Boyup Brook, Western Australia

Boyup Brook
Western Australia
Boyup Brook
Coordinates 33°50′02″S 116°23′17″E / 33.834°S 116.388°E / -33.834; 116.388Coordinates: 33°50′02″S 116°23′17″E / 33.834°S 116.388°E / -33.834; 116.388
Population 532 (2006 census)[1]
Established 1900
Postcode(s) 6244
Elevation 194 m (636 ft)
Location
  • 269 km (167 mi) south east of Perth
  • 126 km (78 mi) east of Bunbury
  • 31 km (19 mi) north east of Bridgetown
LGA(s) Shire of Boyup Brook
State electorate(s) Blackwood-Stirling
Federal Division(s) O'Connor

Boyup Brook is a town in the south-west of Western Australia, 269 kilometres (167 mi) south-southeast of Perth and 31 kilometres (19 mi) northeast of Bridgetown.

The name Boyup is derived from the name of a nearby pool "Booyup", an Aboriginal term meaning "place of big stones" (large granite outcrops common in the area) or "place of big smoke" (from burning the many surrounding grass trees).[2][3]

The town's economy is primarily agricultural. It is a Cooperative Bulk Handling receival site.[4]

History

About 1839, John Hassell brought sheep and cattle from the eastern states of Australia via Albany, and acquired a lease of land along what would later become Scotts Brook, south of the current town site. Although he grazed this stock in the area, the leases did not become permanent, and Hassell later moved to Kendenup.[5][6][7]

In 1845, Augustus Gregory followed the Blackwood River from the junction of the Arthur and Beaufort Rivers downstream for about 170 kilometres (110 mi).[8][9] He carved his initials and the date into a jarrah tree, approximately 16 kilometres (10 mi) north-east of where the town now lies.[2][10] That tree is now dead, but the stump and the markings remain. The stump – now known as the Gregory Tree – has been covered for preservation.[2]

The first permanent settlement in the area was a 12,000-acre (4,900 ha) lease, south of the current town site, along what became known as Scotts Brook. This lease was granted to William Scott[Note 1] and his wife Mary (née Keane),[11][12][13][14] who arrived in 1854, having travelled from Albany.[15] They named the property Norlup,[16] and in about 1872 built a new house that remains to this day[17] (albeit with more recent extensions and renovations), and is now listed on the Heritage Council of Western Australia's register.[9]

In 1861 James George Lee Steere, in partnership with Mr J H Monger, took up a 100,000-acre (40,000 ha) lease near the Blackwood River.[2][12][13] Shortly afterwards, his wife Catherine[Note 2] and their baby son travelled from Bunbury to join him.[18][19]

In 1871 William Forrest[Note 3] moved into the area,[2] to a farm called Dwalganup.[20][21]

By 1882 there were nineteen families in the area.[2] In 1896 land was set aside for a future town[3] and the Upper Blackwood Road Board district (which became the Shire of Boyup Brook in 1961) was created as a separate local government area.[22]

Boyup Brook was declared a town on 9 February 1900.[2][23] The district had an area of 1,240 square miles (3,200 km2), and in December 1900 an estimated population of 400.[24] Milestones in the town's early history include:[2][25]

Name of the town

The town was originally gazetted as Boyup[3] by an Executive Council minute dated 31 January 1900.[26]

However the name Boyup Brook was in common use by the locals,[3][27] the Progress Committee and the Upper Blackwood Road Board. In 1908 residents suggested that the town be renamed to Boyup Brook, to avoid confusion with the similarly named Boyanup. Lee Steere, by now the Speaker of the Assembly and member for Nelson, which included the area, strongly supported the use of the name over that of "Throssell", which had been advocated by some at the time.

The name was ultimately changed to Boyup Brook on 5 February 1909[28] to match the railway station that was built in 1908–1909.[29] Even after the change, there was still confusion about the name within the government, as can be seen in the name and text of the Boyup-Kojonup Railway Act 1909, assented some 10 months after the official change of name.[30]

Country music festival

The town hosts the Boyup Brook Country Music Festival, an annual event, held in February each year. The festival has been held since 1986 and the attendance at the event has increased from 600 at the first festival to over 17,000 in 2008.[31]

Sport

Boyup Brook has many sporting teams within the community. In summer, cricket, tennis, swimming and lawn bowls are prominent, while in winter, football, hockey, netball and golf are played.

