Dwellingup

Dwellingup is a town in Western Australia, located in a timber and fruit growing area in the Darling Range east-south-east of Pinjarra. At the 2011 census, Dwellingup had a population of 383. Townsite lots were surveyed at this place by Surveyor W.F. Rudall in 1909 after the Lands Department became aware that the site was planned as the terminus of the “Pinjarra-Marrinup Railway”. Names suggested for the place by Rudall were “Dwellingerup” or “Marrinup”, after nearby brooks, or “McLarty” after a local MLA who had been very active concerning the railway. Surveyor General H.F. Johnston chose “Dwellingupp” after being misinformed regarding the spelling of Dwellingerup Brook. Ignoring a suggestion from the Under Secretary to amend the name to “Dwellingdown”, the Minister for Lands approved the name as “Dwellingup” in December 1909. Eventually, the spelling “Dwellingupp” was chosen by order of the Under Secretary for Lands, and the townsite was gazetted as Dwellingupp in February 1910. The spelling was amended to Dwellingup in 1915. Dwellingup is an Aboriginal name said to mean “place of nearby water” or “on and by the whole place there is fog, dew and mist”  Dwellingup is near the largest bauxite mine in the world at Huntly which supplies ore to the Pinjarra and Kwinanaaluminium refineries. Dwellingup is also home to Nanga Bush Camp, a popular camp for senior primary schools and high schools. Some of the activities at Nanga Bush Camp include water rafting, night watching, a swimming area and bush tracks. Another major attraction in the area is the Hotham Valley Railway. A Dwellingup Forest Ranger Tour operates between May and October and is steam hauled between Pinjarra and Dwellingup.