Witchcliffe, Western Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Witchcliffe
state = wa


caption =
lga = Shire of Augusta-Margaret River
postcode = 6286
est = 1926
pop = 400 (2007 est)
elevation= 89
stategov = Vasse
fedgov = Forrest
dist1 = 286
dir1 = South
location1= Perth
dist2 = 9
dir2 = South
location2= Margaret River
dist3 = 41
dir3 = North
location3= Augustacoord|-34.026|115.1|type:city(400)_region:AU-WA_scale:50000|format=dms|display=title

Witchcliffe is a small town in the South West region of Western Australia, located a few kilometres south of Margaret River on the Bussell Highway.

The name originates from a cave in the area, Witchcliffe cave, that was recorded by a surveyor in 1900. It is believed the name was given by the Bussell family whose property, Wallcliffe, was established in the area in the 1850s.

In 1924 the government extended the Flinders Bay Branch Railway to Witchcliffe. The siding was to be named Narawary but a post office already existed at the site with the name Witchcliffe, having opened in 1923, [Dzelme, John (1976) "Place and Date Stamps of Western Australia", p. 121, Perth, W.A: published by the author] so the siding was named Witchcliffe in 1925. Lots were surveyed and sold along the siding in 1924 and the townsite was gazetted in 1926. [LandInfo WA|c|W|2008-09-30]

The town was built around the timber industry, with the Witchcliffe sawmill being built in 1922 just east of town for the Adelaide Timber Company and WA Jarrah Timber Ltd. [cite web|url=http://www.margaretrivervista.com/history-of-witchcliffe.html|title=Margaret River Vista - Historyof Witchcliffe|year=2008|accessdate=2008-09-29]

References