The Warren Blackwood Stock Route is far more than a long-distance bridle trail, it is a living connection to the pioneering families, cattle drovers, horses, stock routes, forests, and coastal grazing lands that helped shape the Southern Forests & Valleys region of Western Australia.
Stretching 345km from the Scott River region near Nannup to Broke Inlet near Walpole, the route follows historic stock droving paths once travelled by generations of farming families who moved cattle between inland farms and the South West coast.
For many early settlers, the annual cattle drives were not simply a tradition, they were essential to survival.
The Importance of the Coastal Cattle Drives
From the earliest days of European settlement, farming families across Bridgetown, Manjimup and Nannup relied on coastal grazing lands to sustain their cattle during the dry summer months. As inland pastures dried out, drovers would move cattle through forests and bush tracks to coastal leases stretching from Busselton to Nornalup.
The cattle were driven over several days through remote bushland, often accompanied by horses, dogs, family members, provisions, and camp equipment. Many of the routes travelled by these drovers now form the basis of the Warren Blackwood Stock Route.
The journeys were challenging and required remarkable bushmanship, horsemanship, and local knowledge. Families learnt from Aboriginal people how to manage cattle within the forest landscapes and coastal country, including where to find water, suitable grazing land, and safe travel routes.
At the coast, cattle grazed on natural grasses and native vegetation before returning inland after the first rains. The coastal grazing system became a defining part of farming life in the Southern Forests & Valleys for generations.
The Families of the Stock Route
The Warren Blackwood Stock Route honours the pioneering families whose stories remain deeply connected to the trail and surrounding landscapes. Campsites along the route are named after several of these families in recognition of their contribution to the region’s farming and droving history.
The Wheatley Family
The Wheatley family were among the earliest cattle pioneers of the South West. Peter Wheatley migrated from Ireland before eventually settling in the Warren River region, where he became one of the first significant cattlemen in the area. Family members describe Peter Wheatley as a highly respected stockman who helped establish the early cattle industry throughout the Southern Forests & Valleys.
Peter Wheatley supplied beef to Albany and regularly drove cattle long distances through the South West. He would purchase and collect cattle from neighbouring settlers before droving them overland to market, often travelling with only his horse and working dogs. His son, Thomas Wheatley, continued the tradition, gradually expanding the family’s operations throughout Bridgetown, Nannup, Busselton and surrounding districts.
The Wheatley family established “Orange Grove” near Bridgetown, which became an important holding property for cattle before droving journeys south. Located along the Blackwood River, the property was gradually cleared and developed by hand, with cattle grazing among the natural forest vegetation and river flats. Family recall that the district’s forests once contained abundant native creepers and feed that supported both cattle and working horses.
Generations of the family continued the annual cattle drives to the coast well into the twentieth century. The family also developed successful dairying, sheep and beef enterprises, with cattle regularly moved between inland farms and coastal grazing leases near Broke Inlet and the Gardner River. Their story reflects the endurance, horsemanship and bush knowledge required to manage cattle across the remote forests and coastal country of the South West, and remains closely connected to the history of today’s Warren Blackwood Stock Route.
The Muir Family
The Muir family played a significant role in opening and developing the region and coastal grazing country. Originally from Scotland, the family were encouraged to migrate to Western Australia by George Cheyne before establishing properties throughout the South West.
Thomas Muir became one of the first European settlers to establish farms within the Warren district, selecting land at Deeside and Perup during the mid-1800s. Family records describe Thomas Muir as a respected bushman and explorer who developed strong relationships with Aboriginal people and learned extensively from their knowledge of country, water sources, traditional pathways, and extensive coastal grasslands.
The Muir family held large grazing leases extending from Broke Inlet through to the Gardner River and regularly drove cattle through the forests and coastal country. The coastal leases became an important part of the family’s farming operations, allowing cattle to graze on coastal grasslands during the dry summer months while inland paddocks recovered. Generations of the family continued the tradition of droving cattle to the coast, camping in bush huts, burning sections of country to encourage fresh grazing, and working alongside neighbouring farming families during the annual drives.
