YALLINGUP

HEMA Map reference 73/K11

33° 38' 35" S 115° 01' 25" E

Statistics

Caravan Parks

Services

See Margaret River or Dunsborough

Attractions

Yallingup cave, surfing beaches, wineries, rugged coast to the north, peaceful bays and Cape Naturaliste National Park.

Buildings of note

Unknown

Calendar of events

Monthly: (2nd and 4th Sunday) Markets. December: Surfing competition.

Description

The coast nearby is a favourite for surfers. The name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning ‘place of love’. Another suggested meaning is the much less romantic ‘place of skinning an emu’. The town takes it’s name from a nearby cave discovered in 1899 by Edward Dawson.

Nearby Caves House was built in 1901 but was destroyed by fire in 1938 and rebuilt.

Yallingup Cave is also known as Ngilgi¹s Cave after an Aboriginal legend in which the origins of the cave are described as a vicious fight between a bad spirit who lived in the cave and a good spirit (Ngilgi) who lived in the sea.

5 Km south of the turn off to Yallingup, on Caves Road, is a 4.5 m diameter water wheel which is reputed to be the largest still working in Australia. The water wheel was originally constructed to power a sawmill which it did until 1938. Now it is a tourist attraction.