| Mayanup Western Australia | |
|---|---|
  Mayanup | |
| Coordinates | 33°55′59″S116°27′00″E / 33.933°S 116.45°E Coordinates: 33°55′59″S116°27′00″E / 33.933°S 116.45°E |
| Population | 323 (2006 census) [1] |
| Established | 1907 |
| Postcode(s) | 6244 |
| Elevation | 206 m (676 ft) |
| Location |
|
| LGA(s) | Shire of Boyup Brook |
| State electorate(s) | Blackwood-Stirling |
| Federal Division(s) | O'Connor |
Mayanup is a small town in the South West region of Western Australia. It is between Boyup Brook and Kojonup. At the 2006 census, Mayanup had a population of 323. [1]
The South West region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is so named because it is located in the south-west corner of Western Australia. The South West region has an area of 23,970 km², and a population of about 170,000 people, which is predicted to rise to 217,000 people by 2023.
Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, and the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia's largest state, with a total land area of 2,529,875 square kilometres, and the second-largest country subdivision in the world, surpassed only by Russia's Sakha Republic. The state has about 2.6 million inhabitants – around 11 percent of the national total – of whom the vast majority live in the south-west corner, 79 per cent of the population living in the Perth area, leaving the remainder of the state sparsely populated.
Boyup Brook is a town in the south-west of Western Australia, 269 kilometres (167 mi) south-southeast of Perth and 31 kilometres (19 mi) northeast of Bridgetown.
The area was opened for selection in the early 1900s and in 1904 the lands guide in the area asked the Lands Department to put space aside for a townsite at Scotts Brook. Land was set aside in 1905 even though the District Surveyor felt that there would insufficient demand. The area was initially known as Scott's Brook and also as Gnowergerup, the Aboriginal name of a nearby brook. Lots were surveyed in 1906 and the Upper Blackwood suggested the name of Mayanup. The town was gazetted in 1907. [2]
Selection referred to "free selection before survey" of crown land in some Australian colonies under land legislation introduced in the 1860s. These acts were intended to encourage closer settlement, based on intensive agriculture, such as wheat-growing, rather than extensive agriculture, such as wool production. Selectors often came into conflict with squatters, who already occupied the land and often managed to circumvent the law.
