Witchcliffe, Western Australia

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.

Witchcliffe
Western Australia
Witchcliffe
Coordinates34.03°S 115.1°E / -34.03; 115.1
Population339 (2011 census)[1]
Established1926
Postcode(s)6286
Elevation89 m (292 ft)
Location
  • 286 km (178 mi) south of Perth
  • 9 km (6 mi) south of Margaret River
  • 41 km (25 mi) north of Augusta
LGA(s)Shire of Augusta-Margaret River
State electorate(s)Vasse
Federal Division(s)Forrest

History

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,[2] 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.[3]

The town was built around the timber industry, with the Witchcliffe sawmill being built in 1922 just east of town for the W.A. Jarrah Forests Ltd, which was taken over by the Adelaide Timber company in 1929.[4]

Climate
Climate data for Witchcliffe
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 40.6
(105.1)		 39.4
(102.9)		 39.0
(102.2)		 32.6
(90.7)		 27.7
(81.9)		 22.5
(72.5)		 21.2
(70.2)		 22.1
(71.8)		 25.0
(77.0)		 32.4
(90.3)		 36.2
(97.2)		 40.6
(105.1)		 40.6
(105.1)
Average high °C (°F) 26.5
(79.7)		 27.3
(81.1)		 25.9
(78.6)		 22.7
(72.9)		 19.9
(67.8)		 17.5
(63.5)		 16.4
(61.5)		 16.7
(62.1)		 17.4
(63.3)		 19.5
(67.1)		 22.8
(73.0)		 24.8
(76.6)		 21.4
(70.5)
Average low °C (°F) 13.9
(57.0)		 14.5
(58.1)		 13.0
(55.4)		 11.1
(52.0)		 9.8
(49.6)		 8.8
(47.8)		 8.0
(46.4)		 8.2
(46.8)		 8.8
(47.8)		 9.1
(48.4)		 10.9
(51.6)		 12.4
(54.3)		 10.7
(51.3)
Record low °C (°F) 4.5
(40.1)		 5.9
(42.6)		 3.2
(37.8)		 3.0
(37.4)		 −1.5
(29.3)		 −0.7
(30.7)		 −1.0
(30.2)		 0.5
(32.9)		 1.1
(34.0)		 2.4
(36.3)		 3.4
(38.1)		 4.0
(39.2)		 −1.5
(29.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 11.1
(0.44)		 8.2
(0.32)		 22.3
(0.88)		 65.0
(2.56)		 138.7
(5.46)		 177.2
(6.98)		 193.2
(7.61)		 150.2
(5.91)		 116.9
(4.60)		 61.1
(2.41)		 38.2
(1.50)		 15.0
(0.59)		 1,018.7
(40.11)
Average precipitation days 3.8 5.1 7.3 14.1 18.6 20.9 23.4 22.4 20.3 16.6 11.0 7.3 170.8
Average relative humidity (%) 50 48 50 57 62 67 67 65 64 61 55 52 58
Source: [5]
gollark: In any case, I don't even know if there's any way to get stable, fair and actually competent large-scale governance at this point.
gollark: Hmm.
gollark: It doesn't seem like keeping the same governments in power eternally has actually produced good outcomes.
gollark: https://xkcd.com/2030/
gollark: As opposed to good.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Witchcliffe". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  2. Dzelme, John (1976) Place and Date Stamps of Western Australia, p. 121, Perth, W.A: published by the author
  3. Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of country town names – W". Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  4. Gunzburg, Adrian and Austin, Jeff (2008) Rails through the Bush: Timber and Firewood Tramways and Railway Contractors of Western Australia Perth, W.A. Rail Heritage WA. ISBN 978-0-9803922-2-7 page 134
  5. "Climate statistics for Witchcliffe". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
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