They travelled aboard the Grace Darling from Albany to take up 4,000 acres (16 km2) of land.

Major development began to occur in the 1930s as part of the land settlement scheme.

The local electricity grid is remote and fragile, and a 1.5 MW / 30 MWh (15 hours) pumped-storage hydroelectricity facility is being built to stabilize power for Walpole.

So the newly gazetted township was officially named Nornalup, but this caused confusion with the railway terminus 13 km (8 mi) east.

Another attraction is the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park.