In cricket, Boyup participate in the Donnybrook Blackwood Cricket association, winning premierships in 2001, 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2013. The Boyup Roos football team participates in the Lower South West Football League. The Roos have won two premierships, in 1981 and 2012. The tennis and netball clubs run both juniors and seniors. The hockey club has their own junior club, as well as a ladies team that participates in the Bunbury competition. Golf is played during the winter weeks.

Notes

  1. ↑ Some sources refer to Scott as "Commander", "Commodore" and/or "Captain". Schorer 1968 uses all three titles, but Erickson 1979, 1988 doesn't mention any title.
  2. ↑ The history page on the shire's web site shows her name as Caroline, but all other references list her as Catherine.
  3. ↑ William was the brother of Sir John Forrest.

References

  1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Boyup Brook (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Boyup Brook - History, Shire of Boyup Brook, 2005, retrieved 2010-12-19
  3. 1 2 3 4 Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of country town names – B". Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  4. ↑ "CBH Receival Sites - Contact Details" (PDF). 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  5. ↑ Schorer 1968, p. 9.
  6. ↑ Statham, Pamela (1979). Dictionary of Western Australians 1829-1914. I, Early Settlers, 1829-1850. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. p. 148. ISBN 0-85564-159-2.
  7. ↑ Erickson, Rica (1988). The Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians pre-1829 - 1888. II, D-J. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. p. 1399. ISBN 0-85564-273-4.
  8. ↑ Schorer 1968, p. 2.
  9. 1 2 Register of Heritage Places - Assessment documentation - Norlup Homestead (PDF), Heritage Council of Western Australia, 24 March 1998
  10. ↑ Boyup Brook: Shire and Town Attractions, Promaco Geodraft, retrieved 19 December 2010
  11. ↑ AUS-WA-L Archives, Ancestry.com, 2010, retrieved 19 December 2010
  12. 1 2 Erickson, Rica (1979). Dictionary of Western Australians 1829-1914. 3, Free, 1850-1868. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. pp. 451, 490, 747. ISBN 0-85564-163-0.
  13. 1 2 Erickson, Rica (1988). The Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians pre-1829 - 1888. III, K-Q. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. pp. 1696, 1838, 2202. ISBN 0-85564-276-9.
  14. ↑ Erickson, Rica (1988). The Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians pre-1829 - 1888. IV, R-Z. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. p. 2756. ISBN 0-85564-277-7.
  15. ↑ Schorer 1968, p. 10.
  16. ↑ Schorer 1968, p. 17.
  17. ↑ Boyup Brook - Places to See, Shire of Boyup Brook, 2005, retrieved 19 December 2010
  18. ↑ Schorer 1968, p. 25.
  19. ↑ Muir 1982, p. 26.
  20. ↑ Schorer 1968, p. 272.
  21. ↑ Muir 1982, p. 11.
  22. ↑ Schorer 1968, p. 43.
  23. ↑ Schorer 1968, p. 45.
  24. ↑ Schorer 1968, p. 51.
  25. ↑ Schorer 1968, pp. 40, 42, 61, 66-68, 134, 147, 176.
  26. ↑ "Townsite of Boyup (Upper Blackwood) (per 1378/99)". Western Australia Government Gazette. 31 January 1900. p. 1900:501.
  27. ↑ Lands and Surveys file on Boyup Brook at the State Records Office
  28. ↑ "Change of Name of Boyup Townsite (per 1378/99)". Western Australia Government Gazette. 5 February 1909. p. 1909:207.
  29. ↑ File 1378/99 v1, Upper Blackwood Progress Townsite Boyup Brook, Department of Lands and Surveys. Accessed at State Records Office, Perth.
  30. ↑ "Boyup-Kojonup Railway Act 1909 (No. 38 of 1909)". 21 December 1909. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
  31. ↑ Boyup Brook Country Music Club. "History of the Boyup Brook Country Music Festival". Retrieved 24 September 2011.

External links

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