Wilyabrup, Western Australia


Wilyabrup is a locality in the Margaret River wine region, in the local government area of the City of Busselton. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 180. It has the highest concetration of premium wine producers in the region. It contains the Wilyabrup Sea Cliffs, which are used for rock-climbing and abseiling, along with Quinninup Falls, which are on the Cape to Cape Track.
The name "Wilyabrup" comes from the local Wilyabrup Brook, which first appeared on planning documents in 1865, and may be derived from "Worlyabaraap", a Noongar word meaning "northern sky". The area was developed in the 1920s as part of the Group Settlement Scheme, 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 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.