The first European settlers to arrive in the area were Pierre Bellanger and his family in 1909. They travelled aboard the Grace Darling from Albany to take up 4,000 acres (16 km2) of land.[3]
Land in the Walpole area was reserved for a national park in 1910, and the area subsequently became a popular holiday destination. Major development began to occur in the 1930s as part of the land settlement scheme. The railway reached Nornalup in 1929, and the Walpole town site was gazetted in 1933. 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.[4]
Name
Walpole was always the preferred name, but it was believed this was already in use in Tasmania. So the newly gazetted township was officially named Nornalup, but this caused confusion with the railway terminus 13 km (8 mi) east. Eventually the Post Office advised that there was no Walpole in Tasmania, and in 1934 the town reverted to its original name of Walpole.
Walpole is one of the few towns through which the Bibbulmun Track passes.
