Walpole, Western Australia
| Walpole Western Australia | |||||||||||||||
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  Walpole | |||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 34°59′S116°42′E/ 34.98°S 116.7°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 336 (UCL2021)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1933 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6398 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 56.3 km2(21.7 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Manjimup | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Warren-Blackwood | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | O'Connor | ||||||||||||||
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Walpoleis a town in thesouth-westernregion ofWestern Australia,located approximately 430 km (270 mi) south southeast ofPerth,and 66 km (41 mi) west ofDenmark.
Location and description
[edit]Walpole lies very close to the northern point of the 100 ha (250-acre)Walpole Inlet,from which it takes its name.
The inlet in turn is named for theWalpole River,discovered in 1831 by CaptainThomas Bannister,and named byGovernor Stirlingfor Captain W. Walpole, with whom he had served aboardHMS Warspitein 1808.[2]
The first Europeansettlersto arrive in the area were Pierre Bellanger and his family in 1909. They travelled aboard theGrace DarlingfromAlbanyto take up 4,000 acres (16 km2) of land.[3]
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 reachedNornalupin 1929, and the Walpole town site was gazetted in 1933.The local electricity gridis remote and fragile, and a 1.5 MW / 30 MWh (15 hours)pumped-storage hydroelectricityfacility is being built to stabilize power for Walpole.[4]
Name
[edit]Walpole was always the preferred name, but it was believed this was already in use inTasmania.So the newly gazetted township was officially named Nornalup, but this caused confusion with the railway terminus 13 km (8 mi) 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 theBibbulmun Trackpasses.
The area is famous for the gianttingleandkarritrees ofold growth forest.Another attraction is the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk in theWalpole-Nornalup National Park.
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^Australian Bureau of Statistics(28 June 2022)."Walpole (urban centre and locality)".Australian Census 2021.
- ^ "History of country town names – W".Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived fromthe originalon 14 March 2022.Retrieved2 October2008.
- ^"Albany - Australia's South West".2008.Retrieved11 October2008.
- ^"Work starts on 30MWh pumped hydro plant in Western Australia for H2 2023 completion".Energy Storage News.21 April 2022.
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