thumb|Greens Pool, William Bay
William Bay National Park is a national park in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, southeast of Perth and between the towns of Denmark and Walpole.
Coastal areas at the eastern side of the park include Greens Pool, Elephant Rocks, Madfish Bay and Madfish Island, Waterfall Beach. The wilder and less dramatic features along the coast of the western side include Parry Beach, Parry Inlet, Mazoletti Beach and Hillier Bay.
History
The traditional owners of the area are the Mineng people; Aboriginal Australians have inhabited the area for between 40,000 and 50,000 years. Artefacts including pieces of stone tools have been found in the park at Lights Beach, Lake Byleveld and Parry Inlet.
William Bay was named after the famed British Arctic explorer and navigator, Sir William Edward Parry, as were two other nearby features, Parry Inlet and Edward Point. The bay was named in the 1830s by John Septimus Roe.
The area was declared as a national park in 1971 with an area of .
A small reserve with an area of located near the north east end of the park that encompasses Lake Bylveld was added to the park in the 1980s.
The park is a popular tourist destination, with 137,000 visitors in 2006–2007, 208,000 in 2010-2011 and 238,000 visitors in 2014–2015.
Fauna
Birds found within the park area and surrounds include several species of honeyeaters, white-breasted robins, red-eared fire tails, western rosella and red-capped parrot. Migratory waterbirds that visit the park include the threatened species; Australasian bittern, hooded plover and little bittern.
See also
- Protected areas of Western Australia
References
Further reading
- Parks and Wildlife Service