The first European in the area was Lieutenant Henry William Bunbury, who in December 1836 explored the route from Pinjarra to Busselton and thought it to be ideal for farming.

[2] In 1845 Dublin solicitor James Bessonnet took up Location 54 in the Wellington District, consisting of 385 acres through which the Preston River flowed and the new road from Bunbury to the Blackwood had just been completed.

Location 54 proved to be "too far from anywhere to be workable and eventually the bush took it back".

[5] A railway line extension between Boyanup and Bridgetown opened on 1 November 1898.

[7] The Yoganup North Mine site, located 5.1 kilometres (3 mi) north-west of the town and closed in 1997, is owned by Iluka Resources and where mineral sands were mined and separated.