Irwin District Museum
Open Monday to Saturday 10 am – 12 noon (entry by donation)
Waldeck St
The police station was built in 1870 by expiree Joseph Walton, the owner of the Irwin Arms
Hotel (now Dongara Hotel). It was made of jarrah shipped into Port Irwin and local limestone
rubble bound with lime. The building was used as a police station, courthouse, gaol, ticket of
leave hiring depot and police quarters. In 1874 the building had a lean-to addition built on
the north side which served as a post and telegraph office. The native cell to the west, stable
area and courtyard walls were demolished (c1955). The building served the district as a
police station, quarters and courthouse until 1983 when the present police station was built.
Prior to the opening of the police station, the magistrate’s court sat in several places in the
town, including the first school and the parlour of the Irwin Arms Hotel. After the formation of
the Irwin Roads Board, board meetings were held in the courtroom. When the building
ceased functioning as the police station, it was restored in 1985/86 by a volunteer
community committee. It currently houses the Irwin Districts Historical Society and Museum,
with exhibits detailing the police and justice system of the nineteenth century and life in a
rural community.
Dongara Police Station with post and telegraph office, c1940. I IRME0523
