Map - Nannup, Western Australia (Nannup)

Nannup (Nannup)
Nannup is a town in the South West region of Western Australia, approximately 280 km south of Perth on the Blackwood River at the crossroads of Vasse Highway and Brockman Highway; the highways link Nannup to most of the lower South West's regional centres. At the 2011 census, Nannup had a population of 587.

The town is the seat of the Shire of Nannup.

Nannup's name is of Noongar origin, meaning either "stopping place" or "place of parrots", and was first recorded by surveyors in the 1860s. The area was at one point known as "Lower Blackwood", and the first European settler to explore it was Thomas Turner in 1834. In 1866, a bridge was built over the river and a police station was established. A townsite was set aside in 1885, surveyed in 1889 and gazetted on 9 January 1890. In 1906, a primary school and shire office were built.

In 1909, the Nannup Branch Railway (no longer in operation) was extended from Jarrahwood, linking to the Bunbury-Busselton railway.

Menaced by bushfires in 1928, settlers had to battle hard against the flames to save their properties. More bushfires, fanned by strong winds, swept across the region in 1935 burning out over 100 ha and destroying one house and a barn. More bushfires were burning in the district over the course of several days in 1937, resulting in the stables and the sheds at the local race course being burned down, the destruction of large amounts of feed for stock, and the loss of telephone lines.

The town was flooded in 1945 when the Blackwood River rose to its highest flood level recorded to that date. Three families were left homeless and others had to be evacuated from the floodwaters. At its highest level the river was running 3.5 ft over the Russell Street bridge and the town's electricity supply failed from lines being damaged, leaving the town in darkness. The river flooded again in 1946 and 1947, closing roads but not causing any significant damage to the town.

In 1949 the town received 6.86 in of rain in a period of seven hours, causing flooding and one bridge connecting the town to Busselton to be swept away.

Bushfires once again struck in 1950 with several large fires burning only a few miles from town. The outbreak destroyed nearly 30000 acre of jarrah and karri forest. The fires were brought under control reasonably quickly; they were believed to have been deliberately lit.

The Dry Brook bridge just outside town on the Nannup-Balingup collapsed as a result of flood damage from the previous years. Although the bridge had been repaired after being damaged in smaller floods of 1950, it was undercut again and caved in without causing any injuries.

In 1982 after the remnants of a tropical cyclone passed through the south west, the town and surrounding areas were inundated by heavy rains. The Blackwood rose 11.6 m, submerging over 50 houses. 
Map - Nannup (Nannup)
Country - Australia
Flag of Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of 7617930 km2, Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, and mountain ranges in the south-east.

The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language  
ISO Currency Symbol Significant figures
AUD Australian dollar $ 2
ISO Language
EN English language
Neighbourhood - Country  
Administrative Subdivision
City, Village,...