The origin of the name "Doddi's Beach"

Doddi’s Beach is well known to Mandurah folk, even though its official name is Halls Head Beach and is signed accordingly on the grass opposite the Dome Restaurant, but most residents still call it Doddi’s Beach. So who was “Doddi”?

Many of the older residents of Mandurah have indeed eaten at then well-known and respected “Doddi’s a la carte and seafood restaurant”, which was immediately across from the beach. A little more research indicated the restaurant was last owned and managed by George and Elizabeth Zimmer, who moved to Australia from California and purchased the restaurant in 1979. They successfully ran the business until 1986 when the lease expired. They were not able to renew and subsequently the restaurant and later the next door general store were demolished to make way for Dome Restaurant and housing. After their lease expired, the Zimmers opened a restaurant on Mandurah Terrace and finally retired in 1996.

Finally, to the name Doddi. The Zimmers purchased the restaurant already known as Doddi’s Restaurant from Robert Doddemead. Extrapolating, it is most likely that Doddi’s restaurant with its proximity to the beach, was referred to then as Doddi’s Beach. Since the restaurant is no longer there, it is possible that the use of the name “Doddi’s Beach” will diminish, particularly since there is no reference to it in local signage.

Acknowledgements: Mandurah Museum, George & Elizabeth Zimmer and the Coastal Times