Why Northam should be high on your 'to-do' list

16 September, 2020   By: Fleur Bainger

It’s not every day you’re served by an octogenarian bartender. Especially when that bartender is running a cool small bar doubling as a ‘book boutique’ in the heart of Northam. But Laura’s bar, like the town it sits in, shows just how misunderstood – and underrated – this slice of WA’s wheatbelt is.

It’s fair to say that Northam has an image problem. Seen as dry, harsh, distant and with little to see other than endless grain crops, it creates quite a stir when you discover it first-hand.

Not only is it close enough to Perth to pop in for lunch, but there’s enough to keep you busy for days, much of it delightfully astonishing.

From the river that snakes through town crossed by the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in Australia, to an interactive Aboriginal cultural centre, to enormous painted grain silos, to captivating architecture that ranges from Brutalist creations by Iwan Iwanoff, to historic heritage buildings, there’s plenty going on.

An architect walks into a bar...

But back to that bar. Laura’s is the brainchild – and blood, sweat and tears – of revered WA architect-builder, Brian Klopper. Now 83, Klopper was huge in the 1980s, creating distinctively boxy homes using rustic, exposed brick. The constructions, found mainly in Fremantle and Subiaco, are reminiscent of European farmhouses, but with angular windows and open-plan interiors.

Klopper grew up in Northam, living there until he was 10 years old. Having formed a lifelong bond, he returned a few years ago, first building his own home, then turning his attention to the bar.

Laura’s is named after his grandma, and a picture of her presides over the venue. His aim was to inject a bit of Fremantle into Northam, and the eclectic, fairy light-strung venue would easily slot into the port city. Outside on the deck, a fire warms toes, while inside, books lead to a cellar-like curved ceiling, with best sellers by Ian Fleming, Dan Brown and Bryce Courtney filling the shelves.

As with all the best bars, a barman leans on the marble counter, ready for a chin wag. Jon Cook is an old friend of Klopper’s who was living in Mt Lawley until Klopper made him a proposition.

“Brian drove down to buy me lunch and he said, ‘Why not come to Northam and give me a hand?’ I thought about it for a long time - easily half a second – and three weeks later I was living in Northam,” laughs Cook.

All the fridge beers and house wines at Laura’s cost $8, and toasties, cheese and dip platters form the menu. The bar has been open for nearly three years and hosts weekly mah-jong games and other community get-togethers, signalling it’s now part of the town’s furniture.

Northam’s beautiful balloons

It’s tempting to while away an evening at Laura’s, but turning in early is advised if you want to engage in perhaps the most spectacular of all Northam’s attractions. This activity is found pre-dawn, in a flat paddock just out of town, and requires several layers of warm clothing and a relaxed attitude to heights.

Hot air ballooning has become synonymous with Northam. In 2002, adventurer Steve Fossett launched his successful solo, non-stop round-the- world ballooning mission from Northam. In July 2016, Fossett’s record was beaten by Russian Fedor Konyukhov who also took off from Northam.

The town has hosted the Australian National Ballooning Championships numerous times, and in 2021 will be hosting the Women’s World Ballooning Championships which have previously never been held outside of Europe.

As we walk towards the launch site, stars shine overhead like a scattering of glitter and magpies chortle in the darkness. It’s foggy, and people silhouetted in vehicle headlights create a scene reminiscent of the X-Files.

We were mesmerised by the loud spectacle of propane gas being blown into a rainbow-striped balloon. Then, it's time to throw a leg over the long cane basket and huddle in.

We rise gently off the ground and coast low over a field of yellow canola flowers, giving us a drone-like perspective. Then it’s up, through a thick cloud band, beyond peaks of land poking through, to well above the earth’s fluffy white blanket. The altitude is astonishing and as the sun rises, the clouds illuminate in soft pink.

Windward Balloon Adventures aeronaut and “balloonatic,” Damien Hays has been flying since 1990, racking up close to 4000 hours. His expertise is evident on our descent.

After smoothly floating high and low over farmland, Northam’s railway line, native trees and the shallow reaches of the Avon River, he effects a precision landing. Initially placing us on the paddock floor, he fires more gas into the balloon and manoeuvres us a few metres to the right, gently lowering the basket onto a trailer in exactly the right spot.

