IN PREPARATION

Kalbarri Skywalk

The long-awaited Kalbarri Skywalk, extending out over the Murchison River Gorge, opened in 2020.

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Natures Window

This eroded example of time + geological forces provides a “rock window” within which people often have their photograph taken.

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The Loop

There is scant information on the naming of this feature although clearly it is descriptive, as the course of the river folds back on itself.

What little information is available is that ‘The Loop’ was a local name when it was recorded during an Army Field Check in 1964.

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Z Bend

The course of the river forms the shape of a Z at this location, hence the name.

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4 Ways

This geological oddity where four gorges converge is accessible only on foot.

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Hawks Head

This descriptive name for a large rock formation at the lookout resembling a hawk’s head has been in use since before 1964. Ranger C. Cockman suggested the name in 1974 and it was approved in 1978.

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Ross Graham Lookout

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The Ross Graham Lookout was named after the first schoolteacher in Kalbarri, a dedicated conservationist and bushwalker who did much to improve the town and district and assisted in the exploration of the lower Murchison River. A memorial lookout was built on this spot and dedicated to Graham’s memory in 1967 although the name wasn’t officially approved until 1978.

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Hardabut Rapids

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There is no information on the derivation of the name for Hardabut Pool and the associated downriver rapids.

Hardabut Rapids are the most fearsome rapids in the south of Western Australia.

The only known transit of Hardabut Rapids when in flood was in 1995 after Cyclone Bobby created the biggest flood known to that time. Six power dinghies took off from Galena Bridge and hit Hardabut at the peak of the flood. The story of the remarkable event is here.

Weirdly, some locals cite their lifetime knowledge of Hardabut’s fearsome nature to refute that it has been successfully navigated – despite the 7670 words and 151 confirmatory images in the above-mentioned story. And the 16 individuals who lived the experience.

The name Hardabut has been in use since at least 1890 when it was recorded by Surveyor A.J. Wells.

 

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© Kim Epton 2025
412 words, yy photographs, zz images.

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