The Muir family were also recognised as progressive farmers, operating dairying, sheep and beef enterprises while adapting to changing farming practices throughout the twentieth century. Family members preserve vivid accounts of life on the land, including horse travel, bush camps, early farming methods, stock handling, and the challenges of managing cattle across remote forest and coastal country. Their story remains closely connected to many sections of today’s Warren Blackwood Stock Route and the broader pastoral history of the South West.
The Egerton-Warburton Family
The Egerton-Warburton family settled at “Brackenhurst” near Bridgetown during the late nineteenth century after travelling from the Mount Barker region. Family records recall Randle Egerton-Warburton riding on horseback from Mount Barker to select the original 160-acre property that became Brackenhurst in the 1880s.
The family established dairying, orcharding and cattle operations throughout the Bridgetown district and became heavily involved in coastal grazing. In the early years, dairying provided the family’s primary income, alongside orchards, sheep and horse breeding. During the annual cattle drives, stock were moved south through the forests toward the coast where grazing leases provided valuable feed during the dry summer months when inland pastures became scarce.
The Egerton-Warburtons were known for their horsemanship, cattle work and extensive knowledge of the droving routes and bush camps used along the journey. Horses were central to daily life on the property, with family members riding to school, working stock and competing successfully at agricultural shows across the South West. The family also bred draught horses for the Collie coal mines and maintained strong traditions of stock handling and bush skills across generations.
Many stories passed through the family describe the hardships, dangers, friendships and unique lifestyle associated with the cattle drives. They recall travelling through dense karri forest, camping beside rivers, crossing waterways on horseback and spending weeks living with the cattle in remote bush country. Family members remembered the distinctive sound of cattle bells moving through the forest at night, the constant need to track wandering stock, and the close relationships formed between drovers who shared the demanding seasonal journeys to the coast.
The Mottram Family
The Mottram family were long associated with farming and coastal grazing around Manjimup and the southern forests. Like many South West farming families, they relied on taking cattle to the coast during the summer and autumn months when inland feed became scarce. Their farming operation at “Rockbridge” combined dairying, beef cattle and pigs, with cattle regularly moved between inland paddocks and the coast depending on seasonal conditions.
The family built simple huts and camps near the Gardner River and coastal grazing leases, where drovers and stockmen would live during the grazing season. Conditions were basic, with slab huts, bush yards, campfires and long days working cattle in remote bushland. Family members described the coast as rugged but productive country, where stock could survive well on native grasses and burnt bush pasture.
The Mottrams also recalled the practical realities of running cattle in heavily forested country. Early clearing at Rockbridge was carried out by hand using axes, bullock teams, gelignite and horse teams, with jarrah posts split by hand for fences and cattle yards. Much of the property was originally thick bush containing jarrah, red gum, blackbutt and karri forest.
The family remember the annual routines of preparing cattle for the coast, including branding, earmarking, dehorning, dosing cattle with copper and cobalt, selecting suitable horses and organising supplies for long journeys through the bush. Bells were often fitted to lead cattle, helping drovers keep track of mobs moving through dense forest country.
The Mottram family’s stories also capture the changing nature of farming across the South West, from hand milking and bullock teams to tractors, mechanised equipment and trucks, and the gradual decline of traditional cattle drives as roads improved, forests changed and modern farming methods replaced the old seasonal grazing system.
The Davies Family
The Davies family annual journeys to the coast became an important seasonal routine, with cattle, horses, dogs and drovers travelling slowly through the forests toward the coastal grazing country near Hamelin Bay and the Scott River region.
The Davies family farm, “Nelson Grange”, near Bridgetown, was originally established in the late 1920s and operated as a large dairy and grazing property. Like many South West farming families of the era, the Davies family relied heavily on the coast during the dry summer months, moving dairy cattle away from inland pastures when feed became limited.
Family stories describe the experience of moving large mobs of cattle along bush tracks and camping overnight at yards and resting places along the route. The cattle often knew the journey well, with older cattle naturally leading the way toward the coast each year. The drives generally covered around twenty miles a day, with camps established beside creeks, government stockyards and watering points along the route.
The Davies family travelled mainly on horseback, supported by trucks carrying supplies, camp equipment and food. Horses played a critical role in the drives, helping manage younger cattle and keeping mobs moving steadily through thick bush and across river crossings. Bells were fitted to lead cattle so the sound could help keep the mob together through dense forest country.
