The Northcliffe Branch, also known as the Northcliffe Section or Picton to Northcliffe Line, is the railway route between Picton and Northcliffe in Western Australia. History The line was the first one in the Bunbury area, officially opening as the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) Bunbury-Boyanup Railway on 12 March 1891. Keane had commenced construction in 1887 and the line was largely complete by late 1888, but financial difficulties delayed the opening for several years. Construction continued, with the official opening of the Byfield & Risely-constructed Boyanup-Donnybrook section on 16 November 1893. A few months prior, the South Western Railway opened between Pinjarra and Bunbury, absorbing the Bunbury-Picton section of the Boyanup line. A year later, on 21 November 1894, the first section of the Flinders Bay Branch opened between Boyanup and Busselton, coinciding with a reconfiguration of Boyanup Station to a transfer-friendly island platform arrangement. The Donnybrook to Bridgetown section of the line was constructed by Hedges and officially opened on 1 November 1898. Bridgetown remained the terminus for a number of years, however the first section of the Donnybrook to Katanning Branch, to Noggerup, was built by the Public Works Department and opened on 26 March 1908. The Northcliffe line was next extended to Jardee (originally called Jarnadup), with the Public Works Department-built section opening on 14 June 1911. The State Saw Mills were created in 1913 by the Scaddan Government to support the State Government's desire to supply sleepers for the Trans-Australian Railway project. In order to service this sleeper supply contract, the State Saw Mills opened two mills south of Jardee, in Big Brook (now called Pemberton). The line from Jardee to Pemberton was constructed by the Public Works Department and opened as a State Saw Mills tramway on 20 January 1914. The Group Settlement Scheme greatly impacted the development of the region, with the first settlers arriving near Manjimup in 1921. After lobbying from settlers, the line from Jarnadup to Pemberton was upgraded with heavier rails and station buildings constructed, with ownership transferring to WAGR line on 11 October 1926. While pre-construction and surveys of the line to serve the settlers further south in Northcliffe commenced in 1924, significant works did not commence until 1929. The Public Works Department built the line at significant cost to navigate the terrain, making it the most expensive railway per mile in the state when it officially opened on