:Kalbarri, Western Australia

Kalbarri is a part of the traditional lands of the Nanda people, who were recognised as the traditional owners of more than {{convert|17000|km2}} of land and water in the Yamatji region, in Western Australia, on 28 November 2018. Nanda people have been awarded exclusive native title rights over several key areas including Paradise Flats, Bully, Wilgie Mia, Mooliabatanya and Syphon pools.

The story of the Beemarra serpent is the central Dreaming story of Nanda people. The Beemarra is, according to Nanda culture, an ancestral being responsible for the creation of the land and waters in the region.{{cite web|url=http://www.creativespirits.info/ozwest/kalbarri/aboriginalhistory.html|title=Kalbarri Aboriginal history|year=2008|access-date=2008-09-08|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080722074353/http://www.creativespirits.info/ozwest/kalbarri/aboriginalhistory.html|archive-date=22 July 2008}}

Kalbarri was named after an Aboriginal man from the Nanda tribe and is also the name of an edible seed.{{LandInfo WA|c|K|2008-09-09}}

The cliffs near the river mouth were named after a trading ship, Zuytdorp, that was wrecked there in 1712.{{cite web

|url=http://www.kalbarri.com/kalbarri/history.html

|title=Kalbarri - Western Australia

|year=2006

|access-date=2008-09-08

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719165954/http://www.kalbarri.com/kalbarri/history.html

|archive-date=19 July 2008

|url-status=dead

}}

The area became a popular fishing and tourist spot in the 1940s, and by 1948 the state government declared a townsite. Lots were soon surveyed and the town was gazetted in 1951.

In April 2021 the town suffered serious damage from Tropical Cyclone Seroja.{{cite news |last1=Weber |first1=David |title=Holiday town decimated after tropical cyclone travels unusually far south down WA coast |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-12/cyclone-seroja-wreaks-havoc-wa-one-mile-jetty-destroyed/100062020 |access-date=12 April 2021 |publisher=ABC News |location=Australia |date=11 April 2021 |language=en-AU}}

The town is geared towards tourism and fishing, with attractions including the daily pelican feeding, the Kalbarri National Park, Murchison River Gorge and the Murchison River. There are two charter boats to go on to view the Murchison River. The town attracts 200,000 tourists every year, with the population of the town swelling to 8,000 during holiday seasons. Electricity to the town and hotels is supplied by a fragile 33{{nbsp}}kV power line from the central grid. To increase grid stability, a 5{{nbsp}}MW, {{cvt|2|MWh}} grid battery is installed.{{cite web |last1=Vorrath |first1=Sophie |title=Western Australia's first big battery delivered to Kalbarri microgrid |url=https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/western-australias-first-big-battery-delivered-to-kalbarri-microgrid/ |website=One Step Off The Grid |date=17 December 2019}}

The Kalbarri National Park is home to a phenomenon of geography and geology known as the Z Bend, a tourist lookout, and Nature's Window, a rock formation overlooking the Murchison River. Red Bluff and other coastal cliffs and formations are located south of the town. The Rainbow Jungle (The Australian Parrot Breeding Centre), was severely damaged by the 2021 cyclone and is permanently closed.

{{Gallery

|align=centre

|width=219

|height=160

|File:Kalbarri, Western Australia.jpg

|Murchison River mouth at sunset

|File:kalbarri river 2011.jpg

|Murchison River after heavy rain

}}

{{See also|Climate of Western Australia}}

Carnamah possesses a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh) with hot, dry summers and very mild, somewhat rainy winters.{{cite journal |last1=Beck |first1=Hylke E. |last2=Zimmermann |first2=Niklaus E. |last3=McVicar |first3=Tim R. |last4=Vergopolan |first4=Noemi |last5=Berg |first5=Alexis |last6=Wood |first6=Eric F. |title=Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution |journal=Scientific Data |date=30 October 2018 |volume=5 |pages=180214 |publisher=Nature Research |issn=2052-4463 |doi=10.1038/sdata.2018.214|pmid=30375988 |pmc=6207062 |bibcode=2018NatSD...580214B }} Average maxima vary from {{convert|34.1|C}} in February to {{convert|21.9|C}} in July, while average minima fluctuate between {{convert|20.7|C}} in February and {{convert|9.7|C}} in July. Annual precipitation is rather low, (averaging {{convert|342.2|mm|in|abbr=on}}), and is spread across 62.6 precipitation days. However, on 11 April 2021 the town was struck by Category 3 Cyclone Seroja, causing significant damage and causing widespread power outages. The town is very sunny, experiencing 185.9 clear days and only 59.9 cloudy days annually. Extreme temperatures have ranged from {{convert|48.3|C}} on 20 January 2025{{cite web |url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/month/wa/archive/202402.summary.shtml |title = Western Australia in February 2024 |publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |access-date = September 29, 2024}} to {{convert|-1.3|C}} on 24 July 1979.{{cite web |url = https://www.farmonlineweather.com.au/climate/station.jsp?lt=site&lc=8251 |title = Kalbarri Climate (1970-2024) |website = FarmOnline Weather |access-date = September 29, 2024}}