They described the practical realities of life on the trail, sleeping under tarpaulins beside campfires, cooking simple meals, managing tired cattle, navigating rough bush tracks and dealing with hazards including snakes, boggy ground, flooded creeks and increasing traffic on developing roads.
The Davies family route passed through areas including Milyeannup, Cane Break, Alexandra Bridge, Black Swamp and eventually to the coastal grazing country near Deepdene and Hamelin Bay. Along the way, the family relied on local knowledge, neighbouring landholders and government stockyards that supported drovers travelling through the region.
Stories from the family also highlight the social side of the cattle drives, with neighbouring families often travelling similar routes, sharing camps, helping each other with stock and maintaining a strong sense of community among South West farming families.
The Davies family continued taking cattle to the coast until the early 1960s, when increasing road traffic, more widespread bitumen roads, trucking and changing farming practices gradually brought an end to the traditional cattle drives.
The Dunnett Family
The Dunnett family of Nannup played an important role in the South West cattle drives and the development of farming along the Scott River and coastal country. The family property, “Tanjanerup”, was established after David Vernon Dunnett’s grandfather migrated from South Australia and selected land in the Nannup district in the early 1900s.
Like many farming families of the time, the Dunnetts operated a mixed farming enterprise that included dairying, cattle, horses and later beef production. Their dairy operation supplied butterfat and cream to markets in Busselton and Bunbury, while cattle were regularly taken to the coast during the dry summer months when inland feed became scarce.
The family’s annual drives to the coast became a well-established tradition. Each year after Christmas, the cattle would be gathered and slowly driven south along bush tracks through Nannup, the Scott River region and eventually to the coastal grazing country near the Southern Ocean.
The Dunnetts travelled with horses, working dogs, spring carts and supplies, camping at overnight stopping points along the route. The cattle learned the journey over time, with older animals often leading the younger stock toward the coast each year.
The family describe the demanding nature of the drives, navigating rivers, bush tracks, weather, boggy ground and long days on horseback, while also highlighting the strong sense of freedom and connection to the bush that came with the droving lifestyle. Stories from the Dunnett family also capture the practical bush skills required to survive on the coast, including building huts, maintaining fences, managing water supplies, cooking over campfires and caring for stock in remote country.
The Dunnett family maintained strong ties to the coastal country for generations and continued droving cattle until changing farming practices, improved transport, road traffic and government policy changes gradually brought an end to the traditional cattle drives by the late 1960s.
Life on the Droving Routes
The cattle drives were physically demanding journeys requiring skill, patience, and resilience. Families often travelled for days at a time, camping along bush tracks and near water sources. Drovers relied heavily on horses and working dogs to manage cattle through thick forest, rivers, rough tracks, and changing weather conditions.
Simple huts and cattle yards were constructed at key locations along the route and on the coast. Some were little more than rough shelters made from bush poles and sheets of tin, while others became more established camps with yards, wells, and cooking areas.
The annual journeys also created strong social connections between farming families across the region, with shared camps, stories, and traditions passed down through generations.
The End of the Coastal Grazing Era
By the mid to late twentieth century, the traditional cattle drives gradually declined. Improved roads and transport allowed stock to be trucked instead of driven, while advances in pasture management, hay production, and farming practices reduced reliance on coastal grazing.
Government policy changes, restrictions on burning, the creation of national parks, and the cancellation of pastoral leases also contributed to the end of the traditional droving lifestyle.
Although the cattle drives eventually ceased, the stories, tracks, camps, and landscapes remain an important part of the cultural heritage of the Southern Forests & Valleys.
Preserving the Stories
The Warren Blackwood Stock Route was developed not only as a recreational trail, but also as a way to preserve and share the remarkable history of the South West cattle drives and the families who lived them.
The South West Cattle Drives Oral History Project was established to record these memories before they were lost, with interviews conducted with members of the Wheatley, Muir, Egerton-Warburton, Mottram, Davies and Dunnett families.
These oral histories now form an important historical archive for the region and continue to inspire interpretation, storytelling, and heritage experiences along the Warren Blackwood Stock Route today.
More detailed family stories, photographs, oral histories, and heritage information will continue to be added to the Warren Blackwood Stock Route experience in the future, helping preserve these important stories for future generations to discover and enjoy.