Manjimup, Western Australia

Manjimup is a town in Western Australia, 300 kilometers south of Perth. It lies on the South Western Highway midway between Bunbury and Denmark. The town of Manjimup is the center of the Shires same name, the largest in the southwest of Western Australia. At the census in 2006 4239 people lived in the city.

History

Manjimup is according to the words of the Noongar Aboriginal Manjin ( edible -leaved cattail ) and up ( place of ). The first settlers in Manjimup was the woodcutter Thomas Muir, who in 1856 settled in this area. Some houses of these early settlers still stand today, such as the Giblett 's House of 1870 and the Dingup Church from the year 1896. 1910, the small town was declared a city and the railway from Perth was completed in 1911.

The population continued to increase, as has been Manjimup after the First World War, part of the Group Settlement Scheme. Here soldiers and immigrants should find a new home. However, the project became a failure, since the cultivation of the land was very difficult because of the huge trees and the impenetrable undergrowth for inexperienced farmers. Definitively the project failed, as in the 1930s during the Great Depression, the prices of dairy products collapsed.

Economy

Industry

Main industry of this region is still the timber industry, followed by agricultural production of vegetables and fruits, wool and wine. Until the 1960s, also tobacco was grown and processed.

Manjumup is the leading Australian producer of black Perigord truffle. The cultivation began in 1997 when 16,000 hazelnut trees whose roots were inoculated with truffle spores, were planted. In 2006, then already 125 kg, a year later, even 400 kg are harvested.

Since the beginning of the 21st century is examined with the participation of the Department of Agriculture and Food, whether the cultivation of green tea in this area is possible. Manjimup is located at the same distance to the equator as the classic tea plantations in the northern hemisphere and has the same rainfall, average temperature and soil texture. Experiments with ten different teas are intended to show what variety is best suited.

Tourism

Tourist attractions include the 51 -meter high fire lookout Diamond Tree, the " Four Aces " - four 75 -meter-high, 400-year- old Karribäume (Eucalyptus diversicolor ), the "One Tree Bridge" - a bridge consisting of a single Karribaum and the " Manjimup timber Park ", a museum about the history of the city and the timber industry.

Climate

Manjimup has a mild Mediterranean climate with cold, damp winters and hot dry summers (Category Csb according to Köppen and Geiger ).