Our Indigenous Heritage

It is understood that the original First Nation people of this district were the Noongar / Murrum people dating back over 30,000 years. The Murrum were the long-time custodians of the land who held a special bond with the land and yet leave little evidence of their presence. Little is known as to what happened to the Murrum people. They not only used the land as a source of food, but they managed the land to ensure the continuation of their food resources thereby working the land on a sustainable yield basis long before the term was coined. Today there are three Noongar language groups being the Bibbulmun, Minang and Kaniyang people ; who are respectfully acknowledged as the Traditional Custodians of the land spanned by the Shire of Manjimup.

The Shire gains its name Manjimup from the indigenous Manjin reed (called a Yanjet), whose edible roots were highly valued, and from up meaning place. Originally, Manjimupp was spelt with a double p however this was later dropped to the singular we have today.

Our Aboriginal Heritage, for the purpose of negotiating Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs), the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (SWALSC) has identified two different Noongar regions in which the Shire of Manjimup sits. The ‘South West Boojarah’ region spans the Shire’s west and includes the towns of Manjimup, Pemberton and Northcliffe. The east of the Shire, including parts of Northcliffe, Shannon and Walpole, sits with in the ‘Wagyl Kaip Southern Noongar’ region. A number of significant sites have been identified within both of these regions.