Yanchep history: a lake name, a 1930s inn and the Sun City plan

Yanchep takes its name from a lake, and its history is a run of 20th century ideas about what a place on the coast north of Perth could be: a caves reserve from 1905, a 1930s hotel resort in the park, and a 1970s plan for a satellite city. The train line arrived in 2024.

How Yanchep got its name

Landgate records that the name Yanchep is of Aboriginal origin, derived from “yanget”, a native flax or bulrush. It says the name was first recorded for Lake Yanchep by the surveyor R. Quinn in September 1866. Landgate spells the surveyor’s name Quinn; the State’s heritage record for nearby Quinns Rocks gives it as Robert Quin.

Before the suburb

Collections WA, which publishes the City of Wanneroo Museum’s collection, records John Butler as the first recorded European visitor, in 1834, while searching for stray cattle north of Perth. Landgate agrees that Butler was the first recorded explorer of the area in 1834. The same collection says Lieutenant George Grey explored the area in 1838, and that Henry White, described as the first actual settler, built a cottage near Lake Yanchep between 1899 and 1902.

A park, an inn and a homestead

In 1905 Reserve 9868, covering 5,640 acres, was vested in a Caves Board to protect the caves and flora and to serve as a health and recreation resort, according to Collections WA. The City of Wanneroo’s heritage page says the Mary Lindsay Homestead, built in 1926 by the Bunnings Brothers, was the first permanent house in Yanchep. Lindsay had bought about 23,000 acres of land and pastoral leases from the Midland Rail Company in the 1920s. The homestead was conserved in 2017 and now operates as a gallery and arts centre.

In the 1930s the philanthropist Sir Charles McNess gave £11,600 to relieve Depression-era distress, and the State Gardens Board began developing the park as a recreational resort. The lake was renamed Loch McNess in 1935. Collections WA says the Yanchep Inn was built between March and December 1936 and opened on 12 December 1936, and that it was originally owned by Louis Shapcott. The State’s heritage register lists W G Bennett as its architect. During the Second World War the RAAF had a radar station in the park, and the inn and Gloucester Lodge housed a convalescent depot and a medical rehabilitation unit.

Yanchep Sun City

The State’s heritage record for the Sun City Satellite Development says Alan Bond’s Bond Corporation bought about 19,600 acres of pastoral land, the Yanchep Estate, in 1969. In April 1972 Bond launched the $250 million Yanchep Sun City development, and in 1973 funded construction of the Two Rocks Marina. Tokyu Corporation bought 49 per cent of Yanchep Sun City in 1974, and Bond sold its remaining shares in 1978. The record’s statement of significance gives 1979 for Tokyu taking over the vision. It says much of the existing 1970s built form and infrastructure reflects Bond’s vision, and that the first housing subdivision, at Yanchep Lagoon, was released around 1970.

Yanchep today

The Yanchep rail extension opened on 14 July 2024, with passenger services starting the next day. It runs 14.5 km north from Butler, with new stations at Alkimos, Eglinton and Yanchep, and the State Government gives the journey from Yanchep to the Perth CBD as 49 minutes. The 2021 Census counted 11,022 people in Yanchep, and 97.2 per cent of occupied private dwellings were separate houses.

More about Yanchep

For what Yanchep is like to live in now, read our Yanchep suburb profile. If you own a property in Yanchep and are thinking about selling, start with buyers for your property.

Sources

• Landgate: Perth and surrounds suburb names (archived 2022)
• Collections WA: Yanchep National Park (City of Wanneroo Museum Collections)
• Collections WA: Yanchep Inn Front Entrance
• inHerit: Yanchep Inn
• inHerit: Sun City Satellite Development
• inHerit: Quinns Rocks Townsite (surveyor’s name)
• City of Wanneroo: Heritage sites
• WA Government: Yanchep Rail Extension officially open (14 July 2024)
• ABS 2021 Census QuickStats: Yanchep

Dates and names are drawn from the sources above. Where sources differ, we have said so or given an approximate date.

By Key Performance Real Estate, 338 Beaufort Street, Perth