Pre-colonisation The lake was originally part of a
series of freshwater wetlands running north from the Swan River along the coastal plain for approximately . Little is known about the use of the lake by the Noongar people prior to British settlement, other than the area was known to be within the area inhabited by them. Given its geographical features, it could have been used regularly as a significant camping and hunting site with
black swans and other
wildfowl as well as
turtles,
frogs,
gilgies and mudfish hunted as food. Associated with the lake is the
Wagyl, part of Noongar mythology. The myth describes the track of a serpent being, who in his journey towards the sea, deviates from his route and emerges from the ground which gives rise to Galup. The lake and a significant part of the reserve are registered with the Department of Indigenous Affairs as an Aboriginal heritage site of historic and mythological significance to the Aboriginal people. and 80% of the wetlands on the coastal plain have been drained, filled or cleared since 1832, leaving Galup and Herdsman Lake as the last two major wetlands remaining close to the CBD. By 1832, the lands around the lake had been subdivided into eight lots: a southern lot was acquired by
John Henry Monger Snr and described as " of Perthshire location
Ae abutting" Galup.
William Henry Leeder took up adjoining land grants at Perthshire locations
Ac and
Ad, to which he later added locations
1,
Ax and
Ay. This area is now known as the suburb of
Leederville. In 1902, the
Municipality of Leederville appointed a board under the Parks and Reserves Act 1896 to manage the lake. As well as dredging silt, reclamation was assisted by the dumping of rubbish and raw sewage from
night soil collectors on the north-eastern side. By 1936 the water quality had deteriorated badly and reports of nuisance chironomids (
midges) were being made. Between 1950 and 1964, a sanitary landfill in the north and north-eastern parts of the lake reclaimed further wetlands. This was covered by of clean soil. In the late 1950s, a comprehensive plan for the lake was drawn up as part of
Gordon Stephenson's 1955
Plan for the Metropolitan Region, Perth and Fremantle and which saw the provision of land within the reserve set aside for the Mitchell Freeway, which was built in the 1970s. In the 1960s
Monger island was created in the south-western corner to act as a bird refuge. In 2006, a local school discovered hundreds of dead fish around the shore of the lake. It was discovered that residents living near the lake were using
fertilizer containing
phosphorus on their lawns. This fertilizer went into drains, polluting the lake. In 2008, heavy rains caused the north west section to flood, creating a small
cove and several small islands and
spits. In 2019, a strong smell that permeated the north east part of the lake for several years was found to be caused by rotting algae.
Incidents Galup has been the site of a number of drownings: • On 9 August 1874, John Herold (54) and his stepson George Wansbrough (11) drowned when their flat-bottomed boat capsized. Herold was heard telling Wansbrough to be careful of how he moved, lest he capsize the boat, shortly before they disappeared. • On 16 February 1876, Mary Anne Costello (a student at the Convent School) drowned while bathing on a school picnic. Another girl who was bathing with her was rescued. • On 5 December 1876, Jemmy, an Aboriginal man, drowned after wading into to retrieve a duck he had shot. • On 21 October 1901, Louisa Heathorn (37) and Francis George Hatch (26) both drowned whilst boating together. • On 26 May 1917, Frederick George Ribbins (7) drowned at the lake while playing with a friend. • On 19 October 1918, Wilfred Grenville Carstairs (2 and a half) drowned when he fell from a small jetty and tumbled into the water. His sister jumped in to try to save him but soon got into difficulties herself and was rescued in the nick of time. • On 3 April 1920, Frederick Robert Blakemore (11) drowned whilst canoeing alone. • In August 1929, a newborn baby was found drowned in the lake, wrapped in two nightdresses. • On 2 February 1937, Keith William McNamara (10) drowned while playing near the bank of the lake. It was thought he slipped from the narrow footpath. • On 25 September 1937, Robert Edward Richards (9) drowned while playing in an improvised canoe. Efforts to retrieve his body were handicapped by the rubbish which had been dumped into the lake and by the dirtiness of the water. • On 27 August 1939, Reginald Frederick Rowles (16), drowned when his small canvas boat was hit by a squall and capsized. He was with Arnold Noack (16), who managed to swim partway to shore where he was rescued. After the drowning of Reginald Rowles, so soon after the drownings of Richards and McNamara, boating was prohibited on the lake, and swimming discouraged. • On 4 January 1946, Dorothea June "Bubbles" Mullane (12) drowned while bathing in the lake. • On 3 October 1953, Laurie Bell Ball (68) drowned. It was said the deceased had been depressed at the time and there were no suspicious circumstances. • On 21 January 1954, Frank Howard Middleton (5) drowned when he ventured into deep water and sank. • On 23 June 1954, Charles James (75) drowned himself in the lake. • On 17 August 1963, Jonathan David Hunt (13) drowned while paddling an upturned car hood from a wrecked car with a friend (on another car hood). The friend's improvised canoe sank so he hopped onto Hunt's, which also sank and both ended up in the water. The friend was rescued and revived and it was only then realised Hunt was missing. Hunt's body was retrieved the next day. Additionally, in December 1894, young schoolboy Michael John Maley was found dead at the base of a tree near the lake by his brother. It was supposed he had been birds-nest gathering, climbed the tree and lost his hold. He died from internal injuries. == Flora and fauna ==