ToodyayBrief History The historical town of Toodyay is located
85km north-east of Perth and is situated on the Avon
River. The first Europeans to explore the area were
Ensign Dale and a small party from the Swan River Colony
who were in search of fertile land for new settlers.
Settlers having arrived at the Swan River Colony in 1829
soon discovered that the fertile land that Lieutenant
Governor Stirling had promised, was not to be found. With
disgruntled settlers leaving, pressure was placed on the
Colony to find land suitable for farming. In 1830, Ensign
Dale's expedition found a way over the rugged hills of
the Darling Ranges and found a river that Dale named "The
Avon" and a grassy valley he called the "Avon Valley".
Dale marked three potential townsites, York, Beverley and Northam . 
The Avon Valley would become the main
agricultural and pastoral region up until the turn of the
century. In 1836 the original townsite "Old Toodyay" was
founded by a group of settlers including James Drummond Senior,
Captain Francis Whitfield and Alexander Anderson. Having
climbed over the Darling Range at Red Hill and establishing a
new route to the Avon Valley via Jimperding they named a site,
Toodyay, on a bend on the Avon River (near the present West
Toodyay Bridge). Prior to this Things You May Not Know About Toodyay The post code of Toodyay is 6566.
The infamous bushranger, Moondyne Joe (Joseph Bolitho Johns) roamed the hills around Toodyay in the 1860's and the town now celebrates his exploits with the Moondyne festival each spring. Important Links To ToodyayToodyay Visitors CentreToodyay Community and Business Guide Toodyay Forum |
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Europeans entered the Avon Valley via York and
Northam. Unfortunately the Old Toodyay townsite was
situated in an area prone to flooding. In 1861 a new town,
Newcastle, was gazetted about five kms upstream, marking
the decline of Old Toodyay, as many moved to the new and
safer town. Newcastle's name was later changed to Toodyay,
in 1911, after complaints were made over the mail
confusion with Newcastle, in New South Wales. The town of
Toodyay grew and still grows from the agricultural
activities of the early settlers such as sheep, cattle,
wheat, barley, vines and beekeeping. The name Toodyay is
derived from the Aboriginal word duidgee, meaning "place
of plenty".The population of Toodyay today is
approximately 3,800.