Perth, Western Australia
The Names of Perth: Coastal Features
Where the date of naming and the person who named a feature is known, entries are presented in the following format: Date named; Person who named it; reason for giving names. The names are listed from north to south, commencing at Cape Leschenault.
There are many gaps in this list, indicating that the origins of many names were unable to be verified when this list was being compiled. The authors welcome any contributions by readers that will help fill in the gaps.
Jean Baptiste Louis Claude Leschenault de ld Tour
Cape Leschenault: 5.2.1803. Nicolas Baudin. Named after Jean Baptiste Louis Claude Leschenault de ld Tour, botanist of survey vessel Geographe.
One of the two rocks on Two Rocks beach
Two Rocks: Two large limestone rocks on the beach here.
Unwin Shoals:
Staggie Reef:
Gretel Reef:
Pamela Shoal / Pamela Beach:
The Spot: Thought to be derived from a note on an early map marking the location of a rocky section of shoreline.
Rhodes Reef:
Home Lump Reef:
Yanchep Lagoon
Yanchep Lagoon: The name Yanchep is of Aboriginal origin, and is derived from yanget , a native flax or bullrush. The name was first recorded for nearby Lake Yanchep by surveyor R. Quinn in September 1866. That lake is now known as Lach McMess; the beach on the coast is Yanchep Beach.
Laurance Reef:
Hugill Reef
The Alkimos, 1964
Alkimos Beach: Named after the 7033 ton Greek freighter Alkimos which rang aground here in March 1963. Several attempts were made to refloat her, but all were unsuccessful. The ship took some years to break up. Some wreckage remains the the majority has been swallowed by the sea.
Eglinton Rocks: Named after the sailing ship, Eglinton, which was wrecked here in 1852. Pemberon Walcott, who later became the master of vessels which serviced the towns of WA's north west in the 1860s, survived the wreck as an 18-year-old.
Quinns Rock beach
Quinns Rock: 1867. Surveyor James Cowle. Named after Robert Quin who emigrated to Western Australia in 1863 and was appointed as Assistant Surveyor on his arrival. Quin died in July 1886. The spelling has changed over time with the addition of another "n" to the end of the name.
Wanneroo Beach: In the early days of the Swan River Colony, the district of Wanneroo represented an "outer" region. The whole stretch of coastline in this region was originally known as Wanneroo Beach. It is not known when early settlers started using the name "Wanneroo", but, as early as 1842, a Surveyor recorded "road to Wanneroo" and in 1844, James Dobbins gave his address as Wanneroo. A government townsite was gazetted as "Wanneru" in August 1907 and it was not until May 1953 that the spelling was amended to "Wanneroo". The name is of Aboriginal origin and refers to the sticks used by tribal women for digging roots.
Mindarie Keys
Mindarie Keys / Mindarie Beach: The name of the beach beach and nearby suburb is derived from Mindarie Lake, an Aboriginal name first recorded by Alexander Forrest in 1874. The name is thought to be that of a ceremonial ground by the lake. The suburb was to have been named Clarkson prior to development, but the two names were transposed in 1985.
Burns Beach
Burns Rocks / Burns Beach: Named after a farmer who ran sheep in the area in the late 19th century. The suburb which takes its name from the beach is located on land originally owned by the Midland Railway Company. In 1908, approval by the Wanneroo Road Board was given to a request by 50 residents of the district for a 50 acre reserve for camping and a health resort at the beach. The suburb we see today was developed in the 1980s.
Whitford Rock / Whitfords Beach: The name recalls Frank Whitford, a developer whose plan for the development of a large tract of land he owned in the area between Mullaloo and Waterman Bay was first presented in 1928, and came to fruition 43 years later. In 1971, as a direct result of the adoption of the Corridor Plan for the development of Perth, Frank Whitford's development plan was given government approval in principle. Whitford's name was adopted for the first suburb in the North corridor that would ultimately house 50,000 people. The development was eventually broken down into four suburbs - Craigie, Padbury, Hillarys and Kallaroo - with the name Whitfords being retained for the beach, the shopping centre and major road through the area.
Pinnaroo Point: The name is of Aboriginal origin and is the name they gave to the locality. Numerous fisherman's shacks existed around the point in the post-World War II years. The name is now used for the Pinnaroo Memorial Park, a burial ground and park created at Padbury in 1978.
Hillarys Beach
Hillarys Beach: The beach is named after Bertram John Hillary, a Gallipoli war veteran who died in 1957 at the age of 62, who set up the first beach shack on a lonely stretch of beach in 1930. That lonely stretch of beach eventually came to be named after its best known inhabitant, courtesy of the Army which had use of the land during World War 2. The name was suggested as the name of the suburb which now surrounds it by the Shire of Wanneroo, and was approved in 1971.
Wanneroo Reef: See 'Wanneroo Beach' above.
Cow Rock: Its shape.
Boyinaboat Reef: Its shape
Sorrento Beach
Sorrento Beach: The name is derived from a nearby residential subdivision releasedin 1929 by developer Frank Whitford. It was to be the first stage of a major development scheme for the whole area to the north of Waterman Bay. Unfortunately the Wanneroo Road Board lacked the funds to build roads, the developers' funds were also limited, and so only a few streets behind Sorrento Beach were developed. It is assumed that the name was taken from the Italian seaside town of Sorrento which is located south of Naples opposite the Isle of Capri. Padbury Circle, Hood Tce. and Parker Ave. constituted Whitford's original development. Its only shop, known as the Sorrento Dome because of its unique shape, stood for years on the corner of West Coast Highway and The Plaza. The present day suburb of Sorrento was developed in the 1970s.
Marmion Beach: Named after Patrick Marmion of the schooner 'Pelsart', who operated a whaling station in this area in 1849. He was granted an area of land rent free and hired a jetty at Fremantle. In the 1930's Marmion beach was a popular spot with fishermen, and numerous boatsheds and shacks were built there. The suburb surrounding the beach took its name from the beach during its development in the 1970s.
Waterman Bay from the lookout at the Mount Flora Lookout and Regional Museum. The lookout tower was built as a water tower
Waterman Bay / Watermans Beach: First settled in the 1860s, it served a stopping point and Star Swamp a watering hole along the Coastal Stock Route to Geraldton. Named after Alfred Waterman, a local fisherman and one of the first residents in the area. In 1918, the area was subdivided as the Mt Flora Estates, but initial development was largely limited to holiday shacks. After World War II, the area developed rapidly. The suburb's name was shortened from Watermans Bay to Waterman in 1962, but this was never popuklar and it reverted to Waterman Bat in 2003.
North Beach: The name has been in use for the area and the beaches in the area since at least the 1880's, when the Hamersley family built a summer home there. Streets in the area honour members of the family. It is a descriptive name, derived from the beach being (at the time) the most northerly of Perth's beaches.
Hamersley Pool
Hamersley Pool: Named after the district's first land owner, Edward Hamersley, who owned and farmed land near Guildford. In the late 1800's he built a summer home in what is now North Beach, and named it "The Castle". It was on the site of the present day Castle Hotel. Hamersley Pool, at the southern end of North Beach, is one of the most popular swimming spots on this section of coast.
Bennion Beach
Bennion Beach: A small beach, Bennion is perfect for snorkelling and rock hopping. There is an abundance of marine life on the reef systems surrounding the beach, with a sheltered swimming area. There is a secluded atmosphere to the beach as most people swim at Trigg, a short distance to the south.
Trigg Island / Trigg Beach / South Trigg Beach: Trigg has Perth's most consistent surf break, particularly in summer when it is often the only beach in the metropolitan area with a wave breaking. Trigg is also well known for the Trigg blue hole, an area at the north end of Trigg Beach which has in the past claimed several lives. Trigg has a surf lifesaving club, grassed areas, kiosks, off street parking, public toilets/change rooms, small boat launching ramp. Trigg was named after Henry Trigg, Superintendent of Public Works in the Colony of WA from 1838 to 1851.
Scarborough Beach
Scarborough Beach: The name is derived from the name of a residential subdivision which began to be sold in the late 1880s. The name was coined by a real estate developer and recalls the English seaside town of Scarborough in North Yorkshire.
Brighton Beach: The name is derived from the name of a residential subdivision to the South Scarborough Beach Road. The name was coined by a real estate developer and recalls the English seaside resort town of Brighton in Sussex. The name was never adopted officially and the subdivision is now part of the suburb of Scarborough.
Floreat Beach: The name is derived from the residential subdivision of Floreat Park. Perth's Town Clerk, W.E, Bold, chose the name, which is a Latin word meaning 'Let It Flourish'. It was taken from Perth's Coat of Arms. Subdivision of Floreat Park (known simply as Floreat since 1977) commenced in 1912. The name was adopted for Floreat Beach in the 1940s to differentiate it from City Beach, both of which still fall within the boundaries of the City of Perth, however Floreat Beach does not border the suburb with which it shares its name.
