The locality of Greenough is located 24 kilometres southeast of Geraldton in the northern agricultural region. It derives its name from the Greenough River, the river being named by Captain George Grey in 1839 after George Bellas Greenough, President of Royal Geographical Society. Grey noted that the flats around the Greenough River were very fertile, and in the early 1850s pastoralists moved into the area. In 1857 the area was subdivided into small farms, and the place soon became renowned for its abundant crops. The 1860s were the boom years for Greenough.