'Galup' is a Whadjuk Noongar word meaning 'Place of Fires' and refers to what is called  'Lake Monger' a remnant of the series of wetlands once known as the 'Perth Great Lakes'. In 1830 it was the site of a colonial era massacre when Redcoats of the British 63rd 'West Suffolk' Regiment and armed settlers pursued a party of Noongar from Mount Eliza to the shores of the lake. Subequently called 'Mongers Lake' after migrant John Henry Monger, who was given a land grant between the present day suburbs of Wembley and Subiaco, the Lake area underwent continual reclamation works and from the 1920s was dedicated for the purpose of 'public recreation, health and enjoyment'.