Nannup is a town in the South West region of Western Australia, approximately south of Perth on the Blackwood River at the crossroads of Vasse Highway and Brockman Highway; the highways link Nannup to most of the lower South West's regional centres. At the 2011 census, Nannup had a population of 587. The town is the seat of the Shire of Nannup. History Nannup's name is of Noongar origin, meaning either "stopping place" or "place of parrots", and was first recorded by surveyors in the 1860s. The area was at one point known as "Lower Blackwood", and the first European settler to explore it was Thomas Turner in 1834. In 1866, a bridge was built over the river and a police station was established. A townsite was set aside in 1885, surveyed in 1889 and gazetted on 9 January 1890. In 1906, a primary school and shire office were built. In 1909, the Nannup Branch Railway (no longer in operation) was extended from Jarrahwood, linking to the Bunbury-Busselton railway. Menaced by bushfires in 1928, settlers had to battle hard against the flames to save their properties. More bushfires, fanned by strong winds, swept across the region in 1935 burning out over and destroying one house and a barn. More bushfires were burning in the district over the course of several days in 1937, resulting in the stables and the sheds at the local race course being burned down, the destruction of large amounts of feed for stock, and the loss of telephone lines. The town was flooded in 1945 when the Blackwood River rose to its highest flood level recorded to that date. Three families were left homeless and others had to be evacuated from the floodwaters. At its highest level the river was running over the Russell Street bridge and the town's electricity supply failed from lines being damaged, leaving the town in darkness. The river flooded again in 1946 and 1947, closing roads but not causing any significant damage to the town. In 1949 the town received of rain in a period of seven hours, causing flooding and one bridge connecting the town to Busselton to be swept away. Bushfires once again struck in 1950 with several large fires burning only a few miles from town. The outbreak destroyed nearly of jarrah and karri forest. The fires were brought under control reasonably quickly; they were believed to have