WITCHCLIFFE

The town lies in the Margaret River  area 286 kilometres south of Perth. Developed as a railway siding in 1924 it was at first called Newarlingup. This was changed to Narawary but a post office that pre-dated the siding had been built and called Witchcliffe. The siding was re-named in 1925 and the town gazetted a year later. The name may originate from the Bussell homestead ‘Wallcliffe’ that dates back to the 1850s.

Like so many other towns in the south west, Witchcliffe developed as a direct result of the Group Settlement Scheme. Like Karridale further south, Witchcliffe was originally the site of a timber mill operated by the Adelaide Timber Company and WA Jarrah Forest Ltd. John Tonkin (later to become State Premier) was the first teacher at the local school.

This area contains a large number of caves, many of which used to be reasonably accessible and open to the public, but with the advent of the 'nanny state' that seeks to prevent us from doing anything remotely dangerous, most are now blocked off.

Some of the best known caves in the area include:

Arumvale Pipe and Arumvale: Found near the Boranup campsite, this pair are for experienced cavers only. Proper abseiling gear and rope ladders plus all the normal caving gear are needed.

Blackboy Hollow: Located 2 kilometres from Boodjidup Brook this cave is locked. A permit for entry has to be obtained from CALM.

Beenup: Located on the hill above Prevelly Park Caravan Park. Easy access.

Bride's Cave: A huge gaping open pit in the forest means you need a good head for heights to get down into this cave. Permit required for entry. A rather scary looking wire ladder hangs down over one edge of the pit.

Devil's Lair: This cave contained the remains of the extinct Tasmanian Tiger showing that their range once extended all across Australia.

Calgardup: DEC operated cave. Entry fee. Self guided cave that is regarded as fairly shallow and relatively small. Narrow steep staircase access and some bending required but walkways make this cave easily accessible for most people.

Dingo Cave: Dingoes, as it is usually called, is a pipe leading down to a larger chamber and some tight crawls. It requires ropes to get down. It isn't as impressive as some of the larger caves but is one of the easier 'climb down' caves to reach for those just starting out in the field of spelunking.

Green Cave: This is a large cave not far from Boranup campsite. Permit required for entry

Milligan's Cave: Permit required for entry.

Strong's Cave: For experienced cavers. Permit required for entry.

Witchcliffe Cave: Located near Walcliffe house. Badly vandalised over the years.

Other caves: Labyrinth, Christmas Star, Terry, Winjan's, Boya Booka and hundreds more are located all round the Margaret River region.

There are also the well known tourist caves such as Giants, Moondyne, Mammoth, Lake, Jewel etc.

Contact DEC/CALM at Margaret River for more information on the caves in this region..(09) 9757 2422