[5] About 1839, John Hassell brought sheep and cattle from the eastern states of Australia via Albany, and acquired a lease of land along what would later become Scotts Brook, south of the current town site.

This lease was granted to William Scott[Note 1] and his wife Mary (née Keane),[12][13][14][15] who arrived in 1854, having travelled from Albany.

[16] They named the property Norlup,[17] and in about 1872 built a new house that remains to this day[18] (albeit with more recent extensions and renovations), and is now listed on the Heritage Council of Western Australia's register.

[3] In 1896 land was set aside for a future town[4] and the Upper Blackwood Road Board district (which became the Shire of Boyup Brook in 1961) was created as a separate local government area.

Lee Steere, by now the Speaker of the Assembly and member for Nelson, which included the area, strongly supported the use of the name over that of "Throssell", which had been advocated by some at the time.

[31] The town hosts the Boyup Brook Country Music Festival, an annual event, held in February each year.

In summer, cricket, tennis, swimming, basketball and lawn bowls are prominent, while in winter, Australian rules football, field hockey, netball and golf are played.