Chidlow Townsite was originally named Chidlow's Well after a small waterhole near the old Northam road. The watering place had been known to travellers for many years and was named after a pioneer family of Northam. Settlement began in 1883 when it became known that Chidlow's Well was to be the terminus of the second section of the Eastern Railway. The railway station and townsite were changed from Chidlow's well to Chidlow in 1920.

​

The name 'Darlington' is derived from adding the English suffix 'ton' meaning 'town' to the name of the range in the area - Darling Range. This range was first named 'General Darling Range' by Charles Fraser, Government Botanist with Captain James Stirling in 1827 after the Governor of the parent colony in New South Wales, General Sir Ralph Darling. The name was first used by Dr Alfred Waylen who established the 'Darlington Vineyard' here in 1883-4. The townsite of Darlington was Gazetted on 1st December 1939.

The hills suburb of Glen Forrest was first settled as a timber milling centre as early as 1877. In 1902 the Government declared a townsite here and named it Amherst. It was renamed Smith's Mill the next year, and in 1915 changed to Glen Forrest.  This name was Gazetted on 29thOctober 1915.  The name was the suggestion of a local resident, and combines 'Glen' from the nature of the topography and 'Forrest' from John Forrest, the first Premier of Western Australia.

Gorrie was named as the area is known as the Gorrie Forest Block which was possibly in recognition of early orchadists in the district and the road name.

Bert and Henry Gorrie are recorded as owning the property in this area circa 1913.  Bert acquired sole ownership in November 1915, and cleared 2,000 acres to rid it of the farmers' double curse of
"York Road Poison" and zamia palms.

Soon after the house was finished, Bert and his wife Mona opened up the non-viable property for the then
novel idea of farm-stay holidays. Visitors, up to 20 at a time, were collected from the Chidlow Railway
Station on the farm's spring trap or 3-horse-lorry.

After Bert and Mona Gorrie left to live in Victoria in 1953, their son-in-law Terence (Charles) Chambers of
Claremont took over the property and ran beef cattle.

Locality boundary and name approved 5 November 1997.

This suburb takes its name from a crossing loop on the Eastern Railway. Named 'Park View' in 1912 from its proximity to the National Park but, because of confusion with nearby stations, viz:- Swan View and Bellevue, it was renamed. Hovea is the name of a purple flowered native plant, a common sight in the Darling Range. It was named after AP Hove, a Polish botanist.

This locality was approved on 5th November 1997. Malmalling - the name of a forest block. The name originated from the name of the Gorrie's property in the same area, “Malmalling”.

Mount Helena was known as Lion Mill until it was renamed Mount Helena in March 1924. The prime mover in the quest for a new name was the local Progress Association whose first choice, "Hillcrest" had been rejected by the authorities because of a duplication in New South Wales. The next suggestion, "Mount Helena" was more successful and had been chosen as a euphonious name, indicative of the terrain and because the suburb was situated centrally in the Helena District.

Permanent settlement in Mundaring began in 1882-84 when Mr Peter Gugeri established a vineyard south of the Eastern Railway. Gugeri was born in London in 1845 and gained experience in the wine industry in Italy. The first railway siding at Mundaring was named after him and for some years the area was generally known as "Gugeris". A later settler, M H Jacoby, took over Gugeris' vineyards in 1893, and named the business the "Mundaring Vineyard Company". The name came from an Aboriginal camp situated nearby and the meaning given to Jacoby by the aborigines was "a high place on a high place". The correct pronunciation was "Mundahring" but common usage has gradually converted this to "Mundairing".

The railway line that once ran between Bellevue and Mount Helena, via Parkerville, was opened for traffic in 1896. Parkerville was one of the first stations to be constructed on the line and served the Parkerville Suburban Area which had been thrown open for selection in June 1895. The Suburban Area was named in honour of Mr S H Parker whose country home, now the Old Mahogany Inn, was situated nearby. Parker was a prominent of the Perth legal fraternity.

Sawyers Valley derived its name from the trade most commonly practised by those who settled there. A sawpit, with hand sawyers hard at work and a settlement of thatched "V" huts (so called from their resemblance to an inverted letter "V") was noted in the area as early as the 1860's. The timber trade was the mainstay of the place for many years. A railway station named Sawyers Valley was opened here in 1884.