The first settlers arrived in the Pemberton area where they established farms which produced fruit and vegetables and grazed cattle and horses in the late 1800's. Three timber mills were established and the town of Pemberton grew around these mills, most of the milling being done by hand. The Brockman Sawpit in the Brockman National Park is one example. In the 1920s a new population boom occurred when free land was offered to group settlers of Groupies in order to establish a dairy industry. Many of the Groupies were British ex-servicemen who had returned from war to face unemployment.

Life was tough with many families departing as it became too difficult to clear the dense forest to use their land. They also had to contend with surviving the depression years of the 1930's and making land repayments to the government. The Pemberton Visitor Centre Museum has many fine examples of the early settlers equipment, clothing, utensils and memorabilia of yesteryear, and is situated inside the original school house from this period.

While the timber industry continued to prosper, new industries developed. Irrigated farming became possible and potato, cauliflower, tobacco, hops and other crops became widespread. Recently tourism  has become very popular with many new ventures starting up to accommodate the weary traveller, including a wide variety of quality Accommodation, Wineries and 4WD tours, Mountain Biking,Hiking and Canoeing, Art and Craft Galleries, Trout and Marron farms.