SMALL TOWNS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA (2)

BALINGUP is a town Phil and I have travelled through several times on our trips in our south-west and I believe a couple of times we have stopped for a rest and a cuppa.

It is 241 kilometres (150 miles) south of Perth.  It takes its name from Balingup Pool, situated on the Balingup Brook which flows through the town.   The name was first recorded by a surveyor in 1850, and is said to be derived from the name of the Noongar warrior Balingan.

It is situated on the South-West Highway and originally had a station on the railway line, opened in 1898, the same year the town was gazetted.

In the 20th century the Balingup area was known for fruit and vegetable growing but more recently for beef cattle and dairy framing.   There are two long-established religious communities.

Balingup hosts annual rural festivities, primarily the Small Farm Dairy Day (late April) and the Medieval Carnivale (August).

Nearby can be found mushroom varieties familiar to both drug users and law enforcement agencies.

Balingup is one of the few towns through which the Bibbulmun Track passes.  It is also the home of the local artist Sally Darling, who specialises in portraits and Japanese paintings.  The historic Southamptom homestead is nearby which was reduced to ruins when a bushfire swept through the area in 2013.

You can view the little town at a distance from the nearby hills or rent a cottage for a peaceful holiday.

or pay a visit to the beautiful lavender farm.

The beautiful Blackwood River flows nearby.