Bunbury, Western Australia

Location of Bunbury, Western Australia

The port of Bunbury (33°21′1″S 115°38′58″E
) is the largest city in Regional Western Australia outside the metropolitan area, and is situated 175 kilometres south of Perth, the state capital. Bunbury is one of four main regional centres in Western Australia. The others being Albany, Geraldton and Kalgoorlie-Boulder

History

The first registered sighting of Bunbury was by French explorer Captain Louis de Freycinet from his ship the Casuarina in 1803. He named the area 'Port Leschenault' after the expedition botanist Leschenault de la Tour. The bay was named the Geographe after another ship in the fleet.

In 1829, Dr Alexander Collie and Lieutenant Preston explored the area of Bunbury on land. Later Lieutenant Governor Sir James Stirling visited the area and a Military post was established. The area was renamed Bunbury by the Governor in recognition of Lieutenant Henry William St. Pierre Bunbury, who developed the very difficult inland route from Pinjarra to Bunbury.

Bunbury was declared a city in 1979. Today, the city is the major centre of the state's southwest region, benefiting from the rapid growth in mining in the Region.

Description

The City of Bunbury itself has a population of 31,000 but the Greater Bunbury Region, which includes the suburbs of Dalyellup and Gelorup (Shire of Capel), Eaton (Shire of Dardanup) and Australind (Shire of Harvey), which is regularly utilised for statistical purposes, shows a population of 54,000.

Bunbury is situated at the southern end of the Leschenault Inlet, which was extensively altered in the 1960's and 1970's by major earthworks to create the Bunbury Inner Harbour that is centre for the large export industries in the region which include 20% of the world's Alumina, Timber, Dairy and Mineral Sands.

Bunbury was also in the past an important railway terminus. The Railway Station was close to the centre of the city. The Railway Roundhouse was an important servicing centre for the steam engines of the past. The daily passenger service between Perth and Bunbury — the Australind, is the longest-running named service in Western Australian railway history. The railway line connecting Bunbury to the southern towns of Bridgetown and Manjimup was closed in 2005.

Bunbury's climate is slightly more temperate than that of Perth. This is as much a consequence of its coastal location as of the slight difference in latitude; Fremantle, on the coast immediately southwest of Perth, is more comparable in climate.

The Bunbury Tower, often called the "Milk Carton" for its distinctive shape and blue-and-white colours, is the major feature of the city centre's skyline. It was built in 1983 by businessman Alan Bond. Also prominent are the old lighthouse and lookout tower in the Marlston Hill district, which has been a focus of the city's cultural and commercial growth since the late 1990s.

Born in Bunbury, Western Australia

• Troy Elder (b. 1977), Australian field hockey striker and midfielder
• Natalie Barr, current Sunrise morning news presenter
• Syd Jackson, AFL football legend, played for Carlton
• Barry Shepherd, Australian cricketer
• Aristos Papandroulakis, television "Surprise Chef"
• Sara-Marie Fedele, popular Australian Big Brother 1 housemate

Radio Stations

• 6TZ "Radiowest" 963 kHz AM (commercial)- Part of the Radiowest network covering the Southern half of Western Australia. Format is Adult Contemporary, with news feeds from Perth.
• 6EL 621 kHz AM- Easy Listening format which is also networked. Different to the Easy Mix stations in the Eastern states.
• Hot FM 95.7 MHz FM- Networked, formerly owned by DMG Australia but sold off to Macquarie Regional Radio. Plays Hot Adult Contemporary hits.
• ABC Classic FM 93.3 MHz FM- National network
• Triple J 94.1 MHz FM- National Network
• ABC Radio National- 1224 KHz AM
• ABC Local Radio- 684 kHz AM

Note: Bunbury has a dearth of FM services (only 3 — see Bunbury's FM Online listing) due to the continued operation of GWN TV on Channel 3 and ABC TV on Channel 5. These TV Channels fall in the FM band and thus no FM radio services can broadcast in the Bunbury license area within the 88-92 MHz and 101-108 MHz ranges. One can receive both TV audio carriers through 91.75 MHz FM (GWN) and 107.75 MHz FM (ABC) respectively. These TV channels will be removed from the FM band once digital TV is mandatory.

Rail Transport

Bunbury serves as the terminal for the Australind passenger train to Perth.

See also

• Bunbury Regional Prison

External links

• Bunbury portal
• Bunbury underwater - community underwater photo gallery
• South West portal
• City of Bunbury website
• Bunbury Public Libraries' online catalogue and resources
• Australian Places - Bunbury
• Bunbury Map
• South West Electronic Library