LAKE GRACE
Lake Grace is a crossroads town in the
mid south region of WA. Lake Grace is encounted when traveling east
from Wagin to Lake King. Lake Grace in itself is a very large salt
pan, but no doubt from time to time is in flood. Lake Grace is a
pretty and modest town that does pack a pleasant heritage surprise,  
and after most likely traveling a long distance is a recommended stop
over.
The area was first taken up for agriculture around 1911, and in 1913 a
school was established here and named Lake Grace after the nearby
lake.
 
The townsite of Lake Grace was gazetted later in 1916. The branch
railway was extended to the ultimate terminus at Newdegate on 15
February 1926 and a further branch from Lake Grace to Hyden opened on
5 April 1933, thus making Lake Grace a junction and therefore some
importance for train working operations
In 1922 the Reverend ‘the John Flynn’ visited the town to assess the
suitability for establishing an AIM ‘mission’ hospital. The Western
Australian Government agreed to subsidize the building of the
hospital, which was subsequently built by AIM and opened in April 1926
staffed by two nurses,
The lake after which the townsite was named was given the name Lake
Grace by Marshall Fox, the District Surveyor, in 1910. It is named
after Grace Brockman, the wife of the Surveyor General.
Lake Grace has an inn and a hotel. In spite of various signage's the
inn was not cited. The Lake Grace Hotel is the classic Victorian Pub.
The Lake Grace War Memorial is located in the central area of the
town.
All church denominations operate in Lake Grace. All in mid 20th
Century and traditional buildings.   
When visiting Lake Grace, make sure that 1; you visit the lake and 2;
be sure to check out that ‘mission museum’.
 
Heritage diary
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