Broome, Western Australia: Difference between revisions
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|Dec record low C = 17.4 |
|Dec record low C = 17.4 |
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|year record low C = 3.3 |
|year record low C = 3.3 |
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|rain colour = green |
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|Jan rain mm = 179.6 |
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|Feb rain mm = 178.7 |
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|Mar rain mm = 100.8 |
|Mar rain mm = 100.8 |
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|Apr rain mm = 26.7 |
|Apr rain mm = 26.7 |
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|Sep rain mm = 1.4 |
|Sep rain mm = 1.4 |
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|Oct rain mm = 1.4 |
|Oct rain mm = 1.4 |
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|Nov rain mm = |
|Nov rain mm = 8.9 |
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|Dec rain mm = 56. |
|Dec rain mm = 56.0 |
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|year rain mm = |
|year rain mm = 606.3 |
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|unit rain days= 1 |
|unit rain days = 0.1 mm |
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|Jan rain days = |
|Jan rain days = 11.5 |
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|Feb rain days = |
|Feb rain days = 11.5 |
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|Mar rain days = |
|Mar rain days = 7.9 |
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|Apr rain days = |
|Apr rain days = 2.6 |
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|May rain days = |
|May rain days = 2.5 |
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|Jun rain days = 1. |
|Jun rain days = 1.8 |
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|Jul rain days = |
|Jul rain days = 1.4 |
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|Aug rain days = |
|Aug rain days = 1.0 |
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|Sep rain days = |
|Sep rain days = 1.0 |
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|Oct rain days = 0. |
|Oct rain days = 0.6 |
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|Nov rain days = |
|Nov rain days = 1.2 |
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|Dec rain days = |
|Dec rain days = 5.3 |
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|year rain days = |
|year rain days = 48.3 |
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|Jan sun=263.5 |
|Jan sun = 263.5 |
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|Feb sun= |
|Feb sun = 212.8 |
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|Mar sun=266.6 |
|Mar sun = 266.6 |
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|Apr sun=294.0 |
|Apr sun = 294.0 |
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|May sun=288.3 |
|May sun = 288.3 |
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|Jun sun=279.0 |
|Jun sun = 279.0 |
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|Jul sun=303.8 |
|Jul sun = 303.8 |
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|Aug sun=325.5 |
|Aug sun = 325.5 |
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|Sep sun=312.0 |
|Sep sun = 312.0 |
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|Oct sun=337.9 |
|Oct sun = 337.9 |
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|Nov sun=336.0 |
|Nov sun = 336.0 |
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|Dec sun= |
|Dec sun = 291.4 |
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|year sun= 3506.4 |
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|source 1 = <ref name="Airport climate" /> |
|source 1 = <ref name="Airport climate" /> |
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|date=August 2010 |
|date=August 2010 |
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Revision as of 21:37, 3 March 2012
| Broome Western Australia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Broome jetty | |||||||||
  Broome | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 17°57′43″S 122°14′10″E / 17.96194°S 122.23611°E | ||||||||
| Population | 11,547 (2006)[1] | ||||||||
| Established | 1880s | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6725 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 19 m (62 ft) | ||||||||
| Time zone | AWST (UTC+08:00) | ||||||||
| Location | 2,100 km (1,305 mi) from Perth | ||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Broome | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Kimberley | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Durack | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Broome is a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, 2,200 km (1,400 mi) north of Perth. The year round population is approximately 14,436, growing to more than 45,000 per month during the tourist season.[2] Broome International Airport provides transport to several regional and domestic towns and cities.
History
Broome is situated on the traditional lands of the Yawuru people.[3]
The first European to visit Broome is often mistakenly thought to be William Dampier. But in 1688 he only visited the north of what was later named the Dampier Peninsula. And in 1699 he explored the coast from Shark Bay to La Grange Bay, from where he headed north leaving the Australian coast. Many of the coastal features of the area were later named for him. In 1879, Charles Harper suggested that the pearling industry could be served by a port closer to the pearling grounds and that Roebuck Bay would be suitable. In 1883, John Forrest selected the site for the town, and it was named after Sir Frederick Broome, the Governor of Western Australia from 1883 to 1889.[4]
In 1889, a telegraph undersea cable was laid from Broome to Singapore, connecting to England. Hence the name Cable Beach given to the landfall site.[4]
The town has an interesting history based around the exploits of the men and women who developed the pearling industry, starting with the harvesting of oysters for mother of pearl in the 1880s to the current major cultured pearl farming enterprises. The riches from the pearl beds did not come cheap, and the town's Japanese cemetery is the resting place of 919 Japanese divers who lost their lives working in the industry.[5] Many more were lost at sea, and the exact number of deaths is unknown. The Japanese were only one of the major ethnic groups who flocked to Broome to work on the luggers or the shore based activities supporting the harvesting of oysters from the waters around Broome. They were specialist divers and, despite being considered enemies, became an indispensable part of the industry until World War II.
