Mandurah

History

The Noongar (or Bibbulmun) people, who inhabited the southwest of Western Australia, named the area Mandjar ("meeting place"), which became the present day name "Mandurah". In December 1829, Thomas Peel arrived in Western Australia from the United Kingdom with workmen, equipment and stores on the ship . He had financed the trip in exchange for a grant of land in the Swan River Colony. A term of the grant was that he arrive no later than 1 November 1829, thus his original land grant was forfeited. Undaunted, Peel built a small settlement named Clarence south of the Swan River Colony at what is known today as Woodman Point. Facing many problems with the settlement and his own ill-health, Peel led the remaining Clarence settlers to the area known today as Mandurah. Soon after, other settlers also took up land in Mandurah including the families Hall (whose cottage at Halls Head is one of the region's most notable heritage places), Tuckey and Eacott. The census of 1837 records only 12 settlers at Mandurah, probably representing only 3 households. Thomas Peel died in 1865 but Mandurah continued to grow, albeit very slowly, over the years leading to the 20th century. Fish were abundant, and in 1870 a fish cannery was established at Mandurah. Canning factories sustained the preservation of produce from local fishing and fruit industries. A railway line between Perth and Pinjarra was opened in 1893, which allowed Mandurah to emerge as a tourism hub in the region. Mandurah was administered under the Murray Road Board until 1949, when the Mandurah Road Board was established. However, dissension within the board during the 1950s saw it suspended and Commissioner Richard Rushton oversaw the town's affairs. On 26 April 1960, the Mandurah Road Board was reconstituted, and on 1…

Geography

Mandurah has grown from isolated holiday communities along the shores of the Peel-Harvey Estuary to a major regional city in just over a decade, in a similar vein to the Gold Coast in Eastern Australia. In recent times, it has formed a conurbation with Perth along the coast; it is only south of Rockingham, a southern suburb of Perth. Mandurah has also become a popular lifestyle alternative for Perth retirees and its connection with the Perth CBD has been strengthened with the opening of the Perth-Mandurah railway line in December 2007 and a direct road connection to the Kwinana Freeway built by late 2010. A housing affordability survey of 227 cities in 2008 ranked it the least affordable city in Australia. The waters of the Peel Inlet and Harvey Estuary (one of Australia's larger inlet systems) form the centre of Mandurah. The estuary is approximately twice the size of Sydney Harbour. The city lies in and around this freshwater system which in turn feeds into the Indian Ocean. The city and its suburbs have many kilometres of ocean coastline most of which is sandy beaches. Mandurah also has a number of suburbs built around artificially created canal systems that extend from the Peel Inlet, such as Halls Head, Dudley Park and Wannanup. In terms of geology, much of Mandurah lies on the dune systems which dominate South Western WA's coastline, progressively grading towards the Swan Coastal Plain as one travels inland. The area has infertile soils due to the dunes being rather sandy, having poor water retention qualities. Limestone outcrops are found to the north of the city especially along the Mandurah railway line. Mandurah is the closest city to Yalgorup National Park which is home to modern thrombolites as well as an array of flora and fauna. Mandurah is located…

Most-observed species

• Australian Raven

  Corvus coronoides Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  2,741
• Silver Gull

  Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) · Aves
  2,376
• Australian Ringneck

  Barnardius zonarius (Shaw, 1805) · Aves
  2,200
• Red Wattlebird

  Anthochaera carunculata (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  2,171
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  2,146
• Australian Pelican

  Pelecanus conspicillatus Temminck, 1824 · Aves
  2,121
• Australian Ibis

  Threskiornis molucca (Cuvier, 1829) · Aves
  2,101
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,970