Places in South Western Australia

Busselton is a town in the South West region of Western Australia. Founded in 1832 by the Bussell family, Busselton has been one of the fastest growing regions in Australia in the last decade and has a population of approximately 20,000. Busselton is located 220 km south west of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. Busselton has been voted Western Australia’s top tourist town three times in 1995, 1996 and 2005.

Waroona is a town located in the Peel region of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, between Pinjarra and Harvey. The town is the seat of the Shire of Waroona. Waroona is located on South Western Highway, 113 km south of Perth at the foot of the Darling Range and has a population of about 1,800. Agriculture (including dairying) and tourism are the major economic activities, and an irrigation system from the Drakesbrook Weir waters the town and nearby agricultural areas. Every October the town hosts the Waroona Agricultural Show.

Busselton Jetty is the longest wooden jetty (pier) in the southern hemisphere, stretching almost 2 km out to sea from the town of Busselton, Western Australia. Because the shallow waters of Geographe Bay restricted ship movement, a long jetty was required so that the cut timber could be transported to the ships. In 1839 Governor Hutt appointed “the place in Geographe Bay opposite the Settlement at The Vasse to be the legal place for the loading and unloading of goods”.

Spearwood is a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Cockburn. It was named by colonial settlers who noticed the native tea trees, scientific name Melaleuca Lancialata Chipolata, being used for spears by the Yugul Aboriginal people. The main shopping area is “Phoenix Shopping Centre”, a thriving commercial centre located along Rockingham Road, with a smaller centre, “Stargate Spearwood” located further south, also on Rockingham Road.

Rockingham is a suburb and regional centre in Western Australia south-west of the Perth city centre and south of Fremantle. It has a beachside location at Mangles Bay, the southern extremity of Cockburn Sound. To its north stretches the maritime and resource-industry installations of Kwinana and Henderson. Offshore to the north-west is Australia’s largest naval fleet and submarine base, Garden Island, connected to the mainland by an all-weather causeway. To the west and south lies the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park.

Mandurah is the second-largest city in Western Australia and is located approximately 72 kilometres (45 mi) south of the largest city, the State Capital Perth. Mandurah has grown from isolated holiday communities along the shores of the Peel-Harvey Estuary to a major regional city in just over a decade, in recent times forming a conurbation with nearby Rockingham and the capital Perth along the coast.

Mandurah is located approximately 72kms south of Perth – Western Australia. Mandurah is a water wonderland visited by day trippers and holiday makers alike all year round. The towns population is approximately 50,000 and continuing to grow. In fact Mandurah is the fastest growing regional town in Western Australia! It won Tourism Town of the year 2003 and It is now home to activities such as surfing, swimming, crabbing, dolphin watching, boating, fishing and world-class golfing, and that’s just scratching the surface!

The town centre of Mandurah is situated around Mandjar Bay and it’s foreshore is lined with wonderful parkways, barbeque facilities cafe’s, restaurants and a great boardwalk, which is just one of the many other walks available. During weekends and holiday seasons the Mandurah foreshore is packed solid with visitor’s enjoying the beautiful surroundings and watching the dolphins at play.  ... Read more

The first recorded mapping of what is now Geographe Bay and the eventual town of Busselton, was in 1801 by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin, from the ships the Geographe and Naturaliste. The Bay was named after his ship whilst the river was named the Vasse after a sailor who went missing in mysterious circumstances.

The area was settled in 1832 when families from the Augusta area, led by John Garrett Bussell, travelled north to farm the areas around the Vasse River after they found the Cape Leeuwin area to be largely infertile and difficult to reach by sea.

A growing port serviced the settlers and the subsequent local industries that developed which included the exportation of horses to India and a developing trade in beef, dairy and timber (which continue to be major exports of the Busselton area to this day).  ... Read more

Bunbury is located approximately 172kms south of Perth. Bunbury is a water wonderland visited by day trippers and holiday makers alike all year round. The towns population is approximately 30,000 and continuing to grow.

There is so much to see and do in and around Bunbury too. We have pristine beaches, superb yachting facilities, awesome Karri Forests, caves and inlets, beach and sea fishing, breathtaking dives including the amazing `Lena Wreck’, playful dolphins, whale watching, great shopping, sumptuous restaurants and a cosmopolitan cappuccino strip, magnificent art galleries, delightful wineries, world-class golfing, lovely lagoons and of course excellent accommodation. Our harbour is one of the most picturesque in W.A. and you can drive along the breakwater all the way to Koombana Bay.  ... Read more

Yarloop is a town located in the South West of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, between Waroona and Harvey. Yarloop is home to citrus growers, dairy farmers and millers. The town centre includes many restored timber building along with the historical steam workshops. The work shops have many operating steam engines along displays of the equipement used to maintain 25 steam locos and the timber production of millers. There is a heritage trail around the old mill town and conservation area.