Jalbarragup Road was a major transport route from the Nannup area facilitating the movement of logs and other timber products to the port at Busselton. Timber was a important industry in the region and a major employer.

Until a wooden bridge was built in 1900 the only way across the river was a summer ford.

The bridge was closed to traffic in 1988. It was registered with the National Trust as one of the last remaining examples of a wooden bridge with hewn timber bracing and walling. It was demolished in 2010.

After the tragic deaths of two children swept away in a 4WD vehicle when their father attempted to drive across the flood swollen river, a new concrete bridge was built in 2011.

The name Jalbarragup is an aboriginal word claimed to mean ‘place of the Jalba’ – an edible plant harvested in late winter/early spring. The Jalba plant grows in clumps, has a large single leaf and a green flower that indicates readiness for harvesting.

 

© Kim Epton 2019
Feel free to use any part of this document but please do the right thing and give attribution. It will enhance the SEO of your website/blog and this website.
210 words, one photograph.
See Terms of Use