Chippers Leap is named for John Chipper, who jumped from the rock on 3 February 1832 while trying to escape an attack by a party of
Noongars. Chipper and an 11-year-old boy named Reuben Beacham had been driving Mr Leroux's cart from
Guildford to his property in
York via the
York Road (now
Old York Road) when they were attacked by Noongars. Chipper was speared once in the side before turning around to escape. A second spear pierced his shoulder as he jumped from the rock in order to save himself. Chipper, in his statement dated 5 February 1832, said, Chipper ran for approximately before eventually reaching
Governor James Stirling's house at
Woodbridge. In the early 1930s the Main Roads Board planned a realignment of the York Road that ultimately resulted in the construction of the present Great Eastern Highway. The original plans had the road passing through Chippers Leap. After representations by the
Western Australian Historical Society, the plans were changed to allow the road to pass close by the rock, thus not only preserving the rock but also increasing its visual effect and exposure. The road itself was not constructed until the 1960s. At 8:30pm on 3 February 1932, the centenary of Chipper's leap, the Western Australian Historical Society dedicated a plaque in memory of the event. Around 200 people attended a dedication ceremony at the rock. The plaque reads: For most of the 1960s through to the 1980s the rock face just west of the plaque featured an item of graffiti in white paint, reading "All have sinned". Towards the end of the 1990s it was replaced for a short time by "Please Turn Over". For at least the last ten years now it has been painted out and graffiti free. The plaque is adjacent to a very busy highway with no facilities for pedestrians, so it is not recommended as a stopping place at any time of day or night. A small section of parking area on the highway is available to the west, just before a new sign for
Perth Hills. It is listed on the Places Database of the
Heritage Council of Western Australia, but is not afforded legislative protection. There are plaques at other sites from the same year placed by the Western Australian Historical Society; one can be found at the
Round House in
Fremantle. There are similar
granite outcrops in this area of the
Darling Scarp in
John Forrest National Park to the north, and to the south
Darlington, and
Boya, Western Australia. ==Notes==