City Beach: The name City Beach was first used as the name for all the beach area within the boundaries of the local government area of the City Of Perth. After World War I the City Council proposed to lay out an up-to-date seaside town near the ocean beach on garden city lines, embodying approved Town Planning principles, and making ample provision for recreation purposes. By 1928, when blocks of land were released in the new subdivision, the name began to be used only for the beach nearby, which had early been refrred to as Ocean Beach. The names Templetonia and Swansea were considered for the subdivision and its beach.
Swanbourne Beach
Swanbourne Beach / North Swanbourne Beach: 1886. Gov Sir Frederick Napier Broome. The name recalls the home of the first Baron Cottesloe of Swanbourne, Buckinghamshire, England, the brother of Captain Fremantle. A section of North Swanbourne Beach is designated for use by nudists. The name came into use for the beach and the first homes nearby which began to be built in the 1890s. The beach and the suburb which shares its name were named simultaneously.
Cottesloe Beach
Cottesloe Beach / North Cottesloe Beach: 1886. Gov Sir Frederick Napier Broome. The name recalls the first Baron Cottesloe of Swanbourne, Buckinghamshire, England, the brother of Captain Fremantle. The beach and the suburb which shares its name were named simultaneously when the townsite of Cottesloe was declared by Gov Broome. Up until the time of the duplication of the railway line in 1898, what is today Cottesloe station was known as Butler's Siding.
Mosman Beach: Takes its name from the nearby suburb of Mosman Bay, which was adopted by the Buckland Hill Road Board in October 1907. The area was previously known as Buckland Hill. It is named after the Mosman in Sydney, the birthplace of one of the Road Board's members, RJ Yeldon. The area name was changed to Mosman Park in 1937 to avoid confusion with the Sydney suburb, the name of which honours Scots-born ship owner and pastoralist Archibald Mosman (1799-1863).
Vlamingh memorial
Confusion still exists between between the river beach on Mosman Bay and the ocean beach of Mosman Beach, the common belief being that the name 'Mosman Beach' refers to the river beach. Dutch explorer Willem Vlamingh is believed to have come ashore at Mosman Beach on 5 January, 1697. A momument marks the spot.
Leighton Beach
Leighton Beach: Takes its name from a railway station on the Perth to Fremantle line near the beach. The station was named after John Leighton, one of Perth Railways Department earliest employees who worked first as a letter carrier between Perth and Fremantle in 1867 and then as a storeman when the Railways Department was created. His home was in Harvest Road, North Fremantle, his wide operated the crossing gates at Leighton Beach between 1881 and 1895. The Leightons were the first European residnts in the area.
Port Beach: Named in the 1930s to differentiate it from nearby Leighton Beach. It is named because of its proximity to the port of Fremantle.
Gage Roads
Gage Roads: March 1827. James Stirling. Rear Admiral W. Gage, who was Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy's East Indies station at the time when James Stirling was surveying the Swan River in 1826. Gage Roads is the sea channel and anchorage in the Indian Ocean offshore from Perth through which ships must pass on their way in and out of the port of Fremantle. Gage Roads was the location of the America's Cup defence in 1986/7.
Rottnest Island
Mary Christina Strickland
Mary Cove: Named after Mary Christina Strickland (1896-1970), one of five daughters of the WA Governor, Sir Gerald Strickland. She became Mary Christina dei Marchesi Gandolfi Hornyold when she married Henry Albert Hornyold, son of Alfred Joseph Hornyold and Alice de la Chere, on 7th July 1920.
Kitson Point: Recalls Rottnest Island Board Chairman, 1933-46, HW Kitson.
Nancy Cove: Origin unknown. This cove is the easternmost section of Salmon Bay. Offshore from the beach at Nancy Cove is Green Island, a big rock topped with brown grass. Stone quarried from Nancy Cove was used to build the Rottnest Island lighthouse on Oliver Hill.
Little Salmon Bay
Salmon Bay / Salmon Point / Little Salmon Bay: Salmon regularly caught there.
Porpoise Bay: Possibly because dolphins were seen here.
Parker Point
Parker Point / Parker Rock: Named after Capt Phillip Parker King, colonial maritime explorer who visited the island in January 1822.
Henrietta Rocks: Named after Henrietta Strickland, (Hon Henrietta Bower b.1903), one of five daughters of WA Governor, Sir Gerald Strickland.
Paterson Beach: Recalls gaol officer, Acting Island Superintendent in the early 1900s and later board executive officer.
Dyer Island
Dyer Island: Recalls a boat owner who was the first person to operate a ferry service between Rottnest and the mainland. The vessel was the TSS Zephyr. Dyer Island has an abundance of rock lobster in the ledges around the island. A colony of Australian sea lions reside at Dyer Island.
Wallace Island:
Bickley Point / Bickley Bay: Recalls Wallace Bickley, an 1830s settler who acquired a land grant on the island and married a daughter of the Thomson family.
Phillip Point / Phillip Rock: Named after Capt Phillip Parker King, colonial maritime explorer who visited the island in January 1822. King was given the christian name 'Phillip' after Arthur Phillip, forst governor of New South Wales. The rock was originally a jagged peak but had its top blasted away during World War II to allow searchlights located on the point to sweep Gage Roads.
Thomson Bay
Thomson Bay: Named after Robert Thomson. William Clarke and Robert Thomson took up town lots and pastureland in 1830. Thomson became a major landholder on Rottnest Island during the 1830s. The mis-spelling of the name began with John Septimus Roe, Surveyor-General of WA in 1841 when the name was first recorded.
Bathurst Point: Named by Capt Phillip Parker King who visited the island in January 1822. It was either named after the expedition's vessel, the brig, Bathurst.
Pinky Beach:
The Basin
The Basin: Its distinctive basin shape.
Longreach Bay / Longreach Point:
Point Clune:
Geordie Bay / Little Geordie Bay:
Parakeet Bay / Little Parakeet Bay / Parakeet Island:
North Point: Its position in relation to the rest of the island.
Little Armstrong Bay / Armstrong Rock: Recalls Francis Fraser Armstrong, who was appointed as Moral Agent for the Aboriginal prisoners on Rottnest Island in 1847. Henry Vincent, the island's first Prison Superintendent, also burdened him with the tasks of Store and Lighthouse keeper. The cottage K1 & K2 was built for him, but he returned to the mainland the following year.
Catherine Beach / Catherine Bay:
Charlotte Beach / Charlotte Point: Possibly named after Mrs Charlotte Condoret, daughter of Mr Duffield, the island's first lighthouse keeper. Her husband was Frenchman Henri Conderet who, commencing in 1868, worked the Rottnest Island Salt Store, purifying the salt collected from Rottnest's salt lakes.
City of York Bay
City of York Bay: Named after the 1242 tonne british barque City of York, which was wrecked there on 12th June 1899. The loss of 12 of its crew made the wreck of the City of York the most serious ever in the waters around Rottnest.
Ricey Beach:
Crayfish Rock: Possibly because of its reputation as a great place to catch crayfish.
Stark Bay: Named after James B Stark, MP, who supervised the island for the Rottnest Island Board from 1922 to the time of his death in 1953. For many years it has been misspelt as Starke but it was officially corrected recently.
Rocky Bay
Rocky Bay: Descriptive.
Narrow Neck: Descriptive.
Lady Edeline Beach: Named after Lady Edeline Strickland, wife of WA Governor, Sir Gerald Strickland. The daughter of the seventh Earl De La Warr, Lady Edeline Sackville-West (d.1918) married Sir Gerald Strickland in London, 26th August 1890. Sir Gerald Strickland married Margaret Hulton in 1926, eight years after the death of Lady Edeline Strickland.
Abraham Point
Abraham Point: Possibly named after the first European to visit the island, an Englishman - Abraham Leeman van Santwits - in 1659. He was first officer and navigator of the Waeckende Boey searching for the wreck of the Dutch ship Vergulde Draeck.
Marjorie Bay:
Joan Island:
Celia Rocks: Named after Cecilia Strickland (Hon Cecilia de Trafford MP - 1897-1982), one of five daughters of the WA Governor, Sir Gerald Strickland. She was elected to the Maltese Parliament in 1950.
Hayward Cape: Recalls Seybert Hayward, a tourist officer who became Secretary of the Rottnest Board of Control in 1923.
Mabel Strickland OBE
Mabel Cove: Named after Mabel Strickland OBE (1899-1988), one of five daughters of WA Governor, Sir Gerald Strickland. During her time on the island (age 10 to 14 years), Mabel edited the handwritten Rottnest Times school newspaper. In later life she was the editor of The Times of Malta during World War II and led the Progressive Constitutional Party during the 1950s. She was one of the principal political leaders of the 1950s, participating in the integration talks in 1956/57 as well as being adamantly against independence in 1964. She was elected to the Maltese Parliament in 1962.
