Guilderton, Western Australia

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Lookout view of Guilderton at the Moore River mouth.

Guilderton is a small coastal town north of Perth, Western Australia at the mouth of the Moore River in the Shire of Gingin.

It was originally known as Gabbadah, an Aboriginal term meaning "mouthful of water" until its gazetting as a town in 1951. The river mouth regularly opens and closes depending on the seasons, and alternates between a closed lagoon and a tidal estuary.

The town is a popular holiday destination for Perth residents who commonly refer to it as Moore River.

[edit] History

In 1931, 40 17th-century silver guilder coins were found in the sandhills near the entrance to the Moore River - thus the name Guilderton. The coins were thought to be from the wreck of the Dutch ship, the Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon) that had foundered on a reef north of the river-mouth near Ledge Point in 1656.

Soldiers used the area as a rest and recreation area during World War II.

The township was gazetted and named Guilderton on 28 November 1951.

In 1983, the Federal Department of Transport established a lighthouse at Wreck Point, Guilderton near the river mouth at a cost of $240,000.