33° 50’ – 116° 23’
Escape to the country in beautiful Boyup Brook. Nestled on the banks of the Blackwood River, less than three hours from Perth, Boyup Brook is the gateway between the Great Southern and the Southern Forests & Valleys regions, making it the ideal base for your holiday to explore.
SETTLERS
The area was first settled in 1854 by Commodore Scott, who built his homestead ‘Norlup’ at Scotts Brook south of the town. Commodore Scott was followed in 1861 by James George Lee Steere who settled near the Blackwood River. In 1871 William Forrest took up some land named Dwalganup. By the year of 1882 there were 19 families within the district.
The township of Boyup Brook’s first major building was the local school – opened on the 9th February 1900. By 1909 a railway line from Donnybrook had reached the settlement, making Boyup Brook more accessible and recognised. The early settlers made a living by kangaroo hunting and timber cutting.
In 1940 during the Second World War a flax mill was built in the town. This was built to meet wartime demands for flax to send to Europe. The flax mill was the last flax mill in Australia to close down in the 1960s.
There were a number of mills operating in the district prior to the Second World War. There was a large number of timber mills within the Boyup Brook district, the last closing in 1982. Wilga, Chowerup and other outlying districts also had smaller mills.
THE ORIGIN OF THE TOWN NAME
The name is derived from the Aboriginal name of a nearby watercourse, Boyup Brook, which was first recorded as Booyup Brook in 1877. Buyu is said to mean “place of smoke”, and another account states that “Booy” means “big smoke”, and was named because the brook was originally surrounded by Grasstrees (previously known as blackboys) which, when set alight, sent up a cloud of black smoke. Another account claims the word “Booyup” means “Place of Big Stones” or “Place of Big Smoke”. The big stones are referring to the large granite rocks surrounding the Upper Blackwood area.
The request for a townsite shrewdly proposed it be named “Throssell”. It was addressed to the Minister for Lands, at that time George Throssell. The Lands Department resisted the proposal at first, as it did not consider there was enough demand for lots, but the Progress Committee persisted, and the Minister directed the Department to survey some lots. The survey was carried out in 1899 and although the name Throssell was used for a short time, Sir James Lee Steere, former resident of the area and prominent politician, suggested the Aboriginal name Boyup, by the which the area was locally known, should be used. The townsite was gazetted as Boyup in 1900, although local usage was mostly “Boyup Brook”. In 1908 there was a major expansion of the townsite, and locals suggested that as there was some confusion with the similarity of Boyup and Boyanup, the townsite should be renamed Boyup Brook. The renaming was approved, and the townsite regazetted as Boyup Brook in 1909.