William Bay National Park is a national park in the Great Southern region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, southeast of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and between the towns of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and Walpole.

Description

Situated approximately west of Denmark, William Bay National Park covers and includes

Greens Pool Greens Pool is a sandy white beach with boulders on the south coast of Western Australia between Denmark and Walpole. This sheltered area is part of William Bay National Park and has a sandy white beach ringed by large granite boulders that pre ...

and Elephant Rocks. The granite boulders create a natural reef which protects

from the Great

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

, and a safe swimming beach for children who are under supervision. William Bay National Park is located along the south coast of Western Australia along the Rainbow Coast, and is in the

Shire of Denmark The Shire of Denmark is a local government area in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, about west of Albany and about south-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The Shire of Denmark covers an area of , and its seat of governm ...

. The park also contains areas of

peppermint Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.Euro+Med Plantbas ...

scrub, dense heathland, pockets of

karri ''Eucalyptus diversicolor'', commonly known as karri, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is Endemism, endemic to the Southwest Australia, south-west of Western Australia. It is a tall tree with smooth light grey to cre ...

forest, ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

'' woodlands, Parry Inlet, lakes, tall hills with

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

tors and outcrops. Coastal areas at the eastern side of the park include Greens Pool, Elephant Rocks, Madfish Bay and Madfish Island, Waterfall Beach. The wilder and less dramatic features along the coast of the western side include Parry Beach, Parry Inlet, Mazoletti Beach and Hillier Bay. Fishing is popular along the rocks and beaches, with many different species found, including King George whiting,

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

Australian salmon ''Arripis trutta'', known as kahawai in New Zealand and as the Australian salmon in Australia, is a South Pacific marine fish and one of the four extant species within the genus '' Arripis'', native to the cooler waters around the southeastern ...

and

mulloway ''Argyrosomus japonicus'' is a silvery to bronze-green colored fish, a member of the family Sciaenidae, which may grow up to in length. It is known as Japanese meagre (FAO), mulloway or jewfish on the east coast of Australia, butterfish in South ...

. Bushwalking is another popular activity to enjoy the views with numerous tracks around the park.

History

The traditional owners of the area are the Mineng people;

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

s have inhabited the area for between 40,000 and 50,000 years. Artefacts including pieces of stone tools have been found in the park at Lights Beach, Lake Byleveld and Parry Inlet. William Bay was named after the famed British Arctic explorer and navigator, Sir

William Edward Parry Sir William Edward Parry (19 December 1790 – 8 July 1855) was an Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for his 1819–1820 expedition through the Parry Channel, probably the most successful in the long quest for the Northwest Pass ...

, as were two other nearby features, Parry Inlet and Edward Point. The bay was named in the 1830s by John Septimus Roe. The area was declared as a national park in 1971 with an area of . A small reserve with an area of located near the north east end of the park that encompasses Lake Bylveld was added to the park in the 1980s. The park is a popular tourist destination, with 137,000 visitors in 2006–2007, 208,000 in 2010-2011 and 238,000 visitors in 2014–2015.

Fauna

Birds found within the park area and surrounds include several species of

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...

s, white-breasted robins, red-eared fire tails,

western rosella The western rosella (''Platycercus icterotis''), or moyadong, is a species of parrot endemic to southwestern Australia. The head and underparts are bright red, and the back is mottled black; a yellow patch at the cheek distinguishes it from oth ...

and

red-capped parrot The red-capped parrot (''Purpureicephalus spurius'') is a species of broad-tailed parrot native to southwestern Australia. It was described by Heinrich Kuhl in 1820, with no subspecies recognised. It has long been classified in its own genus o ...

. Migratory waterbirds that visit the park include the threatened species;

Australasian bittern The Australasian bittern (''Botaurus poiciloptilus''), also known as the brown bittern or matuku hūrepo, and also nicknamed the "bunyip bird", is a large bird in the heron family Ardeidae. A secretive bird with a distinctive booming call, it is ...

hooded plover The hooded dotterel or hooded plover (''Thinornis cucullatus'') is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It is endemic to southern Australia, where it inhabits ocean beaches and subcoastal lagoons. There are two recognised subspecies whic ...

and

little bittern The little bittern or common little bittern (''Ixobrychus minutus'') is a wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. ''Ixobrychus'' is from Ancient Greek ''ixias'', a reed-like plant and ''brukhomai'', to bellow, and ''minutus'' is Latin for "sm ...

. The rare and ancient assassin spider, currently listed as

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

, was found to inhabit the park during a survey conducted in 2008.

Description

History

Fauna

See also

References

Further reading