Brief History
Lake Clifton is 38 kilometres south of Mandurah, located on the Old Coast Road in Western Australia. The townsite was named after the nearby Lake, which was named after Marshall Walter Clifton (1787-1861), who was the Chief Commissioner of the Western Australian Company’s settlement at Australind and a member of the Legislative Council.
The townsite of Lake Clifton, which was originally gazetted as Leschenault, was developed following WA Portland Cement Co. interest in mining lime deposits in the area. In 1920, a railway line was built from Waroona to Lake Clifton in readiness for the mining development. 
A Progress Association was formed on behalf of the company’s employees. The first thing on their agenda was to have the area declared a townsite. Leschenault was the first suggested name and was gazetted before being rejected. Other suggestions were Peppermint Grove, Fouracre and Garbanup (Aboriginal name).
In 1921 the town’s name was amended to Garbanup before it too was rejected. In 1923, the new owners of the railway line complained that the name Garbanup sounded far too similar to Dardanup, so for the last time the town was renamed, Lake Clifton. After all the fanfare and expectations the lime mining only lasted a short time. By the end of 1923 the mine had closed and the following year the railway line was dismantled and used in the construction of the Lake Grace – Newdegate railway.
Things You May Not Know About Lake Clifton
The postcode for Lake Clifton is 6215.
Lake Clifton is one of the few places in the world where thrombolites ,’living rocks’, grow.
The mysterious Yalgorup Tunnels can be found throughout the Yalgorup National Park area near Lake Clifton.