Lake Clifton, Western Australia

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Lake Clifton
Western Australia
Lake Clifton SMC 2008.jpg
Lake Clifton thrombolites
Lake Clifton, Western Australia
Coordinates 32°48′40″S115°41′13″E / 32.811°S 115.687°E / -32.811; 115.687
Population759 (SAL 2021) [1]
Established1920
Postcode(s) 6215
Area79.5 km2 (30.7 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s) Shire of Waroona
State electorate(s) Murray-Wellington
Federal division(s) Canning
Localities around Lake Clifton:
Clifton Herron West Coolup
Preston Beach Lake Clifton Waroona
Preston Beach Myalup Wagerup

Lake Clifton is a small town located on the east side of the lake of the same name in the Peel region of Western Australia just off the Old Coast Road, between Mandurah and Bunbury at the north end of the Yalgorup National Park. At the 2021 census, Lake Clifton had a population of 759. [2]

Contents

History

Lake Clifton is named for Marshall Waller Clifton, who arrived in Western Australia as Chief Commissioner of the Western Australian Land Company, settled at Australind, and was later a member of the Legislative Council.

Explorers Dr Alexander Collie and Lieutenant William Preston RN first came across what are now Lakes Preston and Clifton while exploring the coastline between Mandurah and Bunbury in 1829. After the introduction of convicts to the Swan River Colony in the 1850s, the "Old Coast Road" south of Mandurah was rebuilt. For most of its length, the road went through well-timbered, sandy limestone country of little value to agriculture. The area's first European settler was John Fouracre, who built a house in this area in 1852 and had established a wayside inn and changing station at Wellington Location 205 in 1854. [3]

Railway

The townsite of Lake Clifton was developed in 1920 as a result of the W A Portland Cement Co. seeking to mine a lime deposit there. A railway to Waroona was built [4] and the local Progress Association sought the declaration of a townsite for the company's employees.

The town was initially gazetted as Leschenault in 1921, but this name was seen as too confusing because of the name's connection with Bunbury. It was then renamed Garbanup, but the Government railways complained as this was too similar to Dardanup, so in 1923 it changed again to Lake Clifton. [5]

For a very short period it was a busy company town, but the mine closed at the end of 1923 and the railway was removed and transported to Lake Grace for use in a railway to Newdegate. [6]

The government acquisition of the railway resulted in a commission of inquiry. [7] [8]

The Waroona-Lake Clifton Railway Act 1924, an act by the Parliament of Western Australia assented to on 31 December 1924, authorised the closure and removal of the railway line. [9]

Present day

Yalgorup National Park observation walkway Lake clifton gnangarra 03.jpg
Yalgorup National Park observation walkway

Lake Clifton contains basic accommodation and shopping, and a community hall offering a range of activities. A couple of roadhouses for passing trucks and motorists are located on Old Coast Road, while rural residential estates have sprung up at Tuart Grove.

The Yalgorup National Park was established in the 1970s to protect the coastal lakes, swamps and tuart woodland in the area. The area is also central to waterbird migration patterns. At the edge of Lake Clifton, rock-like structures called thrombolites (similar to stromatolites) can be seen, built by tiny micro-organisms believed to resemble the earliest forms of life on Earth. Scientists have suggested their presence here may be due to upwellings of fresh groundwater high in calcium carbonate. An observation walkway has been constructed to allow visitors to view these fragile structures. [3] An action has been started by the French artists "Art Orienté objet" in 2011 to list Lake Clifton as a World Heritage Site. [10]

Transport

The main road route through the area is the Old Coast Road (Highway 1, Mandurah to Bunbury). Perth-Bunbury buses operated by Transwa under the Public Transport Authority also stop here. It is also the terminus of the Forrest Highway.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yalgorup National Park</span> Protected area in Western Australia

Yalgorup National Park is a national park in Western Australia, 105 km south of Perth, and directly south of Mandurah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandurah</span> Coastal city in Western Australia

Mandurah is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately 72 kilometres (45 mi) south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 90,306.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waroona, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Waroona is a town located in the Peel region of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, between Pinjarra and Harvey. The town is the seat of the Shire of Waroona. At the 2016 census, Waroona had a population of 2,934.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yarloop, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Yarloop is a town in the South West of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, between Waroona and Harvey. At the 2016 census, Yarloop had a population of 395. On 7 January 2016 a bushfire destroyed most of the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinjarra, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Pinjarra is a town in the Peel region of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, 82 kilometres (51 mi) from the state capital, Perth and 21 kilometres (13 mi) south-east of the coastal city of Mandurah. Its local government area is the Shire of Murray. At the 2016 census, Pinjarra had a population of 4910.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Harvey is a town located in the South West of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, 140 kilometres (87 mi) south of Perth, between Pinjarra and Bunbury. It has a population of 2,797. Harvey Town is known for its dairy industry and oranges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Western Highway</span> Highway in Western Australia

South Western Highway is a highway in the South West region of Western Australia connecting Perth's southeast with Walpole. It is a part of the Highway 1 network for most of its length. It is about 406 kilometres (252 mi) long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bouvard, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Mandurah, Western Australia

Bouvard is the second southernmost suburb of Mandurah, Western Australia, and is 97 kilometres (60 mi) south of the state capital, Perth. Its local government area is the City of Mandurah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral district of Collie-Preston</span> State electoral district of Western Australia

Collie-Preston is a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. While the seat was known as Collie for just over a century of its existence as an electorate, the seat was known as South West Mining from 1901 to 1904, and Collie-Wellington from 2005 to 2008. It is named for the South West coal mining town of Collie. While historically a very safe seat for the Labor Party, redistributions in 1988 and 2007 due to increases in the quota for country seats which had historically been malapportioned resulted in the seat incorporating surrounding rural shires which were hostile to Labor and thereby becoming more marginal.