Capt Phillip Parker King
King Head: Named after Capt Phillip Parker King who visited the island in January 1822.
Eagle Bay:
Cathedral Rocks: Descripitve of their shape.
Rottnest Island's Lakes
Salt lakes occupy ten per cent of the area of Rottnest Island. Many of them - including Lake Baghdad, Lake Vincent, Herschel Lake, Garden Lake, Government House Lake and Serpentine Lake - are permanent and have surrounding beaches. Other lakes such as Pink Lake, Lake Sirius, Lake Negri and the twin Pearse Lakes may dry out in summer. The lakes of Rottnest were collectively named Duvaldilly Ponds by French explorer, Louis de Freycinet, on 17th June 1801, after Antoine Henry Mengy Duvaldilly, midshipman of survey vessel Naturaliste. This was the first recorded name for the lakes, however the name was never used or officially adopted.
Serpentine Lake: Possibly because of the lake's shape, which is long, narrow and twists around. This lake is a very long stretch of hypersaline water orientated east-west in the central eastern half of the island. It's the largest body of water on the island because when it carries a brackish layer on the surface caused by winter rainfalls it also envelops a few adjacent depressions which have been distinguished in the past as individual lakes. The reason for the lake's name is not known. though it is thought the lake's name is a reference to its shape.
Lake Baghdad
Lake Baghdad: In the 1830s Lakes Bagdhad, Vincent and Herschell, which were originally inter-connected, were known singularly as Threefold Lake. Lake Bagdhad and Lake Vincent then became known as the Settler's Lakes as it was on their shores that the island's first European settlers, the Thomson family, established their 200 acre farm in the 1830s. Robert Thomson (1791-1865), his wife Caroline and their seven children were eventually evicted from the island when it became a notorious Aboriginal prison. Lake Bagdhad is now isolated from Lakes Vincent and Herschell, possibly by minor earthworks to create or protect a vehicle track. The reason for the lake's name is not known.
Grave of Henry Vincent, Fremantle Cemetery
Lake Vincent: Henry Vincent, Rottnest island's first Prison Superintendent. From 1838 to 1849, he was appointed superintendent of the Native Establishment on Rottnest Island. He won much praise for the construction on the island, but many perceived him as overly strict and cruel in his dealings with the Aboriginal prisoners. Lake Vincent was originally known as Sealer's Lake.
Government House Lake
Government House Lake: Named because of its closeness to the Governor's summer residence on the island. What is noe Rottnest Hotel served as the summer residence for the Governors of Western Australia from 1864, until Sir Gerald Strickland became the final Vice Regal tenant in 1912. The 'Governor's Cottage' was then converted to holiday accommodation as the island opened for tourism in 1917.
Garden Lake: The shores of Garden Lake were used by the first European settlers, the Thomson family, as a garden to grow vegetables. The Thomsons and their twelve children were evicted from the island in 1838 when it became an Aboriginal prison.
Pink Lake
Pink Lake: Names because of the pick shade of its water at certain times of the year.
Lake Sirius: Possibly named for HMS Sirius, the flagship of the 'First Fleet' which enabled the establishment of the first British colony in Australia, at Sydney in 1788. The ship was commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip, the colony's first Governor. There is no record as to who named the lake - it may well have been Phillip Parker King RN who visited the island on HMS Bathurst in 1822. King was named after Arthur Phillip; his father, Philip Gidley King (1758-1808) had served under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip and was Phillip's second lieutenant on HMS Sirius as part of the First Fleet.
Lake Negri
Lake Negri: Lake Negri is passed on the way to Oliver's Hill, which was home for cannons and soldiers in WWII to protect Fremantl Harbour. It many have been named after the scenic village of Negri on the shores of Lake Como in Italy. Lake Negri is the third small lake adjacent to the end of the lakes Baghdad/Vincent aquatic complex.
Herschell Lake
Herschell Lake: In the 1830s Lakes Bagdhad, Vincent and Herschell, which were originally inter-connected, were known singularly as Threefold Lake. The names of Mount Herschell and Herschell Lake have the same origin. The reason for the lake's name is not known.
Lake Timperley: Recalls William Henry Timperley (1833-1909), policeman and civil servant who was superintendent of the native prison on Rottnest Island from July 1886 to 1890.
Pearse Lakes: Recalls Frederick Pearce, the last Superintendent when the native prison closed in 1903 (other sources say 1905). The last aboriginal prisoners didn t actually leave the island until 1922 and the last two European prisoners were transferred to Fremantle Prison in 1931.
Bulldozer Swamp: The reason for the lake's name is not known, however it may have something to do with the bulldozers that were used extensively on the island to build the island's coastal-defence artillery and anti-aircraft installations during the Second World War. Alternatively, a number of swamps on the island were mined in the 1970s for marl (a clay-like substance) in the 1970s which was used as a base in the construction of Island roads. Bulldozers were used to extract the marl.
Salmon Swamp: The reason for the swamp's name is not known. Probably named because of its colour.
Bickley Swamp: Recalls Wallace Bickley, an 1830s settler who acquired a land grant on the island and married a daughter of the Thomson family. Bickley Bay and Bickley Point have the same origin.
Ligththouse Swamp: Named because it is situated at the base of Wadjemup Hill, the site of the main Rottnest lighthouse. Lighthouse Swamp was once a fresh-water ecosystem, before it was mined for marl (a clay-like substance) in the 1970s which was used as a base in the construction of Island roads. This extraction removed an important layer at the base of the swamp and turned what was once a freshwater system saline. Lighthouse Swamp was once an important freshwater source for fauna including birds, reptiles and quokkas as well as various invertebrates, which have disappeared from the area following the increase in salinity.
There are many gaps in this list, indicating that the origins of many names were unable to be verified when this list was being compiled. The authors welcome any contributions by readers that will help fill in the gaps.
Jean Baptiste Louis Claude Leschenault de ld Tour
Cape Leschenault: 5.2.1803. Nicolas Baudin. Named after Jean Baptiste Louis Claude Leschenault de ld Tour, botanist of survey vessel Geographe.
One of the two rocks on Two Rocks beach
Two Rocks: Two large limestone rocks on the beach here.
Unwin Shoals:
Staggie Reef:
Gretel Reef:
Pamela Shoal / Pamela Beach:
The Spot: Thought to be derived from a note on an early map marking the location of a rocky section of shoreline.
Rhodes Reef:
Home Lump Reef:
Yanchep Lagoon
Yanchep Lagoon: The name Yanchep is of Aboriginal origin, and is derived from yanget , a native flax or bullrush. The name was first recorded for nearby Lake Yanchep by surveyor R. Quinn in September 1866. That lake is now known as Lach McMess; the beach on the coast is Yanchep Beach.
Laurance Reef:
Hugill Reef
The Alkimos, 1964
Alkimos Beach: Named after the 7033 ton Greek freighter Alkimos which rang aground here in March 1963. Several attempts were made to refloat her, but all were unsuccessful. The ship took some years to break up. Some wreckage remains the the majority has been swallowed by the sea.
Eglinton Rocks: Named after the sailing ship, Eglinton, which was wrecked here in 1852. Pemberon Walcott, who later became the master of vessels which serviced the towns of WA's north west in the 1860s, survived the wreck as an 18-year-old.
Quinns Rock beach
Quinns Rock: 1867. Surveyor James Cowle. Named after Robert Quin who emigrated to Western Australia in 1863 and was appointed as Assistant Surveyor on his arrival. Quin died in July 1886. The spelling has changed over time with the addition of another "n" to the end of the name.
Wanneroo Beach: In the early days of the Swan River Colony, the district of Wanneroo represented an "outer" region. The whole stretch of coastline in this region was originally known as Wanneroo Beach. It is not known when early settlers started using the name "Wanneroo", but, as early as 1842, a Surveyor recorded "road to Wanneroo" and in 1844, James Dobbins gave his address as Wanneroo. A government townsite was gazetted as "Wanneru" in August 1907 and it was not until May 1953 that the spelling was amended to "Wanneroo". The name is of Aboriginal origin and refers to the sticks used by tribal women for digging roots.
Mindarie Keys
Mindarie Keys / Mindarie Beach: The name of the beach beach and nearby suburb is derived from Mindarie Lake, an Aboriginal name first recorded by Alexander Forrest in 1874. The name is thought to be that of a ceremonial ground by the lake. The suburb was to have been named Clarkson prior to development, but the two names were transposed in 1985.
Burns Beach
Burns Rocks / Burns Beach: Named after a farmer who ran sheep in the area in the late 19th century. The suburb which takes its name from the beach is located on land originally owned by the Midland Railway Company. In 1908, approval by the Wanneroo Road Board was given to a request by 50 residents of the district for a 50 acre reserve for camping and a health resort at the beach. The suburb we see today was developed in the 1980s.
