The Noongar (or Bibbulmun) people, who inhabited the South West of Western Australia, named the area Mandjar ('meeting place'). After European settlement the name changed, possibly due to mispronunciation, to Mandurah.
In December 1829, Thomas Peel arrived in Western Australia from the United Kingdom with workmen, equipment and stores on the ship Gilmore. He had financed the trip in exchange for a grant of land in the Swan River Colony. Unfortunately for him, the contract stipulated that he was to arrive by no later than 1 November 1829 and, as such, his original land grant was forfeited. Undaunted, Peel built a small settlement named Clarence south of the Swan River colony at what is known today as Woodman Point. Many problems with the settlement along with Peel's own ill-health led him to lead the remaining Clarence settlers to the area known today as Mandurah. Thomas Peel died in 1865 but Mandurah continued to grow, albeit very slowly, over the years leading to the 20th Century.
The population of the town was 160 (95 males and 65 females) in 1898.
Since its founding, Mandurah was administered under the Murray Road Board until 1949, when the Mandurah Road Board was established. However, dissension within the board during the 1950s saw it suspended while Commissioner Richard Rushton oversaw the town's affairs. On 26 April 1960, the Mandurah Road Board was reconstituted, and on 1 July 1961, in accordance with the Local Government Act 1960, the Shire of Mandurah was founded.
With a mining boom in nearby Pinjarra, Jarrahdale and Wagerup and an industrial boom in Kwinana combined with an idyllic lifestyle by the coast saw Mandurah grow rapidly, and on 1 July 1987 was upgraded to the Town of Mandurah. Just three years later on 14 April 1990. Mandurah became the fifth non-metropolitan settlement in Western Australia to become a city
