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'Ongerup' is a town located 410 km south east of Perth and 54 km east of Gnowangerup in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.

Contents

History

Ongerup Today

Economy

Attractions

References

History

The name Ongerup means ''Place of the male kangaroo'' in the local Noongar language.
The area around Ongerup was first explored by Surveyor General John Septimus Roe who passed through in 1848 and in the 1870s the Moir family moved to the area and began grazing sheep along the Warperup Creek. In 1910 the land was surveyed into blocks priced at 10 shillings per acre before the townsite was gazetted in 1912. A railway line from Tambellup to Ongerup was opened in 1913 to serve the growing agriculture industry and closed in 1957. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, kangaroo hunters and mallee bark strippers came to the area. The bark was sent to Germany for use in tanning.^[1][2]

Ongerup Today

The 2006 census shows a population of 119 people living in Ongerup. The town is home to a pub, general store, public hall (opened 1953), museum (opened 1978),^[3] tyre service, primary school, kindergarten, telecentre,^[4] caravan park, police station, ambulance service, 18 hole golf course, sports oval and pavilion and roadhouse.
The closure of the police station was announced in July 2007 although this has yet to be executed.^[5]
A war memorial commemorates the 63 Ongerup lives lost in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.^[6]
At the sports oval Australian Rules Football, Hockey and Netball are played in winter and Cricket, Tennis and Basketball are played in summer.

Economy

The town exists to service the local agricultural community. Surrounding farms mainly produce wheat, barley, canola and wool, while lesser quantities of lupins, oats, alfalfa and other crops are also grown. Beef cattle, fat lambs, and pigs are sideline industries.
Grain silos belonging to Cooperative Bulk Handling are located at Ongerup and during harvest time these silos store grain from surrounding farms before it is transported to Albany by road for export.

Attractions

The town is also home to the Malleefowl Preservation Group and in 2007 the Yongergnow Australian Malleefowl Centre was opened.^[7]
The Ongerup Wildflower Show is held in September and October each year. The Ongerup district is known to be home to over 1,300 species of wildflowers.^[8]
Ongerup is a stop on the Transwa bus service between Perth and Esperance.^[9]

References

1. Our Towns and History Shire of Gnowangerup
2. Travel - Ongerup Fairfax Digital
3. Ongerup & Needilup District Museum Collections Australia Network
4. Complete List of Telecentre Details Western Australian Telecentre Network
5. Councils join forces to fight police station closures
6. Ongerup Roll of Honour Department of Premier and Cabinet (WA)
7. The Malleefowl Preservation Group

★ Yongergnow Australian Malleefowl Centre
8. Wildflower displays in rural Western Australia The Wildflower Society of Western Australia (Inc.)
9. GE1 timetable (1 November 2006). Retrieved on 17 July 2007.

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