KOJONUP Kojonup is the next town encountered after Cranbrook when traveling north to Perth from Albany. Kojonup is an agricultural town that also borders the Wheatbelt. Kojonup is a small town but that said has couple really good heritage factors going for it. The ‘barracks’ and VC of AW Potts from the Kokoda campaign. The majority of essential services are available at Kojonup. The name Kojonup is believed to refer to the "Kodja" or stone axe made by Indigenous Australians from the local stone. The first European in the area was surveyor Alfred Hillman who arrived in 1837 and had been guided to "Kojonup Spring" by the local Aboriginals. The site was an important staging place on the road to Albany, and in 1837 a military post was established there for the protection of travelers and the mail.  By 1845 this outpost had grown to support a military barracks, built on the site of the freshwater spring. Today, the barracks still stands on its original site and houses the Kojonup Pioneer Museum. The barracks is in near perfect condition and is one of the oldest buildings in Western Australia. The first farms in Kojonup were set up by soldiers with settlement grants. The town's first Police Station was built in 1869 and the first hotel license was granted in 1868.  In 1989 the shire had seen over 1 million sheep being shorn. To celebrate the importance of the wool industry the town built a one and a half scale model of a wool wagon. The War Memorial and in particular the tribute to Victoria Cross AW Potts recipient is a moving and stark acknowledgement. This ‘display’ is really well articulated. The original Kojonup Anglican Church is over 150 years old, the new Anglican just nearing 100 years. The United and Catholic an age mix. Kojonup has two century plus pubs. Both traditional noisy hotels. There are few ‘large’ towns on the Albany Perth highway so a stopover at Kojonup's should be a consideration.