increasing popularity of the car gave rise to a number of motel units throughout Western Australia at this time. Major extensions in 1925 were halted for some months with the threat of new legislation- Prohibition. Ultimately the Prohibition Referendum failed and extensions were completed in 1926 including a new kitchen, server and dining room extension.  Being close to the Murray River, the Exchange Hotel has been inundated many times, though the floods of 1945 and 1955 caused extensive and significant damage. Major repair work and alterations were completed in 1956.

The biggest facelift was in 1962 and involved the demolition of the front portion of the hotel, which was at the time a front bar with verandah, and replaced with a modern saloon, public bar, store and cool room, as can be seen today.  The Exchange operated as a hotel, providing both accommodation and a public bar, until 2008, when the place closed. The Shire of Murray purchased the hotel in 2012 with the intent to redevelop and retain the significant heritage parts of the sprawling structure.

Taylor branched out opening general stores in Coolup, Marrinup and Holyoake. The mural on the southern side of the store is an ongoing art series which utilises the efforts of local school children, artists and aboriginal elders.

The first mural was painted in 2003 and focused on Pinjarra’s history and heritage. This second mural was finished in 2015 and represents what makes Pinjarra great, featuring strong representations of culture, industry and heritage

Whilst the Health Department had deemed the water safe for consumption, the Scheme was criticised by residents due to concerns about water quality. It was not unusual for the water to be tainted by silt, or to have river weed wash out of the faucets. Roads Board Officers were also called on to remove dead animals from the river, including a horse at one time, to ensure the rotting carcasses didn’t poison the water supply.

The Railway Department determined that the water was too salty to use on the boilers, and instead built Oakley Dam on the Scarp in the late 1930s to guarantee a fresh water supply. The river water upstream of the weir was used for the town water supply until 1950 when a small dam was built off the South Dandalup River behind the Fairbridge Farm School. Pinjarra is now connected to Water Corporation’s Integrated Water Supply Scheme which is largely fed by the Stirling Dam south of Harvey.

The first bridge was close to being finished when it was washed away in the winter floods of 1840. Works were undertaken by colonial soldiers under the supervision of prominent settler Francis C. Singleton. The second bridge was more successful, being finished in 1842 by John McLarty of Blythewood. Though in 1847 the river flooded again and took the bridge with it.

Pinjarra had to wait a few years before a replacement due to arguments about funding from a cash strapped colonial administration. Bridge number three was built by convicts in 1853. The bridge was extensively damaged in the 1862 flood, but was repaired. The winter flood of 1895 undermined the bridge piles and a decision was made to replace it with a fourth bridge in 1897

The current bridge was constructed in 1954 after the involvement of Premier, Sir Ross McLarty (of Edenvale). The bridge is built on land resumed from the St. John’s Churchyard, with part of the southern approach still containing the graves of early settlers. The gravestones of Jane Thorpe, William Beacham, James Joseph Beacham and Oscar Charlesworth stand next to the church building.

Construction started in 1861 by local building contractor Anthony Cornish though was delayed by the winter flood of 1862. The flood was so bad that water rushed through the windows one side and out the other. Cornish had to be dissuaded from tearing down the near completed church and building it on higher ground. Interior wood work, window sashes and picket fencing were fabricated by convicts. The church was consecrated in 1863 by Bishop Hale, dedicating it to St. John the Evangelist.

The little Church was originally shingled, though was reroofed with tile in 1926.

The St John’s Church building is lucky to be standing with all it has been through. On New Years Day 1901 the Church was nearly destroyed by fire. Local store keeper, Miss Cooper, reported the fire to Police Constable Banfield. When PC Banfield ran to the Church, the porch roof was on fire. The fire was extinguished by the PC and local residents hauling water up from the river. An investigation into the fire found that two old men, former prison convicts, built a fire to boil their billy for tea under the Traffic Bridge. It was hot and windy and embers flew into the grass, quickly lighting up the grass and then the Church. The two old men were arrested and charged with vagrancy.

Being built on the banks of the Murray River, the Church has been inundated several times (most notably 1862, 1945 and 1955). After the 1862 flood, the most significant flood came in 1945 with the water flooding the grave yard and rising 800mm up the Church wall. A tablet on the southern side wall records the flood height. The Meckering Earthquake in August 1968 damaged the Church with plaster falling off and cracking of the walls. Until recently, the St John’s Church offered bi-weekly services and was a popular place for baptisms, weddings and funerals. Unfortunately the Church building is closed for all services until major conservation works are completed. All services are now held at the Parish Centre at 3 Murray Street.