A small town with a big conservation story
Ongerup is a small farming-based community in the Shire of Gnowangerup, located in Western Australia’s Great Southern region.
Place of the male kangaroo
The name Ongerup means “Place of the Male Kangaroo” in the Noongar language, with “yonger” meaning kangaroo and “up” meaning place of.
The Shire of Gnowangerup means “Place of the Malleefowl”, with “gnow” meaning Malleefowl.
The Shire includes the towns of Gnowangerup, Ongerup and Borden, as well as the National Heritage-listed Stirling Range National Park.
Regional highlights
Ongerup sits within a rich agricultural, cultural and natural landscape, surrounded by farmland, native bushland and the remarkable biodiversity of the Great Southern.
The birthplace of Malleefowl conservation
Ongerup was the birthplace of the Malleefowl Preservation Group, which became a major driver of Malleefowl conservation in Western Australia.
Founded in 1992, the Malleefowl Preservation Group implemented many conservation initiatives and helped raise awareness of the endangered Malleefowl and its habitat.
Over 21 productive years, the group developed from a computer in a spare room into a nationally incorporated organisation with more than 650 members.
Many projects initiated by the group are still going strong today, though they are now managed by different organisations.
Malleefowl Preservation Group
From humble beginnings to national recognition, the group helped place Ongerup at the centre of Malleefowl conservation efforts in Western Australia.
Sandalwood cutters first settled in the wider district, setting up camp in the Borden area.
The township of Ongerup was officially gazetted.
Settlement and land clearing increased following the opening of the railway.
Ongerup celebrated its centenary on 13 and 14 October.
Ongerup’s history
The area now known as the Shire of Gnowangerup was first settled by sandalwood cutters in the 1840s. The township of Ongerup was gazetted in 1912, and settlement increased after the railway opened in 1913.
The Great War and years of drought brought a halt to government assistance, and many farms were abandoned. The railway line was eventually closed in 1957.