Wilyabrup, also spelt Willyabrup, is a locality in Western Australia's Margaret River wine region, in the

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

of the

City of Busselton The City of Busselton is a local government area in the South West region of Western Australia, approximately south of Perth, the state capital. The city covers an area of and had a population of 40,640 as at the 2021 Census. It contains two ...

. The Quinninup Falls are within the locality. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 193. It has the highest concentration of premium wine producers in the region.

History

The area lies in the traditional lands of the

Wadandi The Wadandi, also spelt Wardandi and other variants, are an Aboriginal people of south-western Western Australia, one of fourteen language groups of the Noongar peoples. Name There are at least three theories about the meaning of the tribal et ...

people. The name "Wilyabrup" (also spelt "Willyabrup") comes from the local Wilyabrup Brook, which first appeared on planning documents in 1865, and may be derived from "Worlyabaraap", a

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...

word meaning "northern sky". The area was developed in the 1920s as part of the

Group Settlement Scheme The Group Settlement Scheme was an assisted migration scheme which operated in Western Australia from the early 1920s. It was engineered by Premier James Mitchell and followed on from the Soldier Settlement Scheme immediately after World W ...

, with the construction of a hall beginning in 1922 and a school on the site in 1928; the school was destroyed by fire in 1954. Wine began to be grown there in the 1960s and 1970s, with

Vasse Felix Vasse Felix was the first vineyard and winery to be established in the Margaret River (wine region)#History, Margaret River wine region of Western Australia. Founded in Wilyabrup, Western Australia, Wilyabrup in 1967 by Dr Tom Cullity, it is r ...

and Cullen Wines being the first vineyards in Wilyabrup. The area was gazetted as a bounded locality in 1987, having previously been a postal district.

Attractions

Within the locality are the Wilyabrup Sea Cliffs, which are used for

rock-climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and ...

and

abseiling Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling, the person descending controls their own movement down a static or fixed rope, in cont ...

, along with Quinninup Falls, which are on the

Cape to Cape Track The Cape to Cape Walk Track is a long-distance hiking, walk trail located in the far south-west corner of Western Australia, south of Perth. It meanders along the whole length of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, which forms the backbone of the ...

. Near the Falls, there was evidence of

s having inhabited the area around 17,000 years ago in the form of

fire pit The defining feature of fire pits is that they are designed to contain fire and prevent it from spreading. A fire pit can vary from a pit dug in the ground (fire hole) to an elaborate gas burning structure of stone, brick, and metal. Certain cont ...

s, which have now been removed. The area is still regarded by the Wadandi people as culturally significant, having been an important

ceremonial A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...

site. With the increasing popularity among tourists during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...

in mid-2021, the traditional custodians and the

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Government of Western Australia, Western Australian government department responsible for managing lands and waters described in the ''Conservation and Land Management A ...

have been collaborating to improve signs requesting walkers to keep to the paths, and

revegetation Revegetation is the process of replanting and rebuilding the soil of disturbed land. This may be a natural process produced by plant colonization and succession, manmade rewilding projects, accelerated process designed to repair damage to a la ...

efforts are under way .

References

{{authority control Coastal towns in Western Australia City of Busselton