Binningup is a town on the coast of the South West region of Western Australia between Mandurah and Bunbury. At the 2016 census, Binningup had a population of 1,227.

Myalup is a town located on the coast in the South West region of Western Australia between Mandurah and Bunbury. At the 2006 census, Myalup had a population of 144.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preston Beach, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Preston Beach is a small town located in the Peel region of Western Australia just off the Forrest Highway, between Mandurah and Bunbury in the Yalgorup National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Mandurah</span> Local government area in Western Australia

The City of Mandurah is a local government area of Western Australia, covering both Mandurah proper and an additional area reaching down as far south as Lake Clifton. The city has a total area of approximately 174 square kilometres (67 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herron, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Herron is a small suburb located in the Peel region of Western Australia just off the Old Coast Road, between Mandurah and Bunbury just beyond Mandurah's urban area. It is on a narrow strip between Lake Clifton and Yalgorup National Park to the west, and Harvey Estuary to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shire of Waroona</span> Local government area in Western Australia

The Shire of Waroona is a local government area in the Peel region of Western Australia between Mandurah and Harvey and about 110 kilometres south of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of about 835 km2 (322 sq mi) and its seat of government is the town of Waroona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forrest Highway</span> Highway in Western Australia

Forrest Highway is a 95-kilometre-long (59 mi) highway in Western Australia's Peel and South West regions, extending Perth's Kwinana Freeway from east of Mandurah down to Bunbury. Old Coast Road was the original Mandurah–Bunbury route, dating back to the 1840s. Part of that road, and the Australind Bypass around Australind and Eaton, were subsumed by Forrest Highway. The highway begins at Kwinana Freeway's southern terminus in Ravenswood, continues around the Peel Inlet to Lake Clifton, and heads south to finish at Bunbury's Eelup Roundabout. There are a number of at-grade intersections with minor roads in the shires of Murray, Waroona, and Harvey including Greenlands Road and Old Bunbury Road, both of which connect to South Western Highway near Pinjarra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clifton, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Clifton is a small uninhabited locality located in the Peel region of Western Australia, between Mandurah and Bunbury. Adjoining the nearby suburb of Herron. It lies on a narrow strip between Lake Clifton and Yalgorup National Park to the east, and the Indian Ocean to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yalgorup Important Bird Area</span> Important Bird Area in Western Australia

The Yalgorup Important Bird Area comprises a group of parallel, linear wetlands, with a collective area of 59 km2, on the Swan Coastal Plain of south-west Western Australia between the cities of Mandurah and Bunbury. It is an important site for waterbirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highway 1 (Western Australia)</span>

In Western Australia, Highway 1 is a 5,305-kilometre (3,296 mi) long route around the state, from the South Australian border near Eucla to the Northern Territory border near Kununurra. Highway 1 continues around the rest of Australia, joining all mainland state capitals, and connecting major centres in Tasmania. All roads within the Highway 1 system are allocated a road route numbered 1, M1, A1, or B1, depending on the state route numbering system. In Western Australia, most of the highway is designated as National Route 1; however, the sections in the north-east and south-east of the state that are concurrent with the National Highway routes linking Perth to Adelaide and Darwin are designated as National Highway 1.

The 2016 Waroona-Yarloop bushfire started in the east in the forests of the Darling Scarp before reaching the Swan Coastal Plain and continued westwards until it reached the Indian Ocean. It started as a lightning strike that caused two fires in the Lane Poole Reserve state forest near Dwellingup, Western Australia on 5 January 2016 and then burnt close to Waroona and then through the historical town of Yarloop, destroying it, before continuing southwards towards the outskirts of the town of Harvey and westwards to Preston Beach. Around 70,000 ha of land was burnt, two people died and at least 166 buildings were destroyed in Yarloop alone with only ninety buildings surviving. In total 181 buildings and structures were lost with the total cost of fighting the fire and the cost of the damage and the loss resulting estimated at $155 million.

References

  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Lake Clifton (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  2. "2016 Census QuickStats: Lake Clifton". quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  3. 1 2 Dept of Conservation and Environment. "Yalgorup National Park". Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2006.
  4. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, March, 1984, pp 49-54
  5. "History of country town names – L". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2007.
  6. "Waroona-Lake Clifton Railway". The Daily News . Vol. XLIII, no. 15, 482. Western Australia. 4 December 1924. p. 9 (Third Edition). Retrieved 10 August 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Lake Clifton Railway". Geraldton Guardian . Vol. XVI, no. 3165. Western Australia. 5 January 1922. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Lake Clifton Railway Inquiry". Northern Times . Vol. XVII, no. 842. Western Australia. 1 April 1922. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Waroona-Lake Clifton Railway Act 1924". www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Government of Western Australia. 31 December 1924. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  10. "Maison Artiste" . Retrieved 6 October 2011.

Further reading