Dardanup, Western Australia

This article is about a town. For the local government area, see Shire of Dardanup.

Dardanup
Western Australia
Our Lady of Lourdes School
Dardanup is located in Western Australia
Dardanup
Dardanup
Map
Coordinates33°24′S 115°45′E / 33.400°S 115.750°E / -33.400; 115.750
Population588 (SAL 2021)[1]
Established1923
Postcode(s)6236
Elevation30 m (98 ft)
Area7 km2 (2.7 sq mi)
Location
  • 187 km (116 mi) south of Perth
  • 10 km (6 mi) north of Boyanup
  • 13 km (8 mi) south east of Bunbury
LGA(s)Shire of Dardanup
State electorate(s)Collie-Preston
Federal division(s)Forrest
Localities around Dardanup:
Dardanup West Paradise Henty
Dardanup West Dardanup Ferguson
Crooked Brook Crooked Brook Crooked Brook

Dardanup is a small town in the South West region of Western Australia. The town is in the fertile Ferguson valley and is near the Ferguson River.

The first European settlement in the area was in 1852 by Thomas Little, who named his property Dardanup Park. The word "Dardanup" is believed to be a variation of the Aboriginal Australian word Dudingup, the meaning of which is unknown.[2]

Construction of the local agricultural hall commenced in 1893 by J. and H. Gibbs, who had submitted the lowest tender.[3] The hall, constructed of jarrah and weatherboard, was opened in 1894 by H. W. Venn.[4]

The population of the area was 118 (81 males and 37 females) in 1898.[5]

Little later gave land to the Catholic Church and a community was soon established in the locale. The government acquired land in the area in the 1920s and the townsite was gazetted in 1923.[2]

James Mitchell was born to a Dardanup farming family in 1866. He was premier of Western Australia 1919–24 and again 1930–33. He was appointed acting governor and then governor of Western Australia, 1933–51, the only person to be both premier and governor of Western Australia.[6]

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Dardanup (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ a b "History of country town names – D". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
  3. ^ "General News". The Daily News. Perth, Western Australia: National Library of Australia. 10 November 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Opening of the Dardanup Agricultural Hall". Bunbury Herald. Western Australia: National Library of Australia. 21 March 1894. p. 3. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Population of Western Australia". Western Mail. Perth, Western Australia: National Library of Australia. 22 April 1898. p. 23. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  6. ^ Bolton, Geoffrey (1986). "Mitchell, Sir James (1866–1951)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.