The townsite of Northcliffe is located in the south west agricultural region, 366 kilometres south of Perth and 31 kilometres southeast of Pemberton. The centre for a large Group Settlement area, it was surveyed in 1923, at the request of the Premier, James Mitchell, and was located at the terminus of the extension of the Bridgetown-Jarnadup railway. The townsite was gazetted in May 1924, the name being selected by the Premier. It honours Alfred C M Harmsworth, Viscount Northcliffe, who had died in 1922. He had been the proprietor and publisher of the London Times and the Daily Mail, and a renowned commentator on world affairs for two decades.