Whitford Rock / Whitfords Beach: The name recalls Frank Whitford, a developer whose plan for the development of a large tract of land he owned in the area between Mullaloo and Waterman Bay was first presented in 1928, and came to fruition 43 years later. In 1971, as a direct result of the adoption of the Corridor Plan for the development of Perth, Frank Whitford's development plan was given government approval in principle. Whitford's name was adopted for the first suburb in the North corridor that would ultimately house 50,000 people. The development was eventually broken down into four suburbs - Craigie, Padbury, Hillarys and Kallaroo - with the name Whitfords being retained for the beach, the shopping centre and major road through the area.
Pinnaroo Point: The name is of Aboriginal origin and is the name they gave to the locality. Numerous fisherman's shacks existed around the point in the post-World War II years. The name is now used for the Pinnaroo Memorial Park, a burial ground and park created at Padbury in 1978.
Hillarys Beach
Hillarys Beach: The beach is named after Bertram John Hillary, a Gallipoli war veteran who died in 1957 at the age of 62, who set up the first beach shack on a lonely stretch of beach in 1930. That lonely stretch of beach eventually came to be named after its best known inhabitant, courtesy of the Army which had use of the land during World War 2. The name was suggested as the name of the suburb which now surrounds it by the Shire of Wanneroo, and was approved in 1971.
Wanneroo Reef: See 'Wanneroo Beach' above.
Cow Rock: Its shape.
Boyinaboat Reef: Its shape
Sorrento Beach
Sorrento Beach: The name is derived from a nearby residential subdivision releasedin 1929 by developer Frank Whitford. It was to be the first stage of a major development scheme for the whole area to the north of Waterman Bay. Unfortunately the Wanneroo Road Board lacked the funds to build roads, the developers' funds were also limited, and so only a few streets behind Sorrento Beach were developed. It is assumed that the name was taken from the Italian seaside town of Sorrento which is located south of Naples opposite the Isle of Capri. Padbury Circle, Hood Tce. and Parker Ave. constituted Whitford's original development. Its only shop, known as the Sorrento Dome because of its unique shape, stood for years on the corner of West Coast Highway and The Plaza. The present day suburb of Sorrento was developed in the 1970s.
Marmion Beach: Named after Patrick Marmion of the schooner 'Pelsart', who operated a whaling station in this area in 1849. He was granted an area of land rent free and hired a jetty at Fremantle. In the 1930's Marmion beach was a popular spot with fishermen, and numerous boatsheds and shacks were built there. The suburb surrounding the beach took its name from the beach during its development in the 1970s.
Waterman Bay from the lookout at the Mount Flora Lookout and Regional Museum. The lookout tower was built as a water tower
Waterman Bay / Watermans Beach: First settled in the 1860s, it served a stopping point and Star Swamp a watering hole along the Coastal Stock Route to Geraldton. Named after Alfred Waterman, a local fisherman and one of the first residents in the area. In 1918, the area was subdivided as the Mt Flora Estates, but initial development was largely limited to holiday shacks. After World War II, the area developed rapidly. The suburb's name was shortened from Watermans Bay to Waterman in 1962, but this was never popuklar and it reverted to Waterman Bat in 2003.
North Beach: The name has been in use for the area and the beaches in the area since at least the 1880's, when the Hamersley family built a summer home there. Streets in the area honour members of the family. It is a descriptive name, derived from the beach being (at the time) the most northerly of Perth's beaches.
Hamersley Pool
Hamersley Pool: Named after the district's first land owner, Edward Hamersley, who owned and farmed land near Guildford. In the late 1800's he built a summer home in what is now North Beach, and named it "The Castle". It was on the site of the present day Castle Hotel. Hamersley Pool, at the southern end of North Beach, is one of the most popular swimming spots on this section of coast.
Bennion Beach
Bennion Beach: A small beach, Bennion is perfect for snorkelling and rock hopping. There is an abundance of marine life on the reef systems surrounding the beach, with a sheltered swimming area. There is a secluded atmosphere to the beach as most people swim at Trigg, a short distance to the south.
Trigg Island / Trigg Beach / South Trigg Beach: Trigg has Perth's most consistent surf break, particularly in summer when it is often the only beach in the metropolitan area with a wave breaking. Trigg is also well known for the Trigg blue hole, an area at the north end of Trigg Beach which has in the past claimed several lives. Trigg has a surf lifesaving club, grassed areas, kiosks, off street parking, public toilets/change rooms, small boat launching ramp. Trigg was named after Henry Trigg, Superintendent of Public Works in the Colony of WA from 1838 to 1851.
Scarborough Beach
Scarborough Beach: The name is derived from the name of a residential subdivision which began to be sold in the late 1880s. The name was coined by a real estate developer and recalls the English seaside town of Scarborough in North Yorkshire.
Brighton Beach: The name is derived from the name of a residential subdivision to the South Scarborough Beach Road. The name was coined by a real estate developer and recalls the English seaside resort town of Brighton in Sussex. The name was never adopted officially and the subdivision is now part of the suburb of Scarborough.
Floreat Beach: The name is derived from the residential subdivision of Floreat Park. Perth's Town Clerk, W.E, Bold, chose the name, which is a Latin word meaning 'Let It Flourish'. It was taken from Perth's Coat of Arms. Subdivision of Floreat Park (known simply as Floreat since 1977) commenced in 1912. The name was adopted for Floreat Beach in the 1940s to differentiate it from City Beach, both of which still fall within the boundaries of the City of Perth, however Floreat Beach does not border the suburb with which it shares its name.
City Beach: The name City Beach was first used as the name for all the beach area within the boundaries of the local government area of the City Of Perth. After World War I the City Council proposed to lay out an up-to-date seaside town near the ocean beach on garden city lines, embodying approved Town Planning principles, and making ample provision for recreation purposes. By 1928, when blocks of land were released in the new subdivision, the name began to be used only for the beach nearby, which had early been refrred to as Ocean Beach. The names Templetonia and Swansea were considered for the subdivision and its beach.
Swanbourne Beach
Swanbourne Beach / North Swanbourne Beach: 1886. Gov Sir Frederick Napier Broome. The name recalls the home of the first Baron Cottesloe of Swanbourne, Buckinghamshire, England, the brother of Captain Fremantle. A section of North Swanbourne Beach is designated for use by nudists. The name came into use for the beach and the first homes nearby which began to be built in the 1890s. The beach and the suburb which shares its name were named simultaneously.
Cottesloe Beach
Cottesloe Beach / North Cottesloe Beach: 1886. Gov Sir Frederick Napier Broome. The name recalls the first Baron Cottesloe of Swanbourne, Buckinghamshire, England, the brother of Captain Fremantle. The beach and the suburb which shares its name were named simultaneously when the townsite of Cottesloe was declared by Gov Broome. Up until the time of the duplication of the railway line in 1898, what is today Cottesloe station was known as Butler's Siding.
Mosman Beach: Takes its name from the nearby suburb of Mosman Bay, which was adopted by the Buckland Hill Road Board in October 1907. The area was previously known as Buckland Hill. It is named after the Mosman in Sydney, the birthplace of one of the Road Board's members, RJ Yeldon. The area name was changed to Mosman Park in 1937 to avoid confusion with the Sydney suburb, the name of which honours Scots-born ship owner and pastoralist Archibald Mosman (1799-1863).
Vlamingh memorial
Confusion still exists between between the river beach on Mosman Bay and the ocean beach of Mosman Beach, the common belief being that the name 'Mosman Beach' refers to the river beach. Dutch explorer Willem Vlamingh is believed to have come ashore at Mosman Beach on 5 January, 1697. A momument marks the spot.
Leighton Beach
Leighton Beach: Takes its name from a railway station on the Perth to Fremantle line near the beach. The station was named after John Leighton, one of Perth Railways Department earliest employees who worked first as a letter carrier between Perth and Fremantle in 1867 and then as a storeman when the Railways Department was created. His home was in Harvest Road, North Fremantle, his wide operated the crossing gates at Leighton Beach between 1881 and 1895. The Leightons were the first European residnts in the area.
Port Beach: Named in the 1930s to differentiate it from nearby Leighton Beach. It is named because of its proximity to the port of Fremantle.
Gage Roads
Gage Roads: March 1827. James Stirling. Rear Admiral W. Gage, who was Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy's East Indies station at the time when James Stirling was surveying the Swan River in 1826. Gage Roads is the sea channel and anchorage in the Indian Ocean offshore from Perth through which ships must pass on their way in and out of the port of Fremantle. Gage Roads was the location of the America's Cup defence in 1986/7.
