Busselton Jetty

Busselton Jetty was begun in 1864 to serve the timber trade and extended repeatedly as the bay silted, reaching 1,841 metres, the longest timber-piled jetty in the southern hemisphere. Shipping ended in 1972, a cyclone and a fire damaged it badly, and a long community campaign funded its restoration. Visitors walk the length or ride a small train along it. At the end, an underwater observatory descends eight metres to windows looking onto the pylons, which have been colonised by soft corals, sponges and fish in an unusual temperate coral community, described as one of the largest artificial reefs in the world. The bay itself is shallow, calm and safe for swimming.

History

Governor Hutt named the spot in Geographe Bay opposite the Vasse settlement as the legal landing place for goods in 1839, and after pressure from settlers, among them the timber merchant Henry Yelverton, whose firm won the contract, building of the Vasse Jetty began in 1864; its first 176 metres opened in 1865, and as drifting sand made the water too shallow it was lengthened in 1875 and again and again until the 1960s, reaching 1,841 metres. The last commercial ship called on 17 October 1971 and the jetty was closed to shipping on 21 July 1972, after which borers, rot and fires took hold; Cyclone Alby wrecked much of the shore end on 4 April 1978, a fire burned 65 metres in 1999, and community fund-raising, revived in 2001, paid for its restoration and the underwater observatory opened on 13 December 2003 (Wikipedia, Busselton Jetty).

The main sights

• The jetty walk - 1.8 kilometres of timber decking over Geographe Bay.
• The underwater observatory - windows eight metres down onto the coral-covered pylons.
• The jetty train - the small train running to the end and back.
• The calm bay - shallow, sheltered water along the foreshore.

When to go

November to April for warm weather and swimming; the observatory operates year-round on timed tours that book out in holidays. The jetty is exposed, and wind or rain makes the walk unpleasant. Sunrise over the bay is a local ritual.

Before you go

Walking the jetty is charged, as are the train and observatory separately, and the full experience is not cheap. The observatory is a small chamber with timed entry and limited numbers. The walk is 3.6 kilometres return with no shade.

Nearby

Dunsborough and Cape Naturaliste lie west; Margaret River is southwest.

Key facts