Being less than 100km from the Perth metropolitan area, Brookton is a comfortable one hour drive from Karragullen and residents enjoy the lifestyle benefits of outer metropolitan country living whilst retaining many creature comforts such as five commercial television stations and digital mobile telephone coverage. The Shire includes the localities of Kweda and Aldersyde and the township is well appointed with facilities, including 20 hectares of parks and gardens. The first settler and founder of the Brookton district, John Seabrook (1818-1891), moved to the area in 1846 soon after marrying, and named his property "Brookton House". He remained the only European in the area, aside from itinerant sandalwood cutters, until his stepson, A.W. Robinson, took up adjacent land in 1864. During the 1860s and 1870s, more settlers moved into the area, and took on sandalwood cutting (it sold for £9 per ton) as well as wheat and sheep farming. In June 1889, when the Great Southern Railway opened, Brookton was one of the original stations. The station proved to be the catalyst that created a centre for the isolated farms, and the government gazetted a townsite here in 1895 and named it "Seabrook" but local acceptance of the station name and confusion with another Seabrook near York resulted in the townsite's name being changed to Brookton in 1899. The townsite attracted a few businesses and by 1903, the tiny settlement comprised a school, hotel, bank and a few shops. The Old Police Station Museum located in the town is the base of the local historical society and contains artifacts and memorabilia of the early settlement days. The full history of Brookton is published in Kalkarni - The Brookton Story which is available for purchase from the Shire of Brookton administration office.