Rous Head:
March 1827. James Stirling. Named after Henry John Rous (1795-1877), son of Sir William Hall, Viscount Dunwich, Earl of Stradbroke. He explored the coast of New South Wales and Tasmania with Phillip Parker King aboard cutter, Rainbow.
Col. George Arthur
Arthur Head: March 1827. James Stirling. Recalls Col. George Arthur, Lieut. Governor of Tasmania, 1824-36.
Marquis Point: Marquis Point, the southern tip of Arthur Head, was named after the Marquis of Anglesea,s a ship wrecked on Bathers Beach on 4 September 1829. All hands were saved. It was later converted into Gov. James Stirling's Fremantle Office, the Harbour Master's Office, and a prison ship for refractory servants.
Bathers Bay
Bather's Bay: A small beach immediately bhind the Round House in Fremantle, it was here on 2 May 1829 that Capt. Fremantle made his first ladding with the Swan River Colony's pioneer settlers and took formal possession of the whole of the West Coast of what was then called New Holland for the British crown. The beach continued to be the main access point ton the colony until the inner harbour was completed in the 1890s. Two land based whaling stations operated from the beach from 1837 into the 1860s, giving rise to it being known as Whalers Beach. Later in the 19th century, it developed as a boat building centre. The shoreline of Bathers Bay was originally much closer to the cliffs of Arthur Head, the present breakwater and beach having been created on reclaimed land.
Anglesea Point: The southern tip of Bathers Bay, Anglesea Point was named after the Marquis of Anglesea,s a ship wrecked on Bathers Beach on 4 September 1829. See Marquis Point.
Challenger Harbour
Challenger Harbour: HMS Challenger, under the command of Capt. Charles Fremantle, sailed from England to the Swan River to take possession of the west coast of New Holland. Capt. Fremantle claimed possession in December 1828.
Success Harbour: Recalls HMS Success, the vessel in which Capt. James Striling made his initial visit to the Swan River area prior to settlement in 1827. HMS Success was based at the India Station and Stirling was its first commander. It was broken up in 1849 after many years' use as a harbour ship at Portsmouth, England.
South Beach: The name came into popular use in the 1850s, originally as a reference to all the beaches to the south of Fremantle.
Cockburn Sound: March 1827. James Stirling. Named after Sir George Cockburn, Vice admiral and a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty. Cockburn Sound is an inlet of the Indian Ocean that extends south from the mouth of the Swan River at Fremantle for about 25km to Cape Peron near Rockingham. It is bounded on the east by the mainland and on the west by Garden Island and Carnac Island, and includes several rocky outcrops and reefs. The Gage Roads shipping channel lies to the north.
Catherine Point:
Charles Yelverton O'Connor
O'Connor Beach: Located at the southern end of the South Beach, beyond the Catherine Point groyne, O'Connor beach is most pleasant. It can be accessed via McTaggart Cove Road alongside the old South Fremantle Power Station. Around the corner from the groyne at the southern end of the beach is the McTaggart's Cove natural pool. The beach is named for Charles Yelverton O'Connor, a forward thinking engineer who was responsible for designing Framantle Inner Harbour, the Perth suburban railway system and the Goldfields Water Supply pipeline. O'Connor committed suicide at the beach on 10 March 1902 after intense criticism from the media that the Goldfields Water Supply project was a waste of money and would not work.
James Rocks: 1838. John S Roe. Named after the brig, James, blown ashore 3 km south of the rocks in May 1830.
Owen Anchorage: September 1929. James Stirling. Named after Capt. William Owen, who anchored the brig Amity there 21.9.1829.
Coogee Beach
Coogee Beach: The name is of Aboriginal origin and was first recorded by local settler Thomas Watson as the name for Lake Munster. This name gradually gave way to the more widely used Aboriginal name Lake Coogee.
Woodman Point: March 1827. James Stirling. Named after Thomas Woodman, purser, HMS Success. Originally Woodman's Point.
Jervoise Bay: March 1827. James Stirling. Named after Capt. Jervoise, HMS Success.
Challenger Beach: HMS Challenger, under the command of Capt. Charles Fremantle, sailed from England to the Swan River to take possession of the west coast of New Holland. Capt. Fremantle claimed possession in December 1828.
James Point: March 1827. James Stirling. Named after James Mangles, father-in-law of James Stirling.
SS Kwinana
Kwinana Beach: Recalls the State Ship Kwinana, which traversed between Fremantle and the ports of the north-west of Western Australia between 1912 and 1920. It was destroyed by fire at Carnarvon in 1920 and was towed to Cockburn Sound. It broke loose in a gale and ran aground on 30 May 1922 on the beach which bears its name. Cottages built near the wreck soon adopted the name Kwinana. The name is of Aboriginal origin from the Kimberley region, and means 'fair madden'.
Rockingham Beach: Recalls the ship Rockingam, which ran aground in May 1830 on what is today known as Rockingham Beach. It was the last of three ships to sail from London with Thomas Peel's settlers. Capt. Dance of HMS Sulphur came to its aid but attempts to re-float and repair the ship failed.
Mangles Bay: March 1827. James Stirling. Named after James Mangles, father in law of James Stirling.
John Point: The origin of the name is unclear, however it is throught to be named after the surveyor-general John Septimus Roe, who conducted a detailed survey of the area in 1838.
Francois Peron
Cape (Point) Peron: 18.6.1801, Nicolas Baudin. Named after expedition naturalist, Francois Peron, of the expedition corvette, Naturaliste.
Shoalwater Bay: 1838. John S Roe. Descriptive.
Mersey Point: 1838. John S Roe. Named after Capt. Benjamin Mersey of British East India Station.
Safety Bay: 1838. John S Roe. Described by Roe as "as safe, well protected boat harbour". Later named Peel Harbour, then Peel Basin when it became landlocked after storms.
Warnbro Sound / Warnbro Beach: 1838. John S Roe. Reason for naming is not known.
Waikiki Beach
Waikiki Beach: The name is derived from the nearby residential subdivision. Adopted in April 1974, the name recalls the popular beach resort of Waikiki in the Hawaiian Islands.
Bridport Point:
Becher Point: 2.2.1803, Nicolas Baudin. Named after a crew member of the Casuarina.
Secret Harbour Beach: The name is derived from the nearby residential subdivision. Approved in 1984, the name was used for a propsed marina development which was to include a small boat harbour. The suburb does not now include a harbour.
Golden Bay
Golden Bay Beach: The name is derived from the nearby residential subdivision. The name was coined by a real estate developer. Previously named Peelhurst, Golden Bay was approved as a suburb name in 1985. It is derived from the golden sands of the beach there.
Singleton Beach: Singleton is named after the nearby locality, which in turn is named after Captain Francis Corbet Singleton who came to and settled in this district in 1839. Singleton was appointed to the first Board of Road Directors in 1840, and had extensive lanholdings in the Murray District. Singleton was declared a townsite in 1956.
Madora Bay Beach: The name was coined by a real estate developer for the Madora Beach Estate, a nearby residential subdivision which was subdivided and sold in 1960. The estate was a development of Perry s Estate Agency in Mandurah, and the name was derived from two Western Australian place names: Chadora, a mill and railway siding near Dwellingup, and Mandora, a cattle station between Broome and Port Hedland. The suburb's name was first approved as Madora in 1990, and amended to Madora Bay in 2003.
San Remo Beach: The name is derived from the nearby residential subdivision. The name was coined by a real estate developer and recalls the city of San Remo on the Mediterranean coast of western Liguria in north-western Italy. It was approved as a suburb name in 1989.
Watersun Beach: The name is derived from a nearby residential subdivision. The name was coined by a real estate developer but is no longer used for the subdivision or suburb.
Offshore Islands
Garden Island
Garden Island: March 1827. James Stirling. Stirling planted vegetable seeds there for a garden on his first visit to the Swan River area. Named Bauche Island by Nicolas Baudin, 18.6.1801. after Phillippe Bauche (1700-1773), French geographer and historian. Garden Island is one of two primary Navy repair and refit locations in Australia (the other is Garden Island in Sydney Harbour). Both are of strategic significance in both berthing and maintaining the Navy Fleet and associated regional defence activities.
Carnac Island
Carnac Island: March 1827. James Stirling. Named after Lieut. John Rivett Carnac, Second Lieutenant on his ship HMS Success. "Pulo" is Malay for "Island"; it is not known why Stirling included the term, and it was soon dropped . In 1803, French explorer Louis de Freycinet, captain of the Casuarina, named the island ile Pele (Bald Island). It was also named ile L'vilian by Francois Peron and ile Berthelot by Nicolas Baudin in June 1801.
All three Frenchmen were sailing on the same expedition, but on different ships, under the command of Nicolas Baudin, but relationships between them had so deteriorated during their voyage, they ended up doing their own thing, as if in competition with each other. Since Baudin was the expedition leader, his name would have been the legitimate one. Bertholet Island honoured Claude Louis Bertholet (1748-1822), French chemist who assisted in the establishment of Chemistry nomenclature. Carnac Island is an A Class nature reserve approximately 10 kilometres south west of Fremantle.
