The name Rocky Gully may have originated from the rocky nature of the road where it
crossed a gully near the present town site. The Aboriginal name for the area is ‘Chullurup’
which translates as ‘place of white ants’.
The Elders of the Noongar people held the area in profound reverence, considering it a
place of such spiritual power that it was perilous to live there. Albeit with a great sense of
foreboding and regret, they played a role in the clearing of the forest.
Rocky Gully is situated just 68 kilometres west of Mount Barker on the Muir Highway. From
here it is possible to explore the Nornalup wilderness and Frankland River region.
Rocky Gully is part of the Shire of Plantagenet, a local government area first gazetted as the
Plantagenet Road Board in January 1871. In 1907 a proposal from this Board resulted in 320
acres (130 Hectares) of land being reserved for travelling stock. Rocky Gully was
subsequently gazetted a year later and the area surveyed by Percy Walter Ernest Flint in
1911.
In the 1930s a town was planned and land subdivided however it wasn’t until 1951 following
World War II, as part of the War Service Land Settlement Scheme (WSLSS), that the area
was established as a farming community.
This area if known to have a reliable rainfall. Hence the region became primarily used for
sheep grown for wool and meat. In more recent years vineyards and blue gum plantations
have dominated the land.
ROCKY GULLY SOLDIER SETTLEMENT
The ’ First Years Memorial’
In 2023 a group of former residents and descendant’s of the ex-servicemen with support
from the Rocky Gully CWA agreed to erect a structure to honour and remember the
pioneers of the district.
Post World War II the Federal government initiated the War Service Land Settlement
Scheme (WSLSS) with a two fold function: to increase agricultural land in the south of WA
and to re establish servicemen who had contributed to the defence of their country.
Information courtesy of www.wanowandthen.com and many thanks to the Old Police Museum, Mount Barker WA for the images.
