Chippers Leap, formerly known as Chipper's Leap, is a granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

 outcrop on Greenmount Hill in Perth, Western Australia

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

. It is located at 31º54'S 116º04'E, on the northern side of Great Eastern Highway

Great Eastern Highway

The Great Eastern Highway is a major road between the Western Australian cities of Perth and Kalgoorlie. It is a key route for vehicles accessing the eastern wheatbelt and the eastern goldfields...

, near the border between the suburbs of Swan View

Swan View, Western Australia

Swan View is an eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Areas are the City of Swan and the Shire of Mundaring, and it is located from Perth in an area known as the Perth Hills on the edge of the Darling Scarp, just to the west of the John Forrest National Park, east of Roe...

 and Greenmount

Greenmount, Western Australia

Greenmount is a locality and a geographical feature in the Shire of Mundaring, Western Australia, on the edge of the Darling Scarp. It is a vital point in the transport routes from the Swan Coastal Plain into the hinterland of Western Australia....

.

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 a 14-year-old boy named Reuben Beacham had been driving a cart from Guildford

Guildford, Western Australia

Guildford is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located 13 km northeast of the city. Its Local Government Area is the City of Swan.-History:Guildford was established in 1829 on the Swan River, being sited near a permanent fresh water supply...

 to York

York, Western Australia

York is the oldest inland town in Western Australia, situated 97 km east of Perth in the Avon Valley near Northam, and is the seat of the Shire of York...

 along the York Road

York Road, Western Australia

York Road was the main road connecting Guildford and York, in Western Australia, during the 19th and 20th centuries....

 (now Old York Road) when they were attacked by Noongars. Beacham was killed and Chipper was speared but managed to escape, jumping from the rock and eventually reaching Governor

Governor of Western Australia

The Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:* presiding over the Executive Council;...

 James Stirling

James Stirling (Australian governor)

Admiral Sir James Stirling RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. His enthusiasm and persistence persuaded the British Government to establish the Swan River Colony and he became the first Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Western Australia...

's house at Woodbridge

Woodbridge, Western Australia

Woodbridge is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Swan. Woodbridge was formerly part of Midland and was previously named West Midland...

.

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

Royal Western Australian Historical Society

Royal Western Australian Historical Society has for many decades been the main association for Western Australians to collectively work for adequate understanding and protection of the cultural heritage of Perth and Western Australia...

, 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:

ON THE 3RD OF FEBRUARY 1832. JOHN CHIPPER AND REUBEN BEACHAM A BOY OF FOURTEEN, WHILE DRIVING A CART FROM GUILDFORD TO YORK, WERE ATTACKED BY NATIVES NEAR THIS SPOT. BEACHAM WAS KILLED BUT CHIPPER ALTHOUGH SPEARED, ESCAPED AND LEAPED FROM THIS ROCK, NOW KNOWN AS CHIPPER'S LEAP, AND EVENTUALLY REACHED GOVERNOR STIRLING'S HOUSE AT WOODBRIDGE

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 100 metres to the west, just before a new sign "Perth Hills'.

It is listed on the Places Database of the Heritage Council of Western Australia

Heritage Council of Western Australia

The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the Government of Western Australia agency created to identify, conserve and promote places of cultural heritage significance in the state.It was created under the Heritage of Western Australia Act...

, 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

Round House

The Round House is the oldest building still standing in Western Australia. It is located at Arthur Head in Fremantle, and recent heritage assessments and appraisals of the precinct of the Round House incorporate Arthur Head....

 in Fremantle

Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...

There are similar granite outcrops

Granite outcrops of Western Australia

Granite outcrops of Western Australia are inselbergs and monoliths made from granite that are found across much of Western Australia. Rising abruptly from the surrounding landscape they create a variety of microhabitats for plants, and provide seasonal resources and refuge for a range of animals....

 in this area of the Darling Scarp

Darling Scarp

The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north-south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia...

 in John Forrest National Park

John Forrest National Park

John Forrest National Park is a national park in the Darling Scarp, 24 km east of Perth, Western Australia. It was the first national park in Western Australia and the second in Australia after Royal National Park.- Name :...

 to the north, and to the south Darlington

Darlington, Western Australia

Darlington, Western Australia, is a locality in the Shire of Mundaring on the Darling Scarp, dissected by Nyaania Creek and north of the Helena River.- Location :...

, and Boya, Western Australia

Boya, Western Australia

Boya is a locality on the Darling Scarp, in the Shire of Mundaring, Western Australia. On the south side of Greenmount Hill, and just west of Darlington....