Manjimup 5.39

Manjimup is a town in Western Australia, 307km south of the state capital, Perth. The town of Manjimup is a regional centre for the largest shire in the South West region of Western Australia. At the 2011 census, Manjimup had a population of 4,164.HistoryManjimup was named the Noongar Aboriginal words "Manjin" (a broad-leafed edible reed) and "up" (meeting place, or place of). Manjimup was first settled by timber cutter Thomas Muir, who took up land near the present town site in 1856. It was declared a town in 1910, and a railway from Perth was completed in 1911.The population expanded when Manjimup became part of the post-World War I Group Settlement Scheme. The Group Settlement Scheme was largely unsuccessful because the land was difficult to clear and many of the new settlers were not experienced farmers. The settlers who stayed became dairy farmers, which ended during the 1930s Great Depression when the price of butterfat collapsed.