Each year Broome celebrates this fusion of different cultures in an annual cultural festival called Shinju Matsuri (Japanese for festival of the pearl), it looks to celebrate the Asian influenced culture brought here by the pearling industry[6].
Broome was attacked at least four times by Japanese aircraft during the Second World War,[7] and the worst attack was the 3 March 1942 air raid [8] in which at least 88 people (mostly civilians) were killed.
The West Australian mining boom of the 1960s, as well as the growth of the tourism industry, also helped Broome develop and diversify. Broome is one of the fastest growing towns in Australia.[4]
At Gantheaume Point and 30 m (98 ft) out to sea are dinosaur footprints believed to be from the Cretaceous Age approximately 130 million years ago. The tracks can be seen only during very low tide.
Broome entered into a sister city agreement with Taiji, Japan in 1981 as historic ties between the two towns date back to the early 1900s, when Japan became instrumental in laying the groundwork of Broome's pearling industry. The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji was the subject of the 2009 documentary The Cove, and sparked a unanimous decision by the town's council, headed by Graeme Campbell, to end the relationship with Taiji if the dolphin hunt were to continue. The decision was reversed in October 2009.[9]
Cable Beach
Named in honour of the Java-to-Australia undersea telegraph cable which reaches shore here, Cable Beach is situated 7 km (4.3 mi) from town along a good bitumen road. The beach itself is 22.5 km (14.0 mi) long with beautiful white sand, washed clean daily by tides that can reach over 9 m (30 ft).[10] The water is crystal clear turquoise, and the gentle swells hardly manage to topple over as they roll up onto the almost perfectly flat beach. Caution, however, is required when swimming from November through March as box jellyfish are present during those months. There have been cases where crocodiles have been sighted off the shore, but this is a rarity and measures are taken to prevent these situations. Four wheel drive vehicles may be driven onto the beach from the car park. This allows people to explore the beach at low tide to a much greater extent than would be possible on foot. Sunset camel rides operate daily along the beach.
Cable Beach is home to one of Australia's most famous nudist beaches. The clothes optional area is to the north of the beach access road from the car park and continues to the mouth of Willie Creek, 17 km (11 mi) away.
Located directly east of Cable Beach over the dunes is Minyirr Park, a coastal reserve administered by a collaboration of the Shire of Broome and the Rubibi people.
Roebuck Bay
Being situated on a north/south peninsula, Broome has water on both sides of the town. On the eastern shore are the waters of Roebuck Bay extending from the main jetty at Port Drive to Sandy Point, west of Thangoo station. Town Beach is part of the shoreline and is popular with visitors on the eastern end of the town. It is also the site of the famous 'Staircase to the Moon', where a receding tide and a rising moon combine to create a stunning natural phenomenon. On 'Staircase to the Moon' nights, a food and craft market is operated on Town Beach.
Roebuck Bay is of international importance for the millions of migratory waders or shorebirds that use it seasonally on migration through the East Asian – Australasian Flyway from their breeding grounds in northern Asia. They feed on the extensive intertidal mudflats and roost at high tide on the red sand beaches of the Bay. They can be seen in the largest numbers in summer, but many of the younger birds remain throughout the first and second years of their lives. The Broome Bird Observatory, sited in pindan woodland close to the northern shore of Roebuck Bay, was established by Birds Australia in 1988, and formally opened in 1990. The purpose of the observatory is to study the birds, learn how to protect them, and educate the public about them.