{{Weather box

|location = Kalbarri ({{coord|27.71|S|114.17|E}}, 6 m AMSL) (1970-2024 data)

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 48.3

|Feb record high C = 48.1

|Mar record high C = 47.2

|Apr record high C = 39.7

|May record high C = 36.2

|Jun record high C = 30.9

|Jul record high C = 30.5

|Aug record high C = 33.0

|Sep record high C = 38.5

|Oct record high C = 41.2

|Nov record high C = 42.4

|Dec record high C = 46.5

|Jan high C = 33.2

|Feb high C = 34.1

|Mar high C = 32.6

|Apr high C = 29.6

|May high C = 26.2

|Jun high C = 23.0

|Jul high C = 21.9

|Aug high C = 22.6

|Sep high C = 24.1

|Oct high C = 26.2

|Nov high C = 28.4

|Dec high C = 31.2

|Jan low C = 19.7

|Feb low C = 20.7

|Mar low C = 19.4

|Apr low C = 16.4

|May low C = 13.4

|Jun low C = 11.1

|Jul low C = 9.7

|Aug low C = 10.0

|Sep low C = 10.9

|Oct low C = 12.7

|Nov low C = 15.1

|Dec low C = 17.7

|Jan record low C = 10.2

|Feb record low C = 11.1

|Mar record low C = 10.0

|Apr record low C = 3.6

|May record low C = 3.7

|Jun record low C = 1.1

|Jul record low C = -1.3

|Aug record low C = -0.4

|Sep record low C = 1.9

|Oct record low C = 4.1

|Nov record low C = 6.7

|Dec record low C = 8.1

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 4.9

|Feb precipitation mm = 8.3

|Mar precipitation mm = 11.6

|Apr precipitation mm = 18.9

|May precipitation mm = 52.2

|Jun precipitation mm = 80.1

|Jul precipitation mm = 71.0

|Aug precipitation mm = 48.3

|Sep precipitation mm = 23.3

|Oct precipitation mm = 13.8

|Nov precipitation mm = 6.8

|Dec precipitation mm = 3.6

|year precipitation mm = 342.2

|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 1.5

|Feb precipitation days = 1.7

|Mar precipitation days = 2.3

|Apr precipitation days = 3.7

|May precipitation days = 7.0

|Jun precipitation days = 10.5

|Jul precipitation days = 11.4

|Aug precipitation days = 9.6

|Sep precipitation days = 6.9

|Oct precipitation days = 4.1

|Nov precipitation days = 2.7

|Dec precipitation days = 1.2

|Jan afthumidity = 47

|Feb afthumidity = 46

|Mar afthumidity = 48

|Apr afthumidity = 50

|May afthumidity = 51

|Jun afthumidity = 54

|Jul afthumidity = 55

|Aug afthumidity = 53

|Sep afthumidity = 53

|Oct afthumidity = 49

|Nov afthumidity = 50

|Dec afthumidity = 48

|Jan dew point C = 16.6

|Feb dew point C = 17.4

|Mar dew point C = 16.6

|Apr dew point C = 15.1

|May dew point C = 12.5

|Jun dew point C = 10.9

|Jul dew point C = 10.5

|Aug dew point C = 10.2

|Sep dew point C = 11.3

|Oct dew point C = 11.8

|Nov dew point C = 13.7

|Dec dew point C = 15.3

|source 1 = Bureau of Meteorology (1970-2024 data)

}}

Kalbarri was featured at the end of the 2005 film Wolf Creek when character Ben Mitchell (Nathan Phillips) was airlifted to hospital from Kalbarri Airport.

In the television series Prison Break, character James Whistler states he is originally from Kalbarri.

{{Reflist |30em}}

{{Towns Mid West WA}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Coastal towns in Western Australia

Category:Shire of Northampton