Pembertons History

Aboriginal people have occupied the south west of Western Australia for at least 40,000 years before white explorers discovered Australia. Along the coast near Pemberton there are still many signs of their traditional way of life.

As early as 1622 Dutch, French and English ships had passed along the south coast. The accounts of the land by these expeditions were not favourable and consequently little settlement was contemplated.

Soon after settlement at King George Sound (Albany) in the early 1800s the first white explorers found their way - often by accident - to this magnificent and beautiful corner of the south west of Western Australia. Most were impressed by the shear size of the trees and often remarked in awe on the beauty of the forest.
 
It wasnt long before their awe turned to thoughts of the economic returns possible from such huge trees and the first attempt at establishing a timber industry began. Transport however was too difficult and the first schemes failed.

Soon after this time the first settlers arrived in the Pemberton Area where they established farms which produced fruit and vegetables and grazed cattle and horses.

In the late 1800s and again 1912 the timber industry started to grow. Three timber mills were established and the town of Pemberton grew around these mills. Most of the milling was done by hand. The Brockman Sawpit in the Brockman National Park is an example. 

In the 1920s a new population boom occurred when free land was offered to group settlers of Groupies in order to establish a dairy industry. Many of the Groupies were British ex-servicemen who had returned from war to face unemployment.

Life was tough with many families not staying on as it became too difficult clearing the forest in order to use their land, surviving the depression years and making repayments to the government. The Pemberton Historical Museum has examples of this early period.

Whilst the timber industry continued to prosper, new industries developed. Irrigated farming became possible and potato, cauliflower, tobacco, hops and other crops became widespread.

New tourist ventures have started in the past 20 years including a variety of quality accommodation businesses, Art and Craft Galleries, Trout and Marron farms, Hiking, Wineries and 4WD tours.

MEANING BEHIND THE NAMES WITH "UP"

Many of the places in the South West end in "up", such as Meelup, Quindalup, Cowaramup, Yallingup and Manjimup.  These are Aboriginal names and the "up" means "the place of".
"Meel" is "moon" and it only takes a trip to Meelup Beach on a fine night when the moon rises over the water to understand the name.
"Cowaramup" means the place of a small parrot.  "Yallingup" is said to mean "place of love" and "Quindalup" means "place of the Quinda" (a small bandicoot).

Aboriginal names usually refer to old meeting places and therefore fresh water is usually found nearby.
Many of the other names along the coast are French.  They were named in 1800-1803 when the French sent out an expedition to various parts of Western Australia in the sailing ships the "Geographe" and the "Naturaliste".