Bird Island: March 1827. James Stirling. Presumably because of the many birds that nest there.
Seal Island: March 1827. James Stirling. A seal colony was sighted there.
Garden Island
Penguin Island: March 1827. James Stirling. A Fairy Penguin colony is located there. The island is premier eco-cruise destinations, with fairy penguin, sea lions, dolphins and breeding nest for Arctic Skua, Little Eagles, Ospreys and Sea Eagles the main attraction. The Island is also breeding and nesting site for colonies of Australian Pelicans.
Rottnest Island
Rottnest Island
Rottnest Island: 29.12.1697. Willem De Vlamingh. Named Rotte Neste, which literally means Rat's Nest. Dutch explorer Vlamingh (Geelvinck) was referring to the island's quokkas, a small wallaby like marsupial. A rat was the closest description he could give having yet not seen a kangaroo. Vlamingh originally called it Misteiland, meaning Island of Mist, however the French cartographer Vaugondy who drew Vlamingh's map mis-translated the name as Misjelandm which means Island of Girls.
Because of this error, for may years it was believed that the island had an all female population. The lakes of Rottnest were named Duvaldilly Ponds by de Freycinet, 17.6.1801, after Antoine Henry Mengy Duvaldilly, midshipman of survey vessel Naturaliste. The two capes at opposing ends of Rottnest Island were named by de Freycinet after crew members (see below).
In 1803, on his return to Rottnest, Nicolas Baudin named it iles Louis Napoleon after Napoleon's younger brother, Louis Napoleon (1778-1846). The Aboriginal name for the island was Wadjemup, possibly meaning "place across the water". It was believed by them to be a home of spirits among the local Noongar communities.
Willem de Vlamingh
Cape Vlamingh: Recalls the island's discoverer, Dutchman Willem de Vlamingh (January 1792). It was named Cape Faure by de Freycinet in June 1801 after his expedition geographer, Pierre Faure, though this name has never been recognised or used. In his 1681 chart the English captain John Daniel marked what he had named as Maiden's Isle. That name did not survive, however.
Radar Reef: It is near Radar Hill, where a radar station was built being World War II to warn of any impending attrack on Perth by sea.
Sir Gerald Strickland
Strickland Bay: Named after Sir Gerald Strickland (1861-1940). He was Governor of the Leeward Island from 1902 to 1904 , Governor of Tasmania from 1904 to 1909, Governor of Western Australia from 1909 to 1913, Governor of New South Wales from 1913 to 1917 and Prime Minister of Malta from 1927 to 1932. Five other of Rottnest's geographical features are named after Strickland's wife and four eldest daughters. His fifth daughter - Hon Dr Constance Strickland LMSSA (1912-79) - missed out; she was less than a year old when the Stricklands left WA for Tasmania and had never lived on Rottnest Island as her sisters had.
What is today the Rottnest Arms Hotel was built as an exclusive summer residence for the WA Governor in 1848. The 1912/1913 summer was the last time it was used for this purpose; Sir Gerald Strickland and his family were its last Vice-Regal occupants.
Col. George Arthur
Arthur Head: March 1827. James Stirling. Recalls Col. George Arthur, Lieut. Governor of Tasmania, 1824-36.
Marquis Point: Marquis Point, the southern tip of Arthur Head, was named after the Marquis of Anglesea,s a ship wrecked on Bathers Beach on 4 September 1829. All hands were saved. It was later converted into Gov. James Stirling's Fremantle Office, the Harbour Master's Office, and a prison ship for refractory servants.
Bathers Bay
Bather's Bay: A small beach immediately bhind the Round House in Fremantle, it was here on 2 May 1829 that Capt. Fremantle made his first ladding with the Swan River Colony's pioneer settlers and took formal possession of the whole of the West Coast of what was then called New Holland for the British crown. The beach continued to be the main access point ton the colony until the inner harbour was completed in the 1890s. Two land based whaling stations operated from the beach from 1837 into the 1860s, giving rise to it being known as Whalers Beach. Later in the 19th century, it developed as a boat building centre. The shoreline of Bathers Bay was originally much closer to the cliffs of Arthur Head, the present breakwater and beach having been created on reclaimed land.
Anglesea Point: The southern tip of Bathers Bay, Anglesea Point was named after the Marquis of Anglesea,s a ship wrecked on Bathers Beach on 4 September 1829. See Marquis Point.
Challenger Harbour
Challenger Harbour: HMS Challenger, under the command of Capt. Charles Fremantle, sailed from England to the Swan River to take possession of the west coast of New Holland. Capt. Fremantle claimed possession in December 1828.
Success Harbour: Recalls HMS Success, the vessel in which Capt. James Striling made his initial visit to the Swan River area prior to settlement in 1827. HMS Success was based at the India Station and Stirling was its first commander. It was broken up in 1849 after many years' use as a harbour ship at Portsmouth, England.
South Beach: The name came into popular use in the 1850s, originally as a reference to all the beaches to the south of Fremantle.
Cockburn Sound: March 1827. James Stirling. Named after Sir George Cockburn, Vice admiral and a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty. Cockburn Sound is an inlet of the Indian Ocean that extends south from the mouth of the Swan River at Fremantle for about 25km to Cape Peron near Rockingham. It is bounded on the east by the mainland and on the west by Garden Island and Carnac Island, and includes several rocky outcrops and reefs. The Gage Roads shipping channel lies to the north.
Catherine Point:
Charles Yelverton O'Connor
O'Connor Beach: Located at the southern end of the South Beach, beyond the Catherine Point groyne, O'Connor beach is most pleasant. It can be accessed via McTaggart Cove Road alongside the old South Fremantle Power Station. Around the corner from the groyne at the southern end of the beach is the McTaggart's Cove natural pool. The beach is named for Charles Yelverton O'Connor, a forward thinking engineer who was responsible for designing Framantle Inner Harbour, the Perth suburban railway system and the Goldfields Water Supply pipeline. O'Connor committed suicide at the beach on 10 March 1902 after intense criticism from the media that the Goldfields Water Supply project was a waste of money and would not work.
James Rocks: 1838. John S Roe. Named after the brig, James, blown ashore 3 km south of the rocks in May 1830.
Owen Anchorage: September 1929. James Stirling. Named after Capt. William Owen, who anchored the brig Amity there 21.9.1829.
Coogee Beach
Coogee Beach: The name is of Aboriginal origin and was first recorded by local settler Thomas Watson as the name for Lake Munster. This name gradually gave way to the more widely used Aboriginal name Lake Coogee.
Woodman Point: March 1827. James Stirling. Named after Thomas Woodman, purser, HMS Success. Originally Woodman's Point.
Jervoise Bay: March 1827. James Stirling. Named after Capt. Jervoise, HMS Success.
Challenger Beach: HMS Challenger, under the command of Capt. Charles Fremantle, sailed from England to the Swan River to take possession of the west coast of New Holland. Capt. Fremantle claimed possession in December 1828.
James Point: March 1827. James Stirling. Named after James Mangles, father-in-law of James Stirling.
SS Kwinana
Kwinana Beach: Recalls the State Ship Kwinana, which traversed between Fremantle and the ports of the north-west of Western Australia between 1912 and 1920. It was destroyed by fire at Carnarvon in 1920 and was towed to Cockburn Sound. It broke loose in a gale and ran aground on 30 May 1922 on the beach which bears its name. Cottages built near the wreck soon adopted the name Kwinana. The name is of Aboriginal origin from the Kimberley region, and means 'fair madden'.
Rockingham Beach: Recalls the ship Rockingam, which ran aground in May 1830 on what is today known as Rockingham Beach. It was the last of three ships to sail from London with Thomas Peel's settlers. Capt. Dance of HMS Sulphur came to its aid but attempts to re-float and repair the ship failed.
Mangles Bay: March 1827. James Stirling. Named after James Mangles, father in law of James Stirling.
John Point: The origin of the name is unclear, however it is throught to be named after the surveyor-general John Septimus Roe, who conducted a detailed survey of the area in 1838.
Francois Peron
Cape (Point) Peron: 18.6.1801, Nicolas Baudin. Named after expedition naturalist, Francois Peron, of the expedition corvette, Naturaliste.
Shoalwater Bay: 1838. John S Roe. Descriptive.
Mersey Point: 1838. John S Roe. Named after Capt. Benjamin Mersey of British East India Station.
Safety Bay: 1838. John S Roe. Described by Roe as "as safe, well protected boat harbour". Later named Peel Harbour, then Peel Basin when it became landlocked after storms.
Warnbro Sound / Warnbro Beach: 1838. John S Roe. Reason for naming is not known.
