Walpole is a town in the
south-western 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 ...
, located approximately south southeast 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 ...
, and west of
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
.
Location and description
Walpole lies very close to the northern point of the
Walpole Inlet, from which it takes its name.
The inlet in turn is named for the
Walpole River, discovered in 1831 by Captain
Thomas Bannister, and named by
Governor Stirling for Captain W. Walpole, with whom he had served aboard
HMS Warspite in 1808.
The first European
settler
A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...
s to arrive in the area were Pierre Bellanger and his family in 1909. They travelled aboard the ''Grace Darling'' from
Albany to take up of land.
Land in the Walpole area was reserved for a national park in 1910, and the area subsequently became a popular holiday destination. Major development began to occur in the 1930s as part of the land settlement scheme. The railway reached
Nornalup in 1929, and the Walpole town site was gazetted in 1933.
The local electricity grid is remote and fragile, and a 1.5 MW / 30 MWh (15 hours)
pumped-storage hydroelectricity
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing (electrical power), load balancing.
A PSH system stores energy i ...
facility is being built to stabilize power for Walpole.
Name
Walpole was always the preferred name, but it was believed this was already in use in
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
. So the newly gazetted township was officially named Nornalup, but this caused confusion with the railway terminus east. Eventually the Post Office advised that there was no Walpole in Tasmania, and in 1934 the town reverted to its original name of Walpole.
Walpole is one of the few towns through which the
Bibbulmun Track
The Bibbulmun Track is a long-distance walk trail in Western Australia. It runs from Kalamunda in the east of Perth to Albany, and is long.
It is managed by government agencies, and has a foundation.
It traverses the Darling Range and has i ...
passes.
The area is famous for the giant
tingle and
karri
''Eucalyptus diversicolor'', commonly known as karri, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is Endemism, endemic to the Southwest Australia, south-west of Western Australia. It is a tall tree with smooth light grey to cre ...
trees of
old growth forest
An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...
. Another attraction is the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk in the
Walpole-Nornalup National Park.
See also
*
List of towns in Western Australia
References
{{authority control
Shire of Manjimup
Coastal towns in Western Australia