Coonalpyn - Culture and History

The word 'Coonalpyn' is said to come from an Aboriginal word meaning a 'barren woman'. It was used by John Barton Hack to name his property, 'Coonalpyn Downs', and subsequently was taken up as the name for both the town and the railway station.

The area was historically known as the Ninety Mile Desert (a fair description) until in 1949 the AMP Society started to develop the land. By 1970 some 2800 square kilometres of the Ninety Mile Desert had been turned into usable farmland.