Tambellup

Tambellup is located an hour and a half drive north of Albany, in the southwest of Western Australia. It is also known as the 'town of friendship' because of the locals' community pride. The town was settled by a European named Joseph Norrish in 1872 when he used the area to begin a sandalwood industry. It was not until the Great Southern Railway was built in 1889 that a large number of settlers were attracted to the site. The town was officially established in 1899. The first thing you should do when you reach Tambellup is pull into the old petrol station on Garrity Street (Great Southern Highway). This quaint old petrol station is situated right on the highway, where the attendants can help you out with your motoring needs. The Corner Shop Museum has recently been re-opened in the Old Station Master's House and gives visitors a glimpse into the pioneering days of the district. The various rooms present thematically, many pieces of early Tambellup history. The Portrait Room, The Scullery, The Kitchen Hearth and the Reading Room tell the stories of Tambellup. The Tambellup Heritage Trail is a series of three inter-connecting trails that starts in the centre of town and takes in much of the history of the early settlement. Because much of the Noongar history of the area is centred on the Gordon River, the trail continues south of the town to the site of the former Aboriginal Reserve. To the north of the Town Loop, the trail runs upstream of the main bridge, across the river, where much of the social history of the European settler community occurred. The town's main income today is generated by serving the surrounding sheep and wheat farms.