The original spelling in the GeoScience Australia Place Names database used Wangarrai but these days, the spelling Wanjarri has been used, so the nearby reserve is spelled Wanjarri.
Wanjarri is situated in the north eastern goldfields between the towns of Leinster and
Wiluna. It is surrounded by pastoral lands now held by mining companies actively involved in production and exploration.
In 1920,
John Joseph Currie leased land to start a pastoral station and in 1940 his son-in-law, Tom Moriarty took over. Moriarty seems to have been more interested in prospecting and bird watching and only lightly stocked the property with sheep.
In fact it seems that it was Tom's interest in the local bird life that led to the station being purchased by the then, Department of Fisheries and Fauna. Tom did not want the station to be amalgamated into neighbouring properties and arranged for it to be sold to the government department in 1971.
The Wanjarri Reserve includes the original
farm buildings as
well as a number of relics including an
old car known as 'The Goanna'.
With a resurgence of mining in the area has come an increased number of visitors to the reserve despite its fairly remote location in the north eastern goldfields.