In 1835 Stephen Henty and Thomas Peel were the first Europeans to visit the area, being guided through the reaches of the Harvey River by local Aboriginal people.

The first settler, Joseph Logue, came to the area in 1852 with his extended family in search of good farming land, acquiring a 9,000-hectare (22,000-acre) grant which he called Kookernup.

[5] Cookernup is a small agricultural town with services offered from nearby Harvey, and there have been applications for subdivision in the area.

Cookernup has a fire brigade, town hall, general store, large exercise area and playground.

[7] Nearby Logue Brook Dam, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to the east and set in jarrah forests on the western boundary of the Murray State Forests, has a number of camping, accommodation and recreational facilities, and offers bushwalking, horse-riding, waterskiing, canoeing and ropes courses.