Waikiki Beach
Waikiki Beach: The name is derived from the nearby residential subdivision. Adopted in April 1974, the name recalls the popular beach resort of Waikiki in the Hawaiian Islands.
Bridport Point:
Becher Point: 2.2.1803, Nicolas Baudin. Named after a crew member of the Casuarina.
Secret Harbour Beach: The name is derived from the nearby residential subdivision. Approved in 1984, the name was used for a propsed marina development which was to include a small boat harbour. The suburb does not now include a harbour.
Golden Bay
Golden Bay Beach: The name is derived from the nearby residential subdivision. The name was coined by a real estate developer. Previously named Peelhurst, Golden Bay was approved as a suburb name in 1985. It is derived from the golden sands of the beach there.
Singleton Beach: Singleton is named after the nearby locality, which in turn is named after Captain Francis Corbet Singleton who came to and settled in this district in 1839. Singleton was appointed to the first Board of Road Directors in 1840, and had extensive lanholdings in the Murray District. Singleton was declared a townsite in 1956.
Madora Bay Beach: The name was coined by a real estate developer for the Madora Beach Estate, a nearby residential subdivision which was subdivided and sold in 1960. The estate was a development of Perry s Estate Agency in Mandurah, and the name was derived from two Western Australian place names: Chadora, a mill and railway siding near Dwellingup, and Mandora, a cattle station between Broome and Port Hedland. The suburb's name was first approved as Madora in 1990, and amended to Madora Bay in 2003.
San Remo Beach: The name is derived from the nearby residential subdivision. The name was coined by a real estate developer and recalls the city of San Remo on the Mediterranean coast of western Liguria in north-western Italy. It was approved as a suburb name in 1989.
Watersun Beach: The name is derived from a nearby residential subdivision. The name was coined by a real estate developer but is no longer used for the subdivision or suburb.
Garden Island
Garden Island: March 1827. James Stirling. Stirling planted vegetable seeds there for a garden on his first visit to the Swan River area. Named Bauche Island by Nicolas Baudin, 18.6.1801. after Phillippe Bauche (1700-1773), French geographer and historian. Garden Island is one of two primary Navy repair and refit locations in Australia (the other is Garden Island in Sydney Harbour). Both are of strategic significance in both berthing and maintaining the Navy Fleet and associated regional defence activities.
Carnac Island
Carnac Island: March 1827. James Stirling. Named after Lieut. John Rivett Carnac, Second Lieutenant on his ship HMS Success. "Pulo" is Malay for "Island"; it is not known why Stirling included the term, and it was soon dropped . In 1803, French explorer Louis de Freycinet, captain of the Casuarina, named the island ile Pele (Bald Island). It was also named ile L'vilian by Francois Peron and ile Berthelot by Nicolas Baudin in June 1801.
All three Frenchmen were sailing on the same expedition, but on different ships, under the command of Nicolas Baudin, but relationships between them had so deteriorated during their voyage, they ended up doing their own thing, as if in competition with each other. Since Baudin was the expedition leader, his name would have been the legitimate one. Bertholet Island honoured Claude Louis Bertholet (1748-1822), French chemist who assisted in the establishment of Chemistry nomenclature. Carnac Island is an A Class nature reserve approximately 10 kilometres south west of Fremantle.
Bird Island: March 1827. James Stirling. Presumably because of the many birds that nest there.
Seal Island: March 1827. James Stirling. A seal colony was sighted there.
Garden Island
Penguin Island: March 1827. James Stirling. A Fairy Penguin colony is located there. The island is premier eco-cruise destinations, with fairy penguin, sea lions, dolphins and breeding nest for Arctic Skua, Little Eagles, Ospreys and Sea Eagles the main attraction. The Island is also breeding and nesting site for colonies of Australian Pelicans.
Rottnest Island
Rottnest Island: 29.12.1697. Willem De Vlamingh. Named Rotte Neste, which literally means Rat's Nest. Dutch explorer Vlamingh (Geelvinck) was referring to the island's quokkas, a small wallaby like marsupial. A rat was the closest description he could give having yet not seen a kangaroo. Vlamingh originally called it Misteiland, meaning Island of Mist, however the French cartographer Vaugondy who drew Vlamingh's map mis-translated the name as Misjelandm which means Island of Girls.
Because of this error, for may years it was believed that the island had an all female population. The lakes of Rottnest were named Duvaldilly Ponds by de Freycinet, 17.6.1801, after Antoine Henry Mengy Duvaldilly, midshipman of survey vessel Naturaliste. The two capes at opposing ends of Rottnest Island were named by de Freycinet after crew members (see below).
In 1803, on his return to Rottnest, Nicolas Baudin named it iles Louis Napoleon after Napoleon's younger brother, Louis Napoleon (1778-1846). The Aboriginal name for the island was Wadjemup, possibly meaning "place across the water". It was believed by them to be a home of spirits among the local Noongar communities.
Willem de Vlamingh
Cape Vlamingh: Recalls the island's discoverer, Dutchman Willem de Vlamingh (January 1792). It was named Cape Faure by de Freycinet in June 1801 after his expedition geographer, Pierre Faure, though this name has never been recognised or used. In his 1681 chart the English captain John Daniel marked what he had named as Maiden's Isle. That name did not survive, however.
Radar Reef: It is near Radar Hill, where a radar station was built being World War II to warn of any impending attrack on Perth by sea.
Sir Gerald Strickland
Strickland Bay: Named after Sir Gerald Strickland (1861-1940). He was Governor of the Leeward Island from 1902 to 1904 , Governor of Tasmania from 1904 to 1909, Governor of Western Australia from 1909 to 1913, Governor of New South Wales from 1913 to 1917 and Prime Minister of Malta from 1927 to 1932. Five other of Rottnest's geographical features are named after Strickland's wife and four eldest daughters. His fifth daughter - Hon Dr Constance Strickland LMSSA (1912-79) - missed out; she was less than a year old when the Stricklands left WA for Tasmania and had never lived on Rottnest Island as her sisters had.
What is today the Rottnest Arms Hotel was built as an exclusive summer residence for the WA Governor in 1848. The 1912/1913 summer was the last time it was used for this purpose; Sir Gerald Strickland and his family were its last Vice-Regal occupants.
Mary Christina Strickland
Mary Cove: Named after Mary Christina Strickland (1896-1970), one of five daughters of the WA Governor, Sir Gerald Strickland. She became Mary Christina dei Marchesi Gandolfi Hornyold when she married Henry Albert Hornyold, son of Alfred Joseph Hornyold and Alice de la Chere, on 7th July 1920.
Kitson Point: Recalls Rottnest Island Board Chairman, 1933-46, HW Kitson.
Nancy Cove: Origin unknown. This cove is the easternmost section of Salmon Bay. Offshore from the beach at Nancy Cove is Green Island, a big rock topped with brown grass. Stone quarried from Nancy Cove was used to build the Rottnest Island lighthouse on Oliver Hill.
Little Salmon Bay
Salmon Bay / Salmon Point / Little Salmon Bay: Salmon regularly caught there.
Porpoise Bay: Possibly because dolphins were seen here.
Parker Point
Parker Point / Parker Rock: Named after Capt Phillip Parker King, colonial maritime explorer who visited the island in January 1822.
Henrietta Rocks: Named after Henrietta Strickland, (Hon Henrietta Bower b.1903), one of five daughters of WA Governor, Sir Gerald Strickland.
Paterson Beach: Recalls gaol officer, Acting Island Superintendent in the early 1900s and later board executive officer.
Dyer Island
Dyer Island: Recalls a boat owner who was the first person to operate a ferry service between Rottnest and the mainland. The vessel was the TSS Zephyr. Dyer Island has an abundance of rock lobster in the ledges around the island. A colony of Australian sea lions reside at Dyer Island.
Wallace Island:
Bickley Point / Bickley Bay: Recalls Wallace Bickley, an 1830s settler who acquired a land grant on the island and married a daughter of the Thomson family.
Phillip Point / Phillip Rock: Named after Capt Phillip Parker King, colonial maritime explorer who visited the island in January 1822. King was given the christian name 'Phillip' after Arthur Phillip, forst governor of New South Wales. The rock was originally a jagged peak but had its top blasted away during World War II to allow searchlights located on the point to sweep Gage Roads.
Thomson Bay
Thomson Bay: Named after Robert Thomson. William Clarke and Robert Thomson took up town lots and pastureland in 1830. Thomson became a major landholder on Rottnest Island during the 1830s. The mis-spelling of the name began with John Septimus Roe, Surveyor-General of WA in 1841 when the name was first recorded.
Bathurst Point: Named by Capt Phillip Parker King who visited the island in January 1822. It was either named after the expedition's vessel, the brig, Bathurst.
