Katanning Historical Museum

This lovely old building is the original Katanning government school on the corner of Taylor and Cove Streets and now houses the Katanning Historical Museum.

Built in 1899, the museum is full of interesting artefacts and quaint memorabilia along with some fascinating records of Katanning’s early history.

The Katanning Museum and Heritage Society volunteers have been the driving force in rescuing and preserving some of our most treasured and irreplaceable memories.

Katanning lies at the heart of the Great Southern region providing the residents and surrounding communities with a commercial, cultural and political centre. Long before European settlers began grazing sheep in the district in 1840 the fertile plains provided the local Aboriginal tribe, known as Noongars, with abundant food and water.

With the opening of the Great Southern Railway in 1889 Katanning attracted settlers for both commercial and agricultural ventures. The most prominent being Frederick Piesse, who became the first Chairman of the Katanning Road Board in 1892.