It is largely surrounded by karri, marri and jarrah forest and is close to the Warren, D'Entrecasteaux and Shannon national parks.

The town was the centre of a Group Settlement Scheme in the 1920s, and was surveyed at the request of the Premier of Western Australia, James Mitchell in 1923.

Mitchell named it after Lord Northcliffe, owner of The Times and the Daily Mail in London, and Director of Propaganda in the British government during World War I, who had died in 1922.

[5] Businesses in the area include the Bannister Downs dairy, which sells milk and related products in biodegradable containers through local, regional and Perth-based outlets.

In February, 2015, Northcliffe and Windy Harbour were affected by the largest bushfire in Western Australia's history, which consumed approximately 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres), forcing many of the residents to evacuate, but with no loss of life and minimal property damage.