The region was originally occupied by the
Bibbulmun people who knew the area as Wandergarup, which in their language meant 'plenty of water'.
19th century Following an expedition to the area in 1861 by Edward Reveley Brockman, his brother-in-law Gerald de Courcy Lefroy and his uncle Pemberton Walcott, in 1862 Brockman established Warren House homestead and
station on the
Warren River; Walcott, after whom the town would be named, established
Karri Dale farm on the northern outskirts of the later townsite; and Lefroy established a farm and flour mill on Lefroy Brook (the current site of the 100 Year Forest). Walcott remained until at least 1867. By 1868 he was at Dwalganup Station near
Boyup Brook, and in 1872
Karri Dale was for sale, marketed as a "four-roomed brick cottage, stockyards, cattle shed, good garden - stocked with fruit trees and permanent running water".
20th century In 1913, the new government-owned State Saw Mills began construction of twin sawmills, No 2 and No 3, at the location then known as
Big Brook, to supply half a million railway sleepers for the
Trans-Australian Railway. The mill site was in a valley to ensure the mills had a regular supply of water and because it was easier to roll logs down hill to the mills. Big Brook became a thriving private mill town, with a hall, store, staff accommodation, mill workers' cottages, and single men's huts, and two boarding houses. During the 1920s the area was a focus of the
Group Settlement Scheme and following the
Second World War the
War Service Land Settlement Scheme, but with only moderate success. During the 1980s, Pemberton began to grow as a tourist town and tourism, particularly domestic, continues to play a key role.
21st century Log sawmilling was still the most active industry in 2005, occupying 12.8% of the workforce, despite the state government drastically reducing old growth logging in 2003. Rather than shut down, the mill switched to plantation
Tasmanian blue gum and
pine in addition to
karri.
Viticulture has become widely established, with many investment schemes buying up large areas of pastureland and converting to vineyards. ==Transport==