[1] In 1827 George Layman, then 17 years old, immigrated to Australia from England and settled in Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania, with his brother Charles.

In 1829, Layman was attacked and robbed of all his money by escaped convicts, and decided to work his passage to the new Swan River Colony, arriving in October 1829.

However, Augusta failed as a settlement, and many of the settlers chose to exchange their grants there for land in the Vasse region.

[2] Relations between the European settlers and the native Wardandi people were strained to the point of violence, resulting in several Aboriginal deaths.

[4][1][5] A manhunt for Layman's killer went on for several weeks, involving much bloodshed as Captain Molloy, the Bussell brothers, and troops killed an unknown number of Aboriginals.

[7] Earlier that same year, in February 1858, the Layman cottage burned to the ground; only the dairy and kitchen in the separate building escaped the flames.

Over time, the Layman family purchased adjoining acreage; at its peak, the farm covered an area of over 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres).

Eventually a nephew took over the management, and in 1962, with the death of the last Layman sister,[1] the farm was sold and subdivided, with the parcel of land upon which Wonnerup House and associated buildings are located being acquired by the National Trust of Australia in 1971.

[9] Over the road are the school (1873) and teacher's house (1885) built on land given to the government by George Layman Jr.