Later, during the included champagne breakfast, we raise a glass to his skill.

RELATED: Ultimate guide to Northam » 

Cultural connections

Back in Northam, the sophisticated, curving design of the Bilya Koort Boodja Centre for Nyoongar Culture and Environmental Knowledge draws us in.

Opened mid-2018, the centre invites visitors to follow Aboriginal stories while flowing softly through the space, which has no hard corners or flat walls. There are hand-carved shields, ceremonial dress made from feathers and roo hide, and historic photographs of Aboriginal people clad in British garb.

Local Aboriginal people are often on hand, allowing for personal interaction, teaching and question asking.

As he shows us how to make clapping sticks, elder Vincent Ryder shares how he became part of the stolen generation when he was just two years old. “I thought I was going in a car ride, I was happy,” he recalls. “I was told my parents would be back in one week.

I didn’t see them for 15 years.” For a third of that time, Vincent would spend each day waiting by the same tree, hoping they would return.

Another Noongar man, Frank Davis performs a Welcome to Country and demonstrates how the didgeridoo can be used to create various animal sounds. He reveals that his father was put in jail for three months “Because me and my identical twin brother were ‘speaking lingo’ at school.

The centre contains a ‘sorry space’ that presents the history of the stolen generation and the impact of Aboriginal people’s removal from their families, and what it was like on the reserves and missions. It’s a moving, informative and memorable insight into Australia’s recent past.

On the heritage trail

A short walk from the centre is another Northam quirk: a 117m pedestrian suspension bridge, the longest in Australia. It bounces as we walk along it, crossing the width of the Avon River.

A looping walking path traces the edge of the river. It’s called the Dorntj Koorliny track, which is Nyoongar for ‘walking together’, and it was created by the Avon Valley Environmental Society.

Founding member of the 30-year-old organisation, Peter Weatherly, says a community grant funded the path, but a creative approach was required to make the most of each dollar. “We made the money stretch further by buying a wide mix of pavers and bricks, so you’ll notice the colours and shapes cluster and change as you walk along,” he says.

“We built it with school kids, prisoners and other volunteers.” Weatherly, who is in his late 70s, still walks the track daily with his wife. He points out a looming flour mill built in 1867 that generated Northam’s first electricity and then, another drawcard: “You can buy this house facing the river for $280,000,” he says. “Northam has very affordable real estate.”

It also has quite the collection of heritage buildings. Ranked third in WA for its number of historically significant buildings, Northam has character in spades. Driving the streets, we spot ornate stone and plasterwork and even regal columns in the old newspaper building, the General Post Office, bank buildings and the Town Hall.

In contrast, two 1970s Brutalist buildings designed by lauded architect, Iwan Iwanoff stand solidly in the town centre, their characteristic, grey concrete blocks creating shadow patterns in the unfiltered sunlight.

Another heritage building, the old Shamrock Hotel, is being transformed into a destination hotel, café and wine bar. Driven by Nigel Oakley of the Dome café franchise, the soon-to- open Farmers’ Home Hotel (as it was known in 1866) hopes to generate a similar buzz to the one in Katanning’s former Premier flour mill.

Meanwhile, the circa 1907 Duke’s Inn also offers accommodation, along with above-average pub meals (think quesa- dillas and pork spare ribs), bargain wine prices and an astro-turfed beer garden.

Out of town, the grand Victorian- Georgian manor at Buckland Estate was established in 1839 by British settler, Charles Pratt. Shut off from public view for the past 30 years, it has since been restored and is now a wedding venue.

Also on Northam’s outskirts, another arresting surprise. A row of grain silos have been transformed into art canvases sporting 38-metre-high murals by international artists. Half of the 16 CBH grain silos have been painted using a boom lift, pole brushes, paint tins and aerosols. It’s yet more evidence that Northam deserves another look – and a long one at that.

Getting there

Northam is nearly 100km from Perth - a little over an hour’s drive. You can also travel by train on the AvonLink, MerredinLink or the Prospector line. The AvonLink is fastest, taking 1hr20.