Augusta, Western Australia

Augusta Western Australia
Augusta visitors centre
Augusta
Population:	1,068 (2006 Census)
Established:	1830
Postcode:	6290
Elevation:	14 m (46 ft)
Location:	322 km (200 mi) South of Perth 146 km (91 mi) South of Bunbury 169 km (105 mi) South West of Manjimup
LGA:	Shire of Augusta-Margaret River
State electorate:	Blackwood-Stirling
Federal Division:	Forrest
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 19.7 °C 67 °F 14.1 °C 57 °F 976.1 mm 38.4 in

Augusta is a town on the south-west coast of Western Australia, where the Blackwood River emerges into Flinders Bay. It is the nearest town to Cape Leeuwin, on the farthest south-west corner of the Australian continent. In the 2001 census it had a population of 1,694; by 2006 the population of the town was 1,068. It is within the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River Local Government area, and is in the Leeuwin Ward. It is connected by public transport to Perth via Transwa coach service SW1.

Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park mainly on the ridge to the west of the town.

History

The first Europeans to see the area were the Dutch in 1622 who named the nearby Cape "Landt van de Leeuwin" or Land of the Lioness. Flinders renamed it in 1801 as Cape Leeuwin.

Augusta was formed in 1830. In March of that year, a number of settlers, including John Molloy and members of the Bussell and Turner families, had arrived at the Swan River Colony on board the Warrior. On their arrival, the Governor of Western Australia, Sir James Stirling, advised them that most of the good land near the Swan River had already been granted, and suggested that they form a new sub-colony in the vicinity of Cape Leeuwin. The following month, Stirling sailed with a party of prospective settlers on board the Emily Taylor. After arriving at the mouth of the Blackwood River, the party spent four days exploring the area. Stirling then confirmed his decision to establish a subcolony, the settlers' property was disembarked, and the town of Augusta declared at the site.

The town was named after the daughter of King George III, Princess Augusta Sophia, by Governor Stirling.

During the 1880s an expansion of the timber industry occurred following the construction of a timber mill at nearby Kudardup and the completion of jetties at Hamelin Bay and Flinders Bay.

The Emily Taylor plaque at beach landing location of settlers

Augusta was a stopping place on the Busselton to Flinders Bay Branch Railway, which was government run from the 1920s to the 1950s. Prior to that M. C. Davies had a timber railway system that went to both Hamelin Bay and Flinders Bay jetties in the 1890s.

In 1961 over 100,000 acres (40,469 ha) acres of farms, bush land and forests between Margaret River and Augusta were destroyed by bush fires. Augusta was saved from these because a serious fire a few months earlier had created a low fuel zone north of the town. The Augusta residents cared for the school children who had been evacuated from Karridale and Kudardup .

Augusta was a summer holiday town for many during most of the twentieth century, but late in the 1990s many people chose to retire to the region for the cooler weather. As a consequence of this and rising land values in the Augusta Margaret River area, the region has experienced significant social change.

External links

• Australian Local Government Association - Shire of Augusta
• Augusta portal
• South West portal
• Official Augusta Information Website
• Augusta Community Radio (2OceansFM Website)

Painting of Augusta by Thomas Turner, 1830s