Climate
Broome has a tropical climate and under the Köppen climate classification it has a semi-arid climate (BSwhg)[11], like most parts of the Australian tropics, it has two seasons: a dry season and a wet season.[12] The dry season is from April through November with nearly every day clear and maximum temperatures around 30 °C (86 °F). The wet season extends from December through March, with maximum temperatures of around 35 °C (95 °F), rather erratic tropical downpours, and high humidity. Broome's annual rainfall average is 603.5 mm (23.76 in), 75% of which falls from January through March.[13]
Broome is susceptible to tropical cyclones, and these, along with the equally unpredictable nature of summer thunderstorms, play a large part in the erratic nature of the rainfall. For instance, in January 1922, Broome post office recorded just 2.8 mm (0.11 in) of rainfall[14] while in the same month of 1997, the airport received 910.8 mm (35.86 in).[13]
Frost is unknown; however, temperatures during the cooler months have dropped to as low as 3.3 °C (37.9 °F).[13]
Broome observes an average of 48.3 days a year that record measurable precipitation.[13]
| Climate data for Broome Airport | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 44.1 (111.4) |
42.7 (108.9) |
42.2 (108.0) |
41.0 (105.8) |
38.7 (101.7) |
36.2 (97.2) |
36.0 (96.8) |
37.8 (100.0) |
41.3 (106.3) |
42.8 (109.0) |
44.3 (111.7) |
44.8 (112.6) |
44.8 (112.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 33.3 (91.9) |
32.9 (91.2) |
33.9 (93.0) |
34.3 (93.7) |
31.5 (88.7) |
29.2 (84.6) |
28.8 (83.8) |
30.3 (86.5) |
31.8 (89.2) |
32.9 (91.2) |
33.6 (92.5) |
33.8 (92.8) |
32.2 (90.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 26.3 (79.3) |
26.0 (78.8) |
25.4 (77.7) |
22.6 (72.7) |
18.2 (64.8) |
15.2 (59.4) |
13.7 (56.7) |
14.9 (58.8) |
18.5 (65.3) |
22.3 (72.1) |
25.1 (77.2) |
26.5 (79.7) |
21.2 (70.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 19.0 (66.2) |
15.2 (59.4) |
16.0 (60.8) |
12.6 (54.7) |
8.4 (47.1) |
5.2 (41.4) |
3.3 (37.9) |
4.8 (40.6) |
8.9 (48.0) |
13.3 (55.9) |
16.7 (62.1) |
17.4 (63.3) |
3.3 (37.9) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 179.6 (7.07) |
178.7 (7.04) |
100.8 (3.97) |
26.7 (1.05) |
26.4 (1.04) |
17.8 (0.70) |
7.3 (0.29) |
1.7 (0.07) |
1.4 (0.06) |
1.4 (0.06) |
8.9 (0.35) |
56.0 (2.20) |
606.3 (23.87) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 11.5 | 11.5 | 7.9 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 5.3 | 48.3 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 263.5 | 212.8 | 266.6 | 294.0 | 288.3 | 279.0 | 303.8 | 325.5 | 312.0 | 337.9 | 336.0 | 291.4 | 3,510.8 |
| Source: [13] | |||||||||||||
Media
Localised television stations available in Broome include GWN7, SBS, WIN Television Western Australia, ABC Television Western Australia and Goolarri media.
Both WIN and GWN7 provide local news services that screen Monday to Friday. WIN News screens at 5.30pm before Nine News Perth. GWN7 News screens at 5.30pm before Seven News Perth.
Footnotes
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Broome (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- ^ Population Statistics
- ^ National Native Title Tribunal: Yawuru people recognised in Broome
- ^ a b c Broome sweeps in a little luxury
- ^ Broome - Things to See
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/09/07/3311998.htm Awakening Sammy the Dragon for Broome's Shinju Matsuri festival
- ^ Prime, Mervyn W., "Broome's One Day War", Broome Historical Society, Broome, 1985, p.27
- ^ Australia's War 1939-1945
- ^ Australian town embraces Taiji again
- ^ Broome Boating Guide
- ^ Tapper, Andrew; Tapper, Nigel (1996). Gray, Kathleen (ed.). The weather and climate of Australia and New Zealand (First ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press. p. 300. ISBN 0195533933.
- ^ "Climate of Broome". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Climate statistics for Australian locations - Broome Airport
- ^ Climate statistics for Australian locations - Broome Post Office
References
- Bailey, John (2001). The White Divers of Broome. Sydney: MacMillan. ISBN 0-7329-1078-1.
External links
