Railways of Australia

In June 1889, when the Great Southern Railway opened, Brookton was one of the original stations. The station proved to be the catalyst that created a centre for the isolated farms, and the government gazetted a townsite here in 1895 and named it "Seabrook" but local acceptance of the station name and confusion with another Seabrook near York resulted in the townsite's name being changed to Brookton in 1899. The townsite attracted a few businesses and by 1903, the tiny settlement comprised a school, hotel, bank and a few shops. In 1909, the Government planned to build a railway from Brookton on the Great Southern Railway to the town of Kunjin, 17 km west of Corrigin. Some time after, a line from Wickepin was also proposed, and the Government decided to locate the crossing point at Corrigin In 1913, a railway siding was built, and named "Dondakin" by railway authorities due to conflict with the name elsewhere. However, after much local protest, the siding was renamed Corrigin and gazetted on 15 May 1914.