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Margaret River
Margaret River is in the land of the Wardani - the people of Wardan, the Ocean Spirit - one of the fourteen Nyungar tribes that live in the South-West.
Their land extends from the coast at Statham (near Capel) to Nannup and down the Blackwood River to the sea at Augusta. Stories passed down among the Wardandi people tell of a time when the coastline near Margaret River extended about seventy kilometres further than it does today. Dreamtime stories refer to the Great earth shaking in which as many as eighty per cent of the Wardandi perished in an earthquake. This lead to the earth subsiding and the coastline finding its present position.
The first Europeans to encounter the west coast of Australia were the Dutch. Many Dutch ships sailed too far east and reached the unforgiving coastline of Western Australia with disastrous results (Batavia 1629 - Gilt Dragon 1656 and the Leeuwin in 1621). The Vasse River is named after one sailor that was rumoured to have drowned on a coast chartering expedition.
Margaret River has seen many eras such as whaling and more recent the timber, dairy and beef industries.
The economy of Margaret River had declined by the 1960's and 1970's. The formation of the Augusta Margaret River Tourist Bureau in 1956 encouraged the local to capitalise on the natural attractions of the region and to diversify into other areas such as grape growing, and so our wine growing region was born.
Wineries
The Margaret River Region is the home of world class wineries. The original vineyards were in the Willyabrup area. Vasse Felix (Tom Cullity) was the first to get underway in 1967 - their first commercial vintage was in 1970. Cullens and Moss Wood (Bill Pannell) followed a year later. Moss Wood in particular astounded the wine world with its early vintages, and still retains an almost cult following. Their 1976 vintage was a stunner and considered expensive at $3 a bottle! Cape Mentelle, Evans and Tate (Redgate vineyard) and Leeuwin Estate followed soon after. There are over currently over 250 wineries in the region. Some places to try are Voyager Estate, Leeuwin Estate (worth a visit just to see the grounds), Cape Mentelle for the premium end (and some of the original plantings in the area). But there are very few poor to mediocre wines in the region, and so "almost any winery will do". Amberley Estate provides fine wine and dining. Wise vineyards is an excellent place for lunch with views over Meelup Bay. Driftwood Estate, Watershed, Xanadu, and Wildwood are all excellent choices.