Living in Western Australia - Harbours

Article by: Jay
Last updated: Tuesday, 11-Jul-2006 00:00:00 CEST

With such an expansive coastline covering the whole length of western australia, there are a number of coastal harbours and ports dotted around the coastline each one requiring management and control.


Harbours

The work of the Department for Planning and Infrastructure includes:

Providing boat harbours and facilities at 31 locations along the Western Australian coast Providing protected harbours for Western Australia's fishing industry which provides $750 million to the state's economy

With such an expansive coastline covering the whole length of western australia, there are a number of harbours and ports dotted around the coastline each one requiring management and control. The following is not a complete list but includes the main boat harbours of WA.

  1. Point Samson Boat Harbours
  2. Onslow Maritime Facility
  3. Exmouth Boat Harbours
  4. Carnarvon Boat Harbours
  5. Denham Boat Harbours
  6. Kalbarri Maritime Facility
  7. Port Gregory Maritime Facility
  8. Geraldton Batavia Coast Marina Port
  9. Denison Boat Harbours
  10. Leeman Maritime Facility
  11. Green Head Maritime Facility
  12. Jurien Boat Harbours
  1. Cervantes Maritime Facility
  2. Lancelin Maritime Facility
  3. Hillarys Boat Harbours
  4. Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbours
  5. Fremantle Challenger Harbours
  6. Mandurah Ocean Marina
  7. Bunbury Casuarina Boat Harbours
  8. Augusta Maritime Facility
  9. Albany Emu Point Boat Harbours
  10. Bremer Bay Boat Harbours
  11. Hopetoun Maritime Facility
  12. Esperance Bandy Creek Boat Harbours

 

Harbours And Shipping Records

The control of ports and shipping in Western Australia was one of the earliest administrative functions performed by the Colonial Government of WA. Pre-dating the founding of the Swan River Colony, it was first directed by the Royal Navy until, on 1 August 1829, a Harbours Master was appointed at Fremantle and control passed to the Colonial Secretary. Consequently, many of the earliest records relating to lighthouses, customs, harbours and shipping in Western Australia can be located through the correspondence of the Colonial Secretary's Office (CSO).

To-day, many harbours, ports and coastline areas have webcams providing up to date visible information for those managing the harbours and ports and also enables the visitor to get a scenic view of the location.

Fremantle is a city located within the Perth metropolitan area on Australia's western coast, at the mouth of the Swan River.


History Of Fremantle Harbours & Port

On 25 April 1829, the ship HMS Challenger under the guidance of Captain Fremantle had arrived in the waters off the Fremantle coast to make preparations for the Swan River Colony.

On 2 May 1829, Captain Fremantle formally took possession on behalf of King George IV the entire west coast of New Holland just near the south head of the Swan River. A few days later a camp was set up in a bay just south of the head, and Fremantle has been occupied ever since.

A month later, on 1 June Captain James Stirling on the Parmelia arrived to officially set up the Swan River Colony. Perth itself was not settled until 12 August that year.

Captain Fremantle left the colony on 25 August after providing much assistance to Stirling in setting up the colony. It is then when Stirling decided that the port settlement would be called 'Fremantle'. (Appleyard & Manford, 1979)

In 1891, Irish-born engineer C. Y. O'Connor deepened Fremantle Harbours and removed the limestone bar and sand shoals across the entrance to the Swan River, thus rendering Fremantle a serviceable port for commercial shipping. Fremantle still serves as the main port for Western Australia.

During World War II, Fremantle was the 2nd largest base for Allied submarines operating in the Pacific Theater. There were up to 125 US, 31 British and 11 Free Dutch Submarines operating out of Fremantle, until the Americans moved forward to the Philippines


Hillarys Boat Harbours

There are a number of tourist attractions close to Hillarys. The main one is Hillarys Boat Harbours or Sorrento Quay which is among Perth's most visited tourist attractions. This marina development, built in 1987, includes AQWA (formerly Underwater World) and numerous shops and eating spots, as well as a ferry terminal for trips to Rottnest Island and whale watching excursions.

Here are some sites to visit for useful information:

http://www.fremantleports.com.au/

http://www.sro.wa.gov.au/collection/harbour.html

http://www.aqwa.com.au/main.asp

http://www.esperanceport.com.au/

http://www.ozhorizons.com.au/wa/perth/hillarys_harbour/home.html







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