Pinky Beach:
The Basin
The Basin: Its distinctive basin shape.
Longreach Bay / Longreach Point:
Point Clune:
Geordie Bay / Little Geordie Bay:
Parakeet Bay / Little Parakeet Bay / Parakeet Island:
North Point: Its position in relation to the rest of the island.
Little Armstrong Bay / Armstrong Rock: Recalls Francis Fraser Armstrong, who was appointed as Moral Agent for the Aboriginal prisoners on Rottnest Island in 1847. Henry Vincent, the island's first Prison Superintendent, also burdened him with the tasks of Store and Lighthouse keeper. The cottage K1 & K2 was built for him, but he returned to the mainland the following year.
Catherine Beach / Catherine Bay:
Charlotte Beach / Charlotte Point: Possibly named after Mrs Charlotte Condoret, daughter of Mr Duffield, the island's first lighthouse keeper. Her husband was Frenchman Henri Conderet who, commencing in 1868, worked the Rottnest Island Salt Store, purifying the salt collected from Rottnest's salt lakes.
City of York Bay
City of York Bay: Named after the 1242 tonne british barque City of York, which was wrecked there on 12th June 1899. The loss of 12 of its crew made the wreck of the City of York the most serious ever in the waters around Rottnest.
Ricey Beach:
Crayfish Rock: Possibly because of its reputation as a great place to catch crayfish.
Stark Bay: Named after James B Stark, MP, who supervised the island for the Rottnest Island Board from 1922 to the time of his death in 1953. For many years it has been misspelt as Starke but it was officially corrected recently.
Rocky Bay
Rocky Bay: Descriptive.
Narrow Neck: Descriptive.
Lady Edeline Beach: Named after Lady Edeline Strickland, wife of WA Governor, Sir Gerald Strickland. The daughter of the seventh Earl De La Warr, Lady Edeline Sackville-West (d.1918) married Sir Gerald Strickland in London, 26th August 1890. Sir Gerald Strickland married Margaret Hulton in 1926, eight years after the death of Lady Edeline Strickland.
Abraham Point
Abraham Point: Possibly named after the first European to visit the island, an Englishman - Abraham Leeman van Santwits - in 1659. He was first officer and navigator of the Waeckende Boey searching for the wreck of the Dutch ship Vergulde Draeck.
Marjorie Bay:
Joan Island:
Celia Rocks: Named after Cecilia Strickland (Hon Cecilia de Trafford MP - 1897-1982), one of five daughters of the WA Governor, Sir Gerald Strickland. She was elected to the Maltese Parliament in 1950.
Hayward Cape: Recalls Seybert Hayward, a tourist officer who became Secretary of the Rottnest Board of Control in 1923.
Mabel Strickland OBE
Mabel Cove: Named after Mabel Strickland OBE (1899-1988), one of five daughters of WA Governor, Sir Gerald Strickland. During her time on the island (age 10 to 14 years), Mabel edited the handwritten Rottnest Times school newspaper. In later life she was the editor of The Times of Malta during World War II and led the Progressive Constitutional Party during the 1950s. She was one of the principal political leaders of the 1950s, participating in the integration talks in 1956/57 as well as being adamantly against independence in 1964. She was elected to the Maltese Parliament in 1962.
Capt Phillip Parker King
King Head: Named after Capt Phillip Parker King who visited the island in January 1822.
Eagle Bay:
Cathedral Rocks: Descripitve of their shape.
Rottnest Island's Lakes
Salt lakes occupy ten per cent of the area of Rottnest Island. Many of them - including Lake Baghdad, Lake Vincent, Herschel Lake, Garden Lake, Government House Lake and Serpentine Lake - are permanent and have surrounding beaches. Other lakes such as Pink Lake, Lake Sirius, Lake Negri and the twin Pearse Lakes may dry out in summer. The lakes of Rottnest were collectively named Duvaldilly Ponds by French explorer, Louis de Freycinet, on 17th June 1801, after Antoine Henry Mengy Duvaldilly, midshipman of survey vessel Naturaliste. This was the first recorded name for the lakes, however the name was never used or officially adopted.
Serpentine Lake: Possibly because of the lake's shape, which is long, narrow and twists around. This lake is a very long stretch of hypersaline water orientated east-west in the central eastern half of the island. It's the largest body of water on the island because when it carries a brackish layer on the surface caused by winter rainfalls it also envelops a few adjacent depressions which have been distinguished in the past as individual lakes. The reason for the lake's name is not known. though it is thought the lake's name is a reference to its shape.
Lake Baghdad
Lake Baghdad: In the 1830s Lakes Bagdhad, Vincent and Herschell, which were originally inter-connected, were known singularly as Threefold Lake. Lake Bagdhad and Lake Vincent then became known as the Settler's Lakes as it was on their shores that the island's first European settlers, the Thomson family, established their 200 acre farm in the 1830s. Robert Thomson (1791-1865), his wife Caroline and their seven children were eventually evicted from the island when it became a notorious Aboriginal prison. Lake Bagdhad is now isolated from Lakes Vincent and Herschell, possibly by minor earthworks to create or protect a vehicle track. The reason for the lake's name is not known.
Grave of Henry Vincent, Fremantle Cemetery
Lake Vincent: Henry Vincent, Rottnest island's first Prison Superintendent. From 1838 to 1849, he was appointed superintendent of the Native Establishment on Rottnest Island. He won much praise for the construction on the island, but many perceived him as overly strict and cruel in his dealings with the Aboriginal prisoners. Lake Vincent was originally known as Sealer's Lake.
Government House Lake
Government House Lake: Named because of its closeness to the Governor's summer residence on the island. What is noe Rottnest Hotel served as the summer residence for the Governors of Western Australia from 1864, until Sir Gerald Strickland became the final Vice Regal tenant in 1912. The 'Governor's Cottage' was then converted to holiday accommodation as the island opened for tourism in 1917.
Garden Lake: The shores of Garden Lake were used by the first European settlers, the Thomson family, as a garden to grow vegetables. The Thomsons and their twelve children were evicted from the island in 1838 when it became an Aboriginal prison.
Pink Lake
Pink Lake: Names because of the pick shade of its water at certain times of the year.
Lake Sirius: Possibly named for HMS Sirius, the flagship of the 'First Fleet' which enabled the establishment of the first British colony in Australia, at Sydney in 1788. The ship was commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip, the colony's first Governor. There is no record as to who named the lake - it may well have been Phillip Parker King RN who visited the island on HMS Bathurst in 1822. King was named after Arthur Phillip; his father, Philip Gidley King (1758-1808) had served under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip and was Phillip's second lieutenant on HMS Sirius as part of the First Fleet.
Lake Negri
Lake Negri: Lake Negri is passed on the way to Oliver's Hill, which was home for cannons and soldiers in WWII to protect Fremantl Harbour. It many have been named after the scenic village of Negri on the shores of Lake Como in Italy. Lake Negri is the third small lake adjacent to the end of the lakes Baghdad/Vincent aquatic complex.
Herschell Lake
Herschell Lake: In the 1830s Lakes Bagdhad, Vincent and Herschell, which were originally inter-connected, were known singularly as Threefold Lake. The names of Mount Herschell and Herschell Lake have the same origin. The reason for the lake's name is not known.
Lake Timperley: Recalls William Henry Timperley (1833-1909), policeman and civil servant who was superintendent of the native prison on Rottnest Island from July 1886 to 1890.
Pearse Lakes: Recalls Frederick Pearce, the last Superintendent when the native prison closed in 1903 (other sources say 1905). The last aboriginal prisoners didn t actually leave the island until 1922 and the last two European prisoners were transferred to Fremantle Prison in 1931.
Bulldozer Swamp: The reason for the lake's name is not known, however it may have something to do with the bulldozers that were used extensively on the island to build the island's coastal-defence artillery and anti-aircraft installations during the Second World War. Alternatively, a number of swamps on the island were mined in the 1970s for marl (a clay-like substance) in the 1970s which was used as a base in the construction of Island roads. Bulldozers were used to extract the marl.
Salmon Swamp: The reason for the swamp's name is not known. Probably named because of its colour.
Bickley Swamp: Recalls Wallace Bickley, an 1830s settler who acquired a land grant on the island and married a daughter of the Thomson family. Bickley Bay and Bickley Point have the same origin.
Ligththouse Swamp: Named because it is situated at the base of Wadjemup Hill, the site of the main Rottnest lighthouse. Lighthouse Swamp was once a fresh-water ecosystem, before it was mined for marl (a clay-like substance) in the 1970s which was used as a base in the construction of Island roads. This extraction removed an important layer at the base of the swamp and turned what was once a freshwater system saline. Lighthouse Swamp was once an important freshwater source for fauna including birds, reptiles and quokkas as well as various invertebrates, which have disappeared from the area following the increase in salinity.
