Wokalup is a town located in the

South West Southwest is a compass point. Southwest, south-west, south west, southwestern or south-western or south western may also refer to: * Southwest (direction), an intercardinal direction Geography *South West Queensland, Australia *South West (Weste ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

along 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 ...

, between Harvey and

Brunswick Junction Brunswick is the historical English name for the German city of Braunschweig (Low German: ''Brunswiek'', Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek''). Brunswick may also refer to: Places and other topographs Australia *Brunswick, Victoria, a suburb of ...

. At the , Wokalup had a population of 449. It lies just north west of

Mornington Mills Mornington, also known as Mornington Mills, is the site of former timber saw mills and a community on the Darling Range in Western Australia. It was part of the operations of Millars Karri and Jarrah Forests Limited. At the 2021 census, the ar ...

and was the junction for railway access to the Millars Mornington network of timber railways. Wokalup's name derives from an Aboriginal name meaning "the place of the carpet snake" (wokul). Such snakes were often found in farm sheds in the area prior to the commencement of irrigation but

tiger snake The tiger snake (''Notechis scutatus'') is a large and highly venomous snake of southern Australia, including its coastal islands and Tasmania. These snakes are often observed and locally well known by their banding, black and yellow like a ti ...

s became more common subsequently. The location was originally granted in 1830, but the title lapsed as the owner made no improvements to the property. The Western Australian Company obtained it in the 1840s; the first resident was Thomas Hayward, who commenced farming at Bundidup south of Harvey in 1859. At this time, there were no made roads or bridges through the town, but during the 1860s the Harvey and Brunswick bridges were constructed and

convicts A convict is "a person found Guilt (law), guilty of a crime and Sentence (law), sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a commo ...

built the road from Pinjarra to Brunswick. Hayward provided for the needs of both the convicts and the horse teams. When the railway came through in the 1890s a railway siding with the name Wokalup was opened, and a small private town developed. This was gazetted a townsite in 1963 at the request of the Shire of Harvey.

Present day

Wokalup is a small agricultural town with services offered from nearby Harvey. A former deer park is being reconstructed as a cheese making and tourist facility, taking advantage of its location in the Harvey-Brunswick dairy district. A tavern and basic accommodation facilities are nearby.

Climate

References

External links

Harvey Cheese website
{{authority control Towns in Western Australia Shire of Harvey 1859 establishments in Australia