Busselton is located on Geographe Bay, approximately 232kms south of Perth Western Australia. Busselton and its neighbouring towns have a population of approx 25,000 and Busselton is one of Australia's fastest growing cities. Busselton caters for tourists on any budget and Busselton Accommodations range from Bed & Breakfast to Motel Hotels, Self contained and resort accommodations.
Busselton is bordered by the Indian Ocean, Geographe Bay and the Vasse River and is one of the world's great places to live. Sandy-white beaches and crystal clear ocean, provide the launching pad for water sports galore and a fast growing seafood industry.
Busselton is famous for the Busselton Jetty, which extends 2 klms out into Geographe Bay. This can be walked or you can take the train that runs on a regular basis.
Busselton is a place of beauty with plenty of attractions in and around to make a holiday here enjoyable for all. Being a major tourism centre in WA's South West region, the towns close by such as Bunbury, Margaret River, Donnybrook, Manjimup, Augusta, Pemberton, Busselton, Harvey and Bridgetown make Busselton a great base camp while exploring the region.
Busselton is a water lovers paradise, making water sports such as sailing, wind surfing, water skiing, fishing, boating, rowing, swimming, diving and snorkelling, surfing and jet skiing extremely popular.
There are a stack of restaurants with choices of food to suit any one as well.
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Geographe Bay and the eventual town of Busselton, was due to European exploration of the area via an 1801 French expedition led by Nicholas Baudin, with his ships the Geographe and Naturaliste. Baudin, named the bay, Geographe Bay, after his vessel and named the nearby Vasse River after a sailor who was lost, believed drowned, in the area. No one knows what happened to Vasse. He disappeared when one of the Geographe's boats capsized in the surf. However when the area was finally settled by Europeans there was a story told by the local Aborigines of a white man who had lived with the Aborigines until his death and who spent most of his life wandering the shores of Geographe Bay waiting for a ship to return.
The area was settled in 1832 when families from the Augusta area, led by John Garrett Bussell, travelled north to farm the areas around the Vasse River after they found the Cape Leeuwin area to be largely infertile and difficult to reach by sea.
A growing port serviced the settlers and the subsequent local industries that developed which included the exportation of horses to India and a developing trade in beef, dairy and timber (which continue to be major exports of the Busselton area to this day). Construction of the Busselton jetty began in 1865 and by 1960 had reached out 2 kilometres from the shore.
Prior to white settlement, this area is the traditional land of the Noongar Aboriginal people with many Noongar names and travel routes still widely used today.
The Noongar (which means "man") people have occupied the south west area of Western Australia for around 38,000 years and their traditional stories tell of the Waagle (or Rainbow Serpent) giving life and sustenance to their people who in return were the caretakers of the land. |
