Donnybrook is a town situated between Boyanup and Kirup on the

South Western Highway South Western Highway is a highway in the South West region of Western Australia connecting Perth's southeast with Walpole. It is a part of the Highway 1 network for most of its length. It is about long. Route description Perth to Bunbury ...

, south of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia. The town is the centre of

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

cultivation in Western Australia. The town is also known for its picturesque abundance of

English Oak ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widely ...

trees, as well as for the Apple Fun Park, a large outdoor

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...

in the centre of town.

History

Donnybrook is on the traditional lands of the

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...

people. George Nash and other Europeans arrived here around 1842. They named the place after their home town, Donnybrook, then a suburb of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The eastern part of the town was formerly called Minninup. The western portion of the townsite is currently known as Irishtown. The town of Donnybrook was gazetted in 1894. In 1897, Richard Hunter discovered gold about 6 kilometres south of the Donnybrook townsite. Hunter eventually sold out to Fred Camilleri (a well known prospector from Kalgoorlie) and Camilleri was able to interest the internationally renowned Polish geologist Modest Maryanski. It was on the basis of Maryanski's report that a new company "Donnybrook Goldfields Ltd" was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1899. A mini gold rush occurred, resulting in the Government gazetting the Donnybrook Goldfield - in the process making provision for a new town to be called "Goldtown". From the census of 1901, it was known over 200 gold miners were camped on the goldfields. The excitement was short-lived however, and the Hunters Venture mine closed in August 1903. The area was worked during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

by locals Laurie and Foster Payne, then re-pegged and explored during the 1980s and again from 2004-5.

Geography

Climate

Donnybrook experiences a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Csa''). Although summers are usually dry, heavy downpours in the summer are not uncommon. Donnybrook gets 93.9 clear days annually.

Industry

Donnybrook is the home of Western Australia's

industry. In 1900, the first

Granny Smith The Granny Smith, also known as a green apple or sour apple, is an apple cultivar which originated in Australia in 1868. It is named after Maria Ann Smith, who propagated the cultivar from a chance seedling. The tree is thought to be a hybrid ...

apple tree was planted, and the apple orchard industry grew after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Apples are harvested between March and May, with apple blossoms prominent in October. Donnybrook's industries also include timber, beef, dairy and

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

. Many visiting backpackers earn money picking fruit from orchards in the area between November and June. Many apple trees are being replaced with avocado trees.

Tourism

Donnybrook has many town icons bearing the apple. On the main street, apple-shaped lights line the entrance of the Old Railway Station. These lights have recently been restored. Atop the east Donnybrook hill is a tower with an apple at the top. The apple is part of The Big Apple Farmstay.(formerly the Big Apple Tourist and Wildlife Park). From the top of the apple, farmstay guests can view Donnybrook and its surrounding areas. The Lady Williams big apple is made of

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

and is tall with a diameter of , making it one of Australia's "

Big Things ''Big Things'' was a large-scale steel sculpture exhibition series organized by the North Edmonton Sculpture Workshop for the Royal Alberta Museum's outdoor South Terrace.Gilbert Bouchard, "Come to Expect 'Big Things'", Edmonton Journal, July 1 ...

Apple festival

The Donnybrook Apple Festival is held every year during

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

. During the apple festival, the citizens of Donnybrook gather at Egan Park to celebrate the apple. The festival includes agricultural displays, a

sideshow alley {{Unreferenced, date=June 2008 A sideshow alley is an Australian term for the cluster of attractions that may accompany public events such as agricultural shows. It is similar to the American term ' midway'. Australian sideshows typically compris ...

, a Saturday evening concert & fireworks display and a street parade. During the street parade the Catholic Church of Donnybrook blesses the holy apple, assuring a good

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

in the years to come. The Apple Festival also had a

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

, Donny Applebrook, created in 1997. Donny was a giant green apple who promoted the festival.

Apple Fun Park playground

The centre of town is home to the Apple Fun Park outdoor playground, which opened in Easter 2008 in time for the Donnybrook Apple Festival that year. The expansive fruit-themed park contains children's play equipment (including an tower, swing sets, trampolines, multiple slides and a

flying fox ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

), an adult exercise area, as well as a shaded picnic area with public barbecues. At the time of its construction it was the largest free-entry playground in Australia, and it attracts up to 50,000 visitors each year. The playground helped inject over $6 million into the local economy over the first 13 years of its existence, and its success has inspired the construction of similar playgrounds in the region. In April 2021 the playground was temporarily closed for revitalisation works with much of the play equipment demolished as it had reached the end of its design life. The playground reopened in October 2021 with a larger, updated design, new lighting and expanded shading and greenspaces, and new play equipment and activities (though some original play equipment was also retained).

English Oak

Donnybrook is home to Australia's largest known English Oak. The tree, believed to originate from 1893 is a landmark within the town. There is also a time capsule under this tree.

References

External links

Shire of Donnybrook-BalingupDonnybrook Apple Festival
{{authority control Towns in Western Australia South West (Western Australia)