Kalbarri is a coastal resort and fishing town, 589 km north north west of Perth. It is located at the mouth of the Murchison River, the area becoming popular in the late 1940s as a tourist and fishing resort. In 1948 the government decided to declare a townsite here, and following the survey of lots the townsite was gazetted in 1951.

The name of Kalbarri was chosen from a list of Aboriginal words compiled by Daisy Bates in 1913. It is a man's name from a Murchison tribe, and also the name of an edible seed. The Aboriginal name for the area of Kalbarri has been recorded as "Wurdimarlu".