It is on the Davyhurst to Ora Banda Road in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia and has formed part of Maduwongga territory.

The local progress association decided that the town should be named Waverley after a nearby mine.

[1] Some of the mines close to town include Siberia, Waverley, Mexico and the Pole leases.

In 1911 the Postmaster General raised concern about the duplication of town names in Australia, including Waverley.

In 1924, two miners, Emery and MacLachlan, picked up on the continuation of a deep alluvial lead and obtained satisfactory results.