Marrinup is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

in the Peel region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

between Dwellingup and Pinjarra. Its

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

is the

Shire of Murray The Shire of Murray is a local government area of Western Australia. It has an area of and is located in the Peel Region about south of the Perth central business district. The Shire extends across the Peel Inlet and the Swan Coastal Plain ...

. The town was destroyed in the 1961 bushfires and the townsite is now used as a campground. The ruins of the townsite are heritage listed. Little remains of the town other than an old bridge over Marrinup Creek and some wooden railway sleepers. The campsite features toilets, tables and barbeques. A walk trail from the townsite to the remains of an defunct

Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

camp. The town was initially established in the 1880s as a timber town to fell the

jarrah ''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, djarraly in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with roug ...

trees in the surrounding forests. A horse-drawn tramway was constructed in 1902 from Pinjarra to serve a sawmill that had been constructed in the town and the line operated for around two years. The

Western Australian Government Railways Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsi ...

railway line followed the tramway path when they built the line to Dwellingup that was completed in 1910. The timber company, Millars, operated a timber mill between 1910 and 1930 alongside Marrinup Brook. Several houses were built within the townsite as well as a company general store. The Marrinup School was built and completed in 1911 and opened to students in 1912. The building still exists and is used an RSL Hall in Dwellingup. After 1930, the townsite had become abandoned as a result of a decline in timber resources and milling operations being moved to Dwellingup. A POW camp was established during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in July 1943 to house prisoners of war after an agreement was reached with the British to house of prisoners in

. The prisoners provided labour on farms and for cutting timber. The Marrinup camp was able to house up to 1,200 prisoners and commenced operations in August 1943. German and Italian prisoners were kept in different parts of the compound. All that remains of the camp is a clearing in the forest and some building foundations. The camp ceased operations in August 1946. The remains of the town were lost in a bushfire in 1961. The Marrinup Cycle Trail, an looped mountain bike track also starts and finishes from the eastern side of the townsite.

Notable residents

Dorothy Tangney Dame Dorothy Margaret Tangney DBE (13 March 19073 June 1985) was an Australian politician. She was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as a Senator for Western Australia from 1943 to 1968. She was the first woman elected to ...

, Australia's first woman senator, lived in Marrinup as a child.

References

{{authority control Towns in Western Australia Shire of Murray Ghost towns in Western Australia Darling Range Bushfire affected towns in Western Australia