Tambellup is located an hour and a half's drive north of Albany, in the southwest of Western Australia. It is also known as the 'town of friendship' because of the locals' community pride. The town was settled by a European named Joseph Norrish in 1872 when he used the area to begin a sandalwood industry.
It was not until the Great Southern Railway was built in 1889 that a large number of settlers were attracted to the site. The town was officially established in 1899. The town's main income today is generated by serving the surrounding sheep and wheat farms.