DONNYBROOK, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

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A small community supporting apple growing, viticulture and sandstone quarrying.
Location: 210 km south east of Perth.
Origin of name: taken from the name of the property of the first white settler in the area, George Nash, who established his farm in 1842. Nash and Lieut. Preston both hailed from Donnybrook, a suburb of Dublin in Ireland. The eastern portion of the town was originally known by the area's Aboriginal name, Mininup.
Brief history: George Nash, the first white settler, established a farm to breed horses and cattle, but it was soon abandoned. Gold was discovered in 1897 but it petered out after only three years. As most of the prospectors were Irish, the settlement became known as Irishtown. In 1900, the first Granny Smith apple tree was planted from a seedling purchased from Maria "Granny" Smith herself at a stall at the Castle Hill Agricultural and Horticultural Show in Sydney. The apple orchard industry grew after World War I.
Natural features: Curiosity Swamp; Kirup Falls; virgin Jarrah forest.
Built features: Rotary Lookout; Glen Mervyn Dam; Museum; Bonsai & Willow Gardens; The Big Apple; Old Goldfields Orchard & Cider Factory; villages of Boyanup, Lowden and Argyle; town of Balingup.
Heritage features: Bedford's Mill; Anchor Inn (1845).