Ravensthorpe, Western Australia: History
A temporary pastoral lease (called Free Run) was registered by James Dunn senior in 1868. His five sons and daughter started sheep farming at the property, called Cocanarup and located 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of the present town, in 1871, after George and John Dunn drove a herd from Albany. In 1873 the family was granted a permanent lease of 4,049 hectares (10,010 acres).
The region is infamous for the Ravensthorpe Massacre, also called the Cocanarup Massacre, where many Noongar people were massacred in revenge for the fatal spearing of John Dunn in 1880. Dunn had allegedly raped a 13 year old Noongar girl.
By 1901, the population had climbed to over 1,000 and the government gazetted the town, renaming it Ravensthorpe. The area continued to prosper and the population grew accordingly, by 1909 the population was over 3,000. The prosperity was short-lived; World War I took its toll on the town and by 1918 the local copper smelter had closed and many of the copper and gold mines had closed. The population of the town in 1968 was approximately 800 people. Ravensthorpe Airport opened in 2004.