Bridgetown is a town in the South West region of Western Australia, approximately south of Perth on the Blackwood River at the intersection of South Western Highway with Brockman Highway to Nannup and Augusta. History The area was originally known as Geegelup, which was believed to mean "place of gilgies" in the Noongar language, referring to the fresh water lobster that inhabits the area. However recent research suggests the actual meaning of Geegelup may be "place of spears". In 1852, A.C. Gregory made the original survey of the Geegelup area and in 1857, Edward Godfrey Hester (now honoured in nearby Hester) and John Blechynden settled there. In 1861, convicts built the road from Donnybrook into the area. In 1864 the Geegelup Post Office was established in a building on Blechynden's property. A basic police station that had existed since c1862 was substantially reconstructed by former convict, Joseph Smith on the south bank of the Blackwood River in mid 1867. Mounted Constable Abraham W. Moulton was the first permanently appointed policeman. The townsite was surveyed in April 1868 by Thomas Carey, who proposed the name Bridgetown for two reasons – "as it is at a bridge and the Bridgetown was the first ship to put in at Bunbury for the wool from these districts", and was approved and gazetted on 9 June 1868. From then until about 1885, many buildings including the primary school (1870), post office, new police station (1880) and two hotels were constructed, many of which are still standing today. In 1885, the Bridgetown Agricultural Society was formed and local farmers produced sheep, cattle, dairy products, timber, fruit and nuts. The building boom in Western Australia during the gold boom of the 1890s saw an increased demand for sawn timber, and numerous mills opened in the Bridgetown area. The coming of the railway in 1898 enabled quick access to markets for the many orchardists and helped establish the beginning of a tourist industry. Until the 1980s, the land surrounding Bridgetown was almost exclusively used for broadacre agriculture and improved pasture. From the late 1970s, the area became increasingly attractive to tourists as a tranquil and picturesque country town an accessible distance from Perth. Some people, attracted by the area's aesthetic qualities and rural lifestyle moved to the town permanently, which resulted in a strong demand for residential and hobby farm allotments, at a time when there was a