Kojonup is a town south-east 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 along

Albany Highway Albany Highway links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its oldest settlement, Albany, Western Australia, Albany, on the state's South coast of Western Australia, south coast. The highway travels through the southern Wheatbelt (Weste ...

in the Great Southern region. The name Kojonup refers to the " Kodja" or stone axe made by

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

, from the local stone.

History

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 lived in the area prior to European colonisation, as descendants of the Kaneang language group and their neighbours, such as the Koreng, Pinjareb and Menang. Historically the Noongar people drank from the local freshwater spring and hunted game with the traditional Noongar "kodj" or "kodja", or stone axe. Both Kojonup and The Kodja Place are named after the historically significant implement. The first European in the area was surveyor Alfred Hillman who arrived in 1837 and had been guided to freshwater spring by the Noongar people. The site was an important staging place on the road to Albany, and in 1837 a military post was established there for the protection of travellers and the mail. Between 1837 and 1845 Redcoat settlers inflicted violence on the Noongar people that lived in the area. By 1845 this outpost had grown to support a military barracks, built on the site of the freshwater spring. Today, the barracks still stands on its original site and houses the ''Kojonup Historical Society'' Pioneer Museum. The barracks is one of the oldest buildings in Western Australia. The first farms in Kojonup were set up by soldiers with settlement grants. The appointment in 1865 of a mounted police constable marked the phasing out of the military presence at Kojonup. By the late 1860s the military had left and the barracks became a focus for community gatherings, much as it is today. The town's first police station was built in 1869 and the first hotel licence was granted in 1868. In early 1898 the population of the town was 67, 32 men and 35 women. The Katanning-Kojonup railway line, part of the Donnybrook–Katanning railway, was officially opened on 10 April 1907. In 1926 the Kojonup Memorial Hall was built at a cost of £5,000; it was officially opened by Major General Sir

Talbot Hobbs Lieutenant General Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs, (24 August 1864 – 21 April 1938) was an Australian architect and First World War general. Early life Hobbs was born in London, the son of Joseph and his wife Frances Ann Hobbs (née Wilson). E ...

. Kojonup has been the home to many important

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

players, including several players of

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

descent.

Economy

The early economy of the town was initially dependent on cutting and transporting

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...

and kangaroo hunting but by the mid-19th century the wool industry began to boom and by 1906 the shire had 10,500

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

. By 1989 the shire had seen over 1 million sheep being shorn. To celebrate the importance of the wool industry the town built a one and a half scale model of a

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

wagon; the project was officially opened on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

in 2001. The surrounding areas produce

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

and other

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

crops including organic, conventional and

genetically modified Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including th ...

.Paull, John (2015
The threat of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to organic agriculture: A case study update
Agriculture & Food, 3: 56-63. The Kojonup region has hosted some of Australia's earliest

biodynamic Biodynamics may refer to: * Biodynamic agriculture, a method of farming based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner ** The Biodynamic Association, a United States–based company that promotes the Biodynamic agriculture system ** Biodynamic wine B ...

and

organic agriculture Organic farming, also known as organic agriculture or ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2024 on organic production and labelling of ...

endeavours. The Marsh v Baxter case has put Kojonup at the epicentre of the battle in Australia of organic versus genetically modified agriculture. The town is a receival site for

Cooperative Bulk Handling The CBH Group (commonly known as CBH, an acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled ...

Recreation

Sporting facilities include a

golf club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety o ...

with 18 holes, a tennis club, a

skate park A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, quarter pipe ...

, a outdoor

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

, football oval, netball courts, and hockey ovals. Other attractions are The Kodja Place, Kojonup Youth Centre and rose maze. Town elder, Billy Riley, gives tours at The Kodja Place, recognising the Noongar history of Kojonup. The name of the Jack Cox courtyard commemorates the life of the first Noongar guide at Kodja Place.

Notable people

Peter Bell Peter Bell may refer to: People * Peter Hansborough Bell (1810–1898), governor of Texas, U.S. representative * Peter Bell (footballer, born 1898) (1898–1965), English footballer * Peter Bell (footballer, born 1976), Australian rules footballe ...

, Australian rules football player, member of the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the 1996 AFL season, centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media pe ...

Stephen Michael Stephen Albert Michael (born 15 March 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer. More recently, Stephen is the patron of the Stephen Michael Foundation, supporting disengaged, at-risk and disadvantaged youth across Western Australia. Playi ...

, Australian rules football player, member of the

Robert Moir Robert David Moir (2 April 1961 – 20 December 2019) was an Australian-born medical research scientist who theorized that the over-accumulation of beta-amyloid, which had formed to protect the brain against microbes, aided the development ...

, medical scientist *Brigadier Arnold William Potts DSO,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, MC, MID), Australian grazier who served in both World Wars.

Climate

References

External links

Shire of Kojonup
{{authority control Towns in Western Australia Shire of Kojonup Grain receival points of Western Australia