A small coastal village 105 km north of Perth, that was established to service the local fishing and crayfishing industries.
Many of the early fishermen's shacks still remain, though the newer section of the town has streets lined with modern 3 and 4-bedroom brick homes.
The area is a popular windsurfing venue, and in January each year the prestigious Ledge Point to Lancelin Windsurfing Classic draws competitors from around the world.
The area is also known for the wreck of a "jack-up" oil drilling rig, Key Biscayne, which toppled over in storms in 1983 around 10 nautical miles (19 km) offshore whilst under transport.
Lancelin
A small fishing and holiday settlement 10 km north of Ledge point. The sandhills behind the township are popular among dune buggy enthusiasts. Lancelin and the nearby coastal townships of Seabird, Ledge Point and Guilderton are lobster fishing settlements, but are increasingly catering for weekenders and holiday makers. Kitesurfing and windsurfing are popular in the ocean off Lancelin, as are sandboarding and 4-wheel driving on the beaches and in the dunes behind the town.
Guilderton
Guilderton (38 km south) is a small coastal fishing village at the mouth of Moore River. Its name is a reference to some forty 17th-century silver guilder coins that were found in the sand in the vicinity in the 1931. They came from the Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon), a Dutch trading ship wrecked off the coast in 1656. The coins were thought to be from the wreck of the Dutch ship, the Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon) that had was later found to have foundered on a reef north of the river-mouth near Ledge Point in 1656.
Where is it?
105 km north of Perth, 10 km south of Lancelin, 79 km south west of Moora
Brief history
The town's name originates from the nearby coastal feature of the same name, a series of rocky ledges on the point that was first described in an 1875 hydrographic survey. In 1952 there were three squatters' shacks that had been built in the reserve and once a road was completed into the area in 1953 more people began to request land leases. The government decided to subdivide the area in 1954 and sell blocks for retirees and holiday housing.
In 1963, divers discovered the wreck of the Dutch ship Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon) which sunk after striking a nearby reef on 28 April 1656. This was one of the earliest European ships to visit Australia. In 1972, a full expedition was mounted to systematically excavate the remains of the ship's cargo and fittings, but damage by looters had left little intact. Nevertheless, over several months a quantity of artefacts was recovered and which are now displayed at the Maritime Museums in Geraldton and Fremantle.
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