Day tripping to York

On Sunday we took a trip out to the Avon Valley. Usually if we are visiting this area we go to Northam and  meet up with a family friend who operates a hot air ballooning business called Windward Balloon Adventures, but on this occasion we travelled about 97 kilometres east of Perth and spent the day in York.

York was the first inland settlement in Western Australia and was settled on September 16th 1831. York is  one of the most popular Avon Valley day trip destinations. The many restored heritage buildings from the Victorian and Federation era which reflect the charm and character of the town. There is an Old Post Office building and the Court House, the York Residency Museum which exhibits include local Noongar* culture, convict history, ceramics and Chinese market gardeners. The York Motor Museum is fun to visit as it houses an international collection of vintage vehicles.


York is the Avon Valley events central and hosts many events throughout the calendar year, many of which utilise the lovely Town Hall. Events at the Town Hall include old time dancing, boot-scooting, weddings, art exhibitions and concerts too. Something I discovered was the fact that the York Town Hall has the largest regional dance floor in Western Australia. The signature event is the ‘York Jazz and Soul Festival’, which attracts international and domestic musicians for a full weekend of live entertainment. Other highlights are the Spring Garden Festival; Gourmet Food and Wine Festival; Antique and Collectors Fair; Healing Fayre and the monthly Peace Park Markets.

There is also a weekend market held at The York Mill. This is the Mill above. This chutney below is what my DH purchased. He sampled it at the market and when we got home he ferreted it away in a cupboard... I wonder if he will share??! We got some nice fresh fruity hot cross buns too which made for a delicious morning tea.

There is also a really lovely gallery next door to the market, it contains some of the most beautiful wooden furniture I've every seen. Of course Mr W needed to make a pit stop so when they got back from the bathroom DH told me about the amazing benches in the bathroom. 'You should have seen it' he tells me...  yes but it was in the little boys room so I sent him back to take a photo seeing as I didn't think I'd be welcome in there.

So here is a pic from his phone. He was right it is awesome, the entire bench was crafted from a single piece of wood. I wonder how long it took to carve out the bowls and how often they have to re-varnish it to keep it from swelling? The bench was really long with several basins carved along its' length. I quite like the look of the miniorb aluminium used to back the bench and as inserts in the doors.

I'll share some more about this day trip soon...

*Noongar is name of the aboriginal tribe and traditional owners of South Western WA.