History
The inlet was formed 6000–8000 years ago when rising sea levels lead to an ancient river valley being flooded. The original human inhabitants of the inlet and surrounds were Indigenous Australian people, the Noongar. Many Aboriginal artefacts have been found in the area including fish traps, corroboree sites, ochre excavation site and campsites.
The Noongar name for the Inlet is Koorabup which means Place of the Black Swan.
The area was discovered by Thomas Wilson in his 1892 expedition from Albany. The Inlet was named after Wilson by Governor Stirling.
The first Europeans to settle in the catchment area were Randall and Young families in the 1890s followed by timber mills be constructed in 1895. Land clearing began in the 1920s and by 1982 46% of the catchment was privately owned. In total 44% of the cathment has been cleared and 38% remains as forest and national parks.
Read more about this topic: Wilson Inlet
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