THE EARLY HISTORY OF YANCHEP CAVES, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Some confusion still seems to exist regarding the discovery of certain caves in the Yanchep area.
There is no doubt that Lt George Grey was the first European to record the existence of caves in the area, but from his journals it is impossible to locate just which caves or cave be saw. Several caves I have visited could match Grey's description of a limestone cave with a strong stream running from south to north. None of these look like or are located anywhere near Crystal Cave, the discovery of which has been credited to Grey.
Research by Mr Ian Elliott for the WA Historical Society shows that Crystal Cave was discovered by one Henry White prior to 1 April 1903. Between Grey's visit in 1838 and White's efforts at the beginning of this century, the only other recorded visits to caves in the area were by John Septimus Roe (Colonial Surveyor) and Hutt (Colonial Governor) around the 17 October 1841, and a George J Webb on 13 November 1841.
It was not until the White family took up land at Yanchep in 1899 that any further serious interest in the caves took place. White must have explored a number (unknown) of caves in the area and around Christmas 1902 he drew the attention of a Mr Alex W. Milligan to several of them.
Milligan, who was on holiday at Yanchep, in turn advised the Minister for Lands of the potential of the area for tourism. Evidently his letter had some effect because an entry in Henry White's visitor book, dated 6 April 1903 (Easter Monday) and signed Milligan, indicates that at least fifty people visited the Yanchep area over the Easter break.
One of the caves visited by Milligan in 1902 was originally named after him, although it was certainly shown to him by Henry White. It later became known as the Silver Stocking Cabaret Cave and was opened for tourism by the Duke of Gloucester in 1934. It was closed to the public in 1971 due to subsidence of the cave floor caused by the action of the stream beneath.
Following Milligan's letter to the Minister for Lands, the "Morning Herald", a Perth newspaper, sent an expedition to Yanchep to inspect the caves and if possible discover others. The party consisted of L Ramaciotti (Morning Herald), C. P. Conigeave (WA Museum) and Harry Kent (unknown interests). The Expedition took place in February 1903. In two days the party explored some twenty five caves but felt that their efforts had been wasted as none of the caves compared with those at Margaret River. The following day, however, gave their spirits a much needed lift with the discovery of Yonderup Cave containing a human skull. Although not proven the skull is believed to have been that of a kangaroo hunter named Black who disappeared in the area eight years previously. Excavations to enlarge passages for tourism during the depression brought to light more human remains but owing to lack of information and research it is impossible to say exactly how many skeletons were discovered. Elliott, in his paper, believes no more than two were found.
Following the discovery of Yonderup Cave, Mr Ramaciotti's party were approached by a Mr J. M. Grant, a new settler to the area, regarding a cave he had discovered. Ramaciotti's description of this cave, which he called Yanchep, differs in some respects from the current appearance of that cave but this is not surprising as considerable changes have taken place in quite a number of these caves over the years. The "Morning Herald" expedition spent a total of four days at Yanchep and explored quite a number of caves in the area, the two most significant being Yanchep Cave and Yonderup Cave.
Henry White was appointed honorary caretaker of the Yanchep Caves two days after Ramaciotti's party returned to Perth and all persons wishing to see the caves in the area had to make arrangements with him to act as guide.
As a result of Milligan's report and the publication of Ramaciotti's story, exploration of the area speeded up. By the end of March, White located a further two new caves but there appears to be no surviving information of their locations or descriptions.
On 1 April 1903 Henry White sent a letter to the Surveyor General describing a new cave larger and more beautiful than any other in the area. He suggested the name "Crystal White Cave". The brief description of the cave matches that of the cave we now call Crystal Cave.
Following the discovery of this and other caves, A J Wells, a surveyor, was instructed to report on and survey the caves. However, he was not able to undertake this task until November of that year. His report states that a thirty foot ladder was required to enter Crystal Cave. In April 1903 Henry White started a visitor's book at Yanchep and none of the entries mentions any difficulty in entering the cave, although a great many complaints about the condition of the road to the district and suggest the building of a light railway. The complaints and suggestions are still being made today.
Two weeks after the discovery of Crystal Cave, White discovered Cauliflower Cave and added this to his list of tours. On 19 April, Phillip Cheese and Edgar Henderson wrote in White's visitor's book of the discovery of Surprise and Marble Terrace Caves as well as three other caves south of White's homestead. Interestingly, the discoverers place Marble Terrace to the south of Surprise Cave, whilst Lands and Surveys maps place the former to the north west and my own explorations show Marble Terrace to be north east of Surprise. There could be a confusion of names here. Mr Cheese also mentions that they opened and explored some twenty or more cavities only to be sadly disappointed.
Although White and others probably did find and explore new caves after the efforts of Cheese and Henderson, the only new notable find was by H. B. Gull of Guildford on 6 January 1904, with the discovery of Mambibby and Bebo Moro. Gull describes the caves in glowing terms and his description must have been reasonably accurate for these two caves were linked by a tunnel at a later stage and then opened to the public as Mambibby Cave. The modification of these chambers has resulted in the destruction of all formations through the creation of unnatural atmospheric conditions. Hopefully, mistakes such as this will not be made again.
I trust this brief summary will help to clear up some of the confusion surrounding the discovery of the major caves at Yanchep.
My thanks are extended to Mr Ian Elliott and to the Gloucester Lodge Museum.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ELLIOT, Ian. 1977. The discovery and exploration of the Yanchep Caves. Paper presented to the Royal W.A. Historical Society, February 1977.
WHITE, Henry. Yanchep visitor's book, 1903-