Kojonup

History

The Noongar people lived in the area before European colonisation, as descendants of the Kaneang language group and their neighbours, such as the Koreng, Pinjareb, and Menang. Historically the Noongar people drank from the local freshwater spring and hunted game with the traditional Noongar "kodj" or "kodja", or stone axe. Both Kojonup and The Kodja Place are named after the historically significant implement. The first European in the area was surveyor Alfred Hillman, who arrived in 1837 and had been guided to a freshwater spring by the Noongar people. The site was an important staging point on the road to Albany, and in 1837, a military post was established there to protect travellers and the mail. Between 1837 and 1845, Redcoat settlers inflicted violence on the Noongar people who lived in the area. By 1845, this outpost had grown to support a military barracks, built on the site of the freshwater spring. Today, the barracks still stand on their original site and house the Kojonup Historical Society Pioneer Museum. The barracks are one of the oldest buildings in Western Australia. The first farms in Kojonup were set up by soldiers with settlement grants. The appointment in 1865 of a mounted police constable marked the phasing out of the military presence at Kojonup. By the late 1860s, the military had left, and the barracks became a focus of community gatherings, much as they are today. The town's first police station was built in 1869, and the first hotel licence was granted in 1868. In early 1898 the population of the town was 67, 32 men and 35 women. The Katanning-Kojonup railway line, part of the Donnybrook–Katanning railway, was officially opened on 10 April 1907. In 1926, the Kojonup Memorial Hall was built for £5,000; it was officially opened by Major…