Nannup, Western Australia 4.79

Nannup is a town and shire in the South West region of Western Australia, approximately 280km south of Perth on the Blackwood River at the crossroads of Vasse Highway and Brockman Highway, linking Nannup to most of the Lower South West's regional centres. At the 2011 census, Nannup had a population of 501.HistoryNannup's name is of Noongar Aboriginal origin, meaning either "stopping place" or "place of parrots", and was first recorded by surveyors in the 1860s. The area was initially known as "Lower Blackwood", and was first explored by 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 in order to save their properties. More bushfires, fanned by strong winds, swept across the region in 1935 burning out over 100ha 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 to be burned down, the destruction of large amounts of feed for stock and the loss of telephone lines.