About Us
events
Wheatbelt Arts & Events Inc. delivers a vibrant program of cultural events that celebrate creativity, community and Ballardong Noongar culture. Each September, The York Festival brings four days of live music, workshops, performances and family activities to York, with the 2026 festival running 25–28 September. Every January, Ballardong First (24–26 January 2026) offers a community-led celebration of Ballardong culture, featuring workshops, storytelling, truth-telling and a much-loved bush tucker gathering. Every second May, WAEi presents the Wheatbelt Regional Writers Festival, returning in 2027 to inspire writers through author talks, workshops and literary events across the region.
York Ballardong Arts & Culture Centre
NOV 2025: Wheatbelt Arts & Events Inc. (WAEi) has submitted a proposal to the National Trust to transform York’s historic Courthouse complex into the York Ballardong Arts & Culture Centre — a cultural hub celebrating culture, York’s history, and local creativity.
If the Courthouse lease is granted, the centre will open seven days a week, initially supported by volunteers before transitioning to paid staff.
The Town
The Noongar people are the traditional owners of the south-west of Western Australia and have been for over 45,000 years. The York region was home to the Ballardong Noongar people who inhabited an estimated 27,000 km² of land, extending from the Avon River in the north to the Darling Scarp in the west, including what is now know as York.
The first settlers arrived in the Avon Valley — now part of WA’s Wheatbelt region, which stretches from Jurien Bay in the north to Wagin in the south — in 1831. York was properly established four years later making it WA’s oldest inland town. It’s about 100km (1 hour 20 minutes) east of Perth; Northam and Toodyay lie to the north, Beverley to the east. It’s cool in winter, mild in autumn and early spring, hot and dry in summer.
The Region
The WA Wheatbelt extends across more than 200,000sqkm. It’s heavily reliant on agriculture industries such as wheat and sheep farming, susceptible to salinity and an ever-drying climate yet with almost a third — more than 60,000sqkm — classified as conservation and natural environments. And from classic country towns to local walks and life around “the granites”, there’s plenty to see and explore.
