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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 list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Western Australia. The town is the centre of
apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
cultivation in Western Australia. The town is also known for its picturesque abundance of
English oak ''Quercus robur'', the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It grows on soil ...
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 wi ...
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 people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...
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 is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. 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 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, was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1899. A mini-gold-rush occurred, resulting in the government gazetting the Donnybrook Goldfieldin 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 was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
by locals Laurie and Foster Payne, then re-pegged and explored during the 1980s and again from 2004 to 2005.


Geography


Climate

Donnybrook experiences a
Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''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
apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
industry. In 1900, the first
Granny Smith The Granny Smith is an List of apple cultivars, apple cultivar that originated in Australia in 1868. It is named after Maria Ann Smith, who Fruit tree propagation, propagated the cultivar from a chance seedling. The tree is thought to be a Hybri ...
apple tree was planted, and the apple orchard industry grew after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Apples are harvested between March and May, with apple blossoms prominent in October. Donnybrook's industries also include timber, beef, dairy and
viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing 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 ...
. Many visiting backpackers earn money picking fruit from orchards in the area between November and June. Many apple trees are being replaced with
avocado The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was priz ...
trees.


Tourism

Donnybrook has many structures bearing apple representations. 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 c ...
and is tall with a diameter of , making it one of Australia's " Big Things".


Apple festival

The Donnybrook Apple Festival is held every year during
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
. During the apple festival, the citizens of Donnybrook gather at Egan Park to celebrate the apple. The festival includes agricultural displays, a
sideshow alley 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 comprise a variety of amusement rides ...
, a Saturday evening concert and fireworks display and a street parade. During the street parade the Catholic church in Donnybrook blesses the holy apple, assuring a good
harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...
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, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...
called ''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 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 ''Quercus robur'', the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It grows on soil ...
. The tree, believed to originate from 1893 is a landmark within the town. There is a
time capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...
under this tree.


Railway

The Donnybrook–Katanning railway was a railway line that connected the communities of Donnybrook to Mumballup, Noggerup, Boyup Brook, Kojonup and Katanning.


See also

*
Donnybrook stone Donnybrook stone is a fine to medium-grained feldspathic and kaolinitic sandstone found near the town of Donnybrook, Western Australia. It originates from the early Cretaceous (144-132 MYA) and features shale partings and colour variations ...


References


External links


Shire of Donnybrook-Balingup
* {{authority control Towns in Western Australia Shire of Donnybrook–Balingup