The History of Kendenup Return to Kendenup The township and district of Kendenup are what was the 47,000 acre sheep station named "Kendenup", owned by the Hassell family.  Its history starts in April 1830 when land grants made to the following people: Dr. Alexander Collie 5000 acres, John Lawrence Morley 4000 acres, Lieutenant William Preston 2000 acres; and in June 1830, Captain Thomas Banister 5903 acres. The land granted to Dr. Collie and H. L. Morley, together with location 27, which was granted to George Cheyne an Albany merchant, became in 1838 the property known as "Kendenup" under the ownership of Captain John Hassell.  John Hassell first saw Australia as Chief Officer of the brig "Belinda" in 1822.  From 1822 to 1938 he engaged in trade on the Australian coast, and in the latter year sailed from London in his own ship the "Dawson" with his bride, intending to make a permanent home on a property he owned in Tasmania. On passage from the Cape of Good Hope to Sydney where he intended to sell the "Dawson" and her cargo, the ship ran short of fresh water.  Captain Hassell put in to Albany to replenish his water from the springs in Frenchman's Bay. Whilst in Albany he met the Government Resident, Sir Richard Spencer, who pointed out to him the advantages of the country inland from Albany for land settlement, with the result that Captain Hassell gave up his idea of settling in Tasmania and purchased Location 27, comprising of 19,000 acres from Mr George Cheyne. Captain Hassell, disposed of the "Dawson" and her cargo in Sydney, charted the barque "China", purchased 450 ewes from the Blaxland and McArthur flocks, together with some cattle and horses and returned to Albany where he completed the purchase of Kendenup from George Cheyne and set about the establishment of his farm and homestead in the year 1839. The original homestead still stands among the Hassell farm Buildings on the west bank of the Kalgan River, while opposite to it on the east bank stands the very fine two story homestead erected somewhere in the 1850s, which is now occupied by Mr and Mrs Warren Stanley. In the Kalgan Valley just a mile from the homestead stands the remains of Western Australia's first stamp battery with the shaft and stone dumps of the "Standard Gold Mining Company", registered on December 15th 1874, with a capital of 3000 pounds. This was the second gold mining company to be registered in Western Australia and the first to actually start mining operations.  As far as is known the total output was 4oz of gold from a crushing of five tons sent to the North Clunes Gold Mining Company of Victoria for treatment. After some eighty years occupancy by the Hassell family, Mr Clement John De Garis of Mildura acquired the Kendenup Estate of 47,000 acres. Kendenup appealed to De Garis as being ideal for fulfilment of his ambition of founding a model closer settlement.  The Kendenup property after purchase by C. J. De Garis was subdivided into blocks ranging from 1 0 acres to 60 acres. A townsite was established and a dehydrating factory was built to process the vegetables and fruit grown by the settlers.  For more than two years this closer settlement scheme continued in action, with a good deal of publicity.  However, for various reasons the scheme failed, many of the two hundred-odd settlers left their blocks while a number of (just over thirty) families stayed on.  These families formed the Nucleus of Kendenup as it is, and for some years fought on, making every effort to make the place a success. Eventually, with the help of De Garis, who had taken up a land agency business in Melbourne, the settlers were able to get the titles to their holdings freed; and then, with the help of the late Sir Ross McDonald, received some assistance from the (then) Agricultural Bank to enlarge their holdings to an economic size from 200 acres to 1,000 acres.  This was achieved in 1927, and from then on Kendenup has continued to develop as a mixed farming district.