| Cowaramup Western Australia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  Cowaramup | |||||||||
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| Coordinates | 33°51′S115°07′E / 33.85°S 115.11°E | ||||||||
| Population | 2,482 (SAL 2021) [1] | ||||||||
| Established | 1925 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6284 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 140 m (459 ft) | ||||||||
| Area | 95.8 km2 (37.0 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Augusta-Margaret River | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Vasse | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Forrest | ||||||||
| Website | Cowaramup | ||||||||
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Cowaramup is a town in the South West of Western Australia, 12 kilometres north of Margaret River in the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River.
The town was named from the Cowaramup Siding, which was located near the townsite, on the now disused Busselton to Augusta railway. [2] The name (pronounced kuh-wara-mup) [3] is from a Wardandi word cowara, meaning purple-crowned lorikeet. [2]
Contrary to common misconception and marketing, the name is unrelated to cows. [4] [5]
Cowaramup is roughly central to the Margaret River wine region. It is the closest townsite to a number of wineries and other speciality producers, including Vasse Felix, Howard Park and Madfish Winery, the Margaret River Chocolate Factory, and The Margaret River Dairy Company. The town is close to Cowaramup Bay, a popular swimming and surfing beach. As such a large number of tourists to the region pass through and visit the town, playing an important role in the local economy.
The town centre consists of a local store providing basic produce, a post office, a bakery, a fruit and vegetable shop, a real estate agent and farm agency, a service station/workshop, a liquor store, a social club, parkland and various speciality stores selling everything from gourmet produce, candies and arts and crafts to computing goods. Accommodation in or near the town consists of the Taunton Farm Caravan Park, a bed and breakfast and various chalets and cottages in the area. There is one restaurant and two cafes in the town as well as numerous others on nearby winery properties. The town has one primary and pre-primary school, a town oval and tennis club, BMX track and a bowling green. The nearest high school and university campuses are in Margaret River. Police and fire services are based in Margaret River and Busselton.
Most residents live in the townsite and surrounding rural properties, including one remaining dairy farm.[ citation needed ] The local government administration is the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River, and the local newspapers are the Augusta Margaret River Times and the Augusta Margaret River Mail. The town is built on the traditional lands of the local Aboriginal people, the Wardandi.
Cowaramup is located on the Bussell Highway, which serves as the major link to other towns in the area, as well as Perth, the state capital.
The area around Cowaramup is predominantly agricultural/viticulture use, but over the last five years many land releases have proven popular for the many young families and tradesmen who benefited greatly from the building boom in 2005–06.
The Cowaramup Bombora ("Cow Bombie") big wave surf break, located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) offshore, was the location of two Oakley Biggest Wave award-winning rides; in 2011 by Damien Warr, [6] and 2015 by Jarryd Foster. [7] On 26 June 2015 Australian surfer Felicity Palmateer, 22, became the first female to surf Cow Bombie, on potentially the largest wave ever ridden in Australia by a woman. [8] [9]
In 2012 the town installed 42 lifesize fibreglass cow sculptures around the town, as a tourist attraction. [10] [11] In July 2014, the town set a Guinness World Record for the largest group of people – 1,352 – dressed as cows. [12] [13] [14]
A permanent cow-themed tourist attraction is the golden cow statue. Created by local artist Ron Roozen in 2010, "Free As A Cow" is located in Pioneer Park and is locally known as "Rump on a Stump" (a pejorative counterpoint to the "chick on a stick" statue installed in front of the Robert Oatley Winery cellar door, a few kilometres north of Cowaramup). [15] [16]
Since 2018, there have been various artworks around the town depicting the purple-crowned lorikeet (cowara) for which the town was named, [17] including:
Margaret River is a town in the South West of Western Australia, located in the valley of the eponymous Margaret River, 277 kilometres (172 mi) south of Perth, the state capital. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River.
Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves which are at least 20 feet high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. Sizes of the board needed to successfully surf these waves vary by the size of the wave as well as the technique the surfer uses to reach the wave. A larger, longer board allows a rider to paddle fast enough to catch the wave and has the advantage of being more stable, but it also limits maneuverability and surfing speed.
Busselton is a city in the South West region of the state of Western Australia approximately 220 km (140 mi) south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destination for Western Australians; however, the closure of the Busselton Port in 1972 and the contemporaneous establishment of the nearby Margaret River wine region have seen tourism become the dominant source of investment and development, supplemented by services and retail. The city is best known for the Busselton Jetty, the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Margaret River is a river in southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River.
Augusta is a town on the south-west coast of Western Australia, where the Blackwood River flows into Flinders Bay. It is the nearest town to Cape Leeuwin, on the furthest southwest corner of the Australian continent. In the 2001 census it had a population of 1,091; by 2016 the population of the town was 1,109.
Alfred Pickmore Bussell was an early settler in Western Australia.
Dunsborough is a coastal town in the South West of Western Australia, 254 kilometres (158 mi) south of Perth, on the shores of Geographe Bay.
Ross Clarke-Jones is an Australian big wave surfer. He originally came from Terrigal in the Central Coast, of New South Wales, Australia where he enjoyed surfing Terrigal Haven, a point break that produces rare waves lasting for up to 300 metres on a big swell.
Vasse is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in Western Australia. Vasse is based in the South West region of the state, centred on the town of Busselton and is named for the Vasse River. It has been a safe seat for the Liberal Party at all times since its creation, including as its previous incarnation, Sussex.
Samuel Yebble Isaacs was an Aboriginal Australian stockman and farmer from the South West of Western Australia, who was best known for his role in the rescue of the SS Georgette in 1876, together with Grace Bussell.
Bussell Highway is a generally north–south highway in the South West region of Western Australia. The highway links the city of Bunbury with the town of Augusta and is approximately 140 kilometres (87 mi) in length. The highway is signed State Route 10, except in Busselton where the construction of the Busselton Bypass in 2000 resulted in this stretch being changed to Alternate State Route 10 with the Bypass signed State Route 10.
Gracetown is a small town in Western Australia. It is located 269 kilometres (167 mi) south of the Perth central business district, and 21.5 kilometres (13.4 mi) north-west of the township of Margaret River in the Augusta-Margaret River Shire Council area on the coast at Cowaramup Bay.
Bombora is an indigenous Australian term for an area of large sea waves breaking over a shallow area such as a submerged rock shelf, reef, or sand bank that is located some distance from the shoreline and beach surf break. In slang it is also called a bommie.
Yallingup is a town in the South West region of Western Australia, 256 kilometres (159 mi) south of Perth. Yallingup is a popular tourist destination because of its beaches and limestone caves, and proximity to Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park.
Cowaramup Bombora is a big wave open-ocean surf break found on the south-west coast of Western Australia. It is located 2 km (1.2 mi) offshore west of Gracetown which is near the town of Margaret River, world-renowned for its surf, and is 265 km (165 mi) south of the capital city Perth.
Huzzas is the name of a surf break off Gracetown, Western Australia.
Felicity Tamasyn "Flick" Palmateer is an Australian professional surfer who competes at the World Surf League.
Metricup is a locality in the South West region of Western Australia near the town of Cowaramup on the Bussell Highway. It is in the Margaret River wine region and its local government area is the City of Busselton. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 263.
The Sussex Road District was an early form of local government area in the Busselton region of Western Australia.
