Rockingham

Rockingham Perth, Western Australia
Mangles Bay at Rockingham. In the background, a shiploading facility for wheat, at Kwinana.
Population:	12,966 (2006 census)[1]
Established:	1890s
Postcode:	6168
Area:	14.7 km² (5.7 sq mi)
Time zone:	AWST (UTC+8)
Location:	47 km (29 mi) SSW of Perth 28 km (17 mi) S of Fremantle 31 km (19 mi) N of Mandurah 38 km (24 mi) WSW of Armadale 10 km (6 mi) SW of Kwinana
LGA:	City of Rockingham
State District:	Rockingham
Federal Division:	Brand
Suburbs around Rockingham: East Rockingham Peron Rockingham Hillman Shoalwater Safety Bay Cooloongup

Coordinates: 32°16′52″S 115°43′37″E / 32.281°S 115.727°E / -32.281; 115.727

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, Western Australia 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.

History

Rockingham was first surveyed in 1847 and was gazetted as a town in 1897. It got its name from one of the three ships bought by Robert Peel carrying settlers to Western Australia (the others being the Gilmore and Hooghly), arriving in May 1830. After being blown onto the mainland, the Rockingham was eventually abandoned after failed attempts to refloat her, and she eventually broke up having sunk in shallow waters in Careening Bay.^[2]

In its early days, Rockingham was a busy port, shipping jarrah timber and sandalwood overseas. Now, as a satellite city in Perth’s southern corridor, together with Mandurah, it is among Australia’s fastest-growing residential districts. The maritime tradition has been strengthened by steady growth of the Royal Australian Navy’s main fleet base HMAS Stirling and by the development of major shipbuilding and marine support services at nearby Henderson.

Since the nineteenth century, abundant sightseeing and recreational attributes have been the basis of a tourism industry. Visitors can launch small boats or board ferries to view dolphins, seals, pelicans and penguins in the adjacent Marine Park. The coast at nearby Safety Bay is ideal for windsurfing and kitesurfing. Generous free barbecues and picnic facilities are provided on the seafront, supplementing a choice of hotels and restaurants. Rockingham City Shopping Centre^[3] is the regional centre which attracts significant non-local business, having a licence to trade on Sundays during public and school holidays.

Rockingham is unusual in the sense that the city contains both some of the highest and lowest Socio-Economic areas in Western Australia. Properties along Rockingham Beach and in various estates such as Settlers Hills in Baldivis, Secret Harbour and “The Anchorage” in Shoalwater contain some of the least affordable properties in Perth’s Southern Suburbs. The location of the Train Station has aided the argument that Rockingham is a low socio-economic area as it is located within the suburbs of Hillman and Coolongup, suburbs with low-land values.

Catalpa memorial

The ‘wild geese’ memorial

On 9 September 2005, a memorial was unveiled at Rockingham beach to commemorate the Catalpa rescue, the famous escape of six Irish Fenian convicts from Fremantle Prison on 17–18 April 1876. After journeying south from Fremantle by horse-drawn cart, the escapees were rowed from Rockingham beach to the Catalpa, an American whaler. The perilous flight succeeded in the face of an overnight storm and naval interception at dawn. The memorial is a statue depicting six wild geese in flight, the design of which was initiated by an Irish-Australian Perth citizen, the late Francis Conlan, whose name is also recorded on the memorial.

Naval Memorial Park

To the north of Rockingham lies the Rockingham Naval Memorial Park, opposite HMAS Stirling. It contains a number of commemorative plaque’s, a 4.5 inch gun turret of the HMAS Derwent (DE 49) and a submarine fin from the HMAS Orion, added in 2009.^[4][5]

Image gallery

Beachfront landscaping	Old Rockingham Hotel	Trees and development	‘Boardwalk’ restaurant strip
Wild geese detail	Memorial citation by Francis Conlan	Rockingham Naval Memorial Park

Transport

Rockingham is served by the Rockingham Train Station on the Mandurah Line. All bus services depart from this station, with the majority servicing the dedicated bus lanes adjacent to Rockingham Shopping Centre. There was a large amount of debate in regards to the planning of Rockingham Train Station, which was originally meant to be an underground station located adjacent to the Rockingham Shopping Centre, however, due to costs, the decision was made to build the Railway Station in Coolongup and have frequent feeder-bus services connecting the City Centre with the Station.

Rockingham is also serviced by the “Rockingham Shuttle Bus 555″ which follows a route from the Train Station to Foreshore via. Rockingham Shopping Centre.

Rockingham is well connected to Fremantle by the frequent bus service 920 (via. Kwinana Hub, Spearwood) running at 15-minute intervals Monday-Friday and the 825 (via. Coogee)

Education

The Rockingham campus of Murdoch University is located on Dixon Rd, however contains only a limited number of courses, such as Education. The campus is integrated with Challenger TAFE and the Rockingham Regional Campus Community Library, which is one of the largest public libraries in the State, and forms part of the Rockingham Information and Library Services group including Warnbro Community Library and Safety Bay Public Library. The campus can be accessed by Public Transport with bus service 920 connecting Rockingham to Fremantle via. Kwinana.

Rockingham Shopping Centre

Formerly known as Rockingham Park Shopping Centre, and then Rockingham City Shopping Centre, it is one of the oldest and well-known regional centres in the Perth Metropolitan Region. It is currently undergoing major redevelopments which will see the centre become one of the states largest regional shopping complexes, featuring an ‘Entertainment Quarter’ with a Cinema Complex, 24-hour Fitness Centre, ‘Timezone’ arcade and Alfresco Dining accompanying the already completed Food Court and Fashion Mall upgrades.

Sport & Recreation

Rockingham is home to the Rockinghim Rams^[6] in the Peel Football League, Rockingham City FC^[7] in the Football West State League and the Rockingham club in the RugbyWA competition. Rockingham also hosts an SBL (State Basketball League) team called Rockingham Flames and a team in the WARL (Western Australia Rugby League) called the Rockingham Coastal Sharks

Aqua Jetty is a world-class and state-of-the-art complex located in Warnbro offering some of the State’s best Aquatic Facilities, such as an Outdoor Olympic-Sized Swimming Pool, Indoor Leisure Pool, Indoor Lap Pool, Spa and Sauna facilities, Hydrotherapy Pool and a fully-equipped Gymnasium and Health Club. The Lark Hill Sporting Complex and Secret Harbour Golf Course also provide recreational facilities for residents of Rockingham.

References

External links

• City of Rockingham
• City of Rockingham Community Information Portal