Great Southern (Western Australia)

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Great Southern
Western Australia
Great Southern (Western Australia)
Location of the Great Southern region in Western Australia
LGA(s)
State electorate(s)
Federal division(s) O'Connor

The Great Southern region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia, as defined by the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993, for the purposes of economic development. [1] It is a section of the larger south coast of Western Australia and neighbouring agricultural regions.

Contents

The region officially comprises the local government areas of Albany, Broomehill-Tambellup, Cranbrook, Denmark, Gnowangerup, Jerramungup, Katanning, Kent, Kojonup, Plantagenet and Woodanilling.

The Great Southern has an area of 39,007 square kilometres (15,061 sq mi) and a population of about 54,000. [2] Its administrative centre is the historic port of Albany. It has a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. [3] The Stirling Range is the only place in Western Australia that regularly receives snowfalls, if only very light.

The economy of the Great Southern is dominated by livestock farming, dairy farming and crop-growing. It has some of the most productive cereal grain and pastoral land in the state, and is a major producer of wool and lamb. Albany is a major fishing centre. [4] [5]

The coast of the Great Southern has milder summer weather than areas on the west coast proper and is also a popular destination for holidaymakers, tourists, anglers and surfers. Albany is home to the Kalgan River which is associated with riverboats, from 1918 to 1935 with Silver Star which lowered its funnel to get under a bridge, and today with Kalgan Queen which lowers its roof to pass beneath the same bridge.

Recreational beach fishing at Dillon Bay, near Bremer Bay. Fishing, tourism and leisure are significant industries in the Great Southern region. Dillon Bay.jpg
Recreational beach fishing at Dillon Bay, near Bremer Bay. Fishing, tourism and leisure are significant industries in the Great Southern region.

Noongar people have inhabited the region for tens of thousands of years. European settlement began with the establishment of a temporary British military base, commanded by Major Edmund Lockyer, at King George Sound (Albany) on Christmas Day, 1826. Albany is consequently regarded as the oldest European settlement in Western Australia.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albany Highway</span> Highway in Western Australia

Albany Highway links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its oldest settlement, Albany, on the state's south coast. The 405-kilometre-long (252 mi) highway travels through the southern Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions, and is designated State Route 30 for most of its length. Outside of Perth the highway is predominately a sealed, single carriageway with regular overtaking lanes in some undulating areas. Albany Highway commences at The Causeway, a river crossing that connects to Perth's central business district. The highway heads south-east through Perth's metropolitan region, bypassed in part by Shepperton Road and Kenwick Link, and continues south-eastwards through to Albany. It intersects several major roads in Perth, including the Leach, Tonkin, Brookton, and South Western highways. The rural section of Albany Highway connects to important regional roads at the few towns and roadhouses along the route, including Coalfields Highway at Arthur River, Great Southern Highway at Cranbrook, and Muirs Highway at Mount Barker.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Albany</span> Local government area in Western Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middleton Beach, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Albany, Western Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shire of Cranbrook</span> Local government area in Western Australia

The Shire of Cranbrook is a local government area in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, about 92 kilometres (57 mi) north of Albany and about 320 kilometres (200 mi) south-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of 3,277 square kilometres (1,265 sq mi), and its seat of government is the town of Cranbrook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shire of Denmark</span> Local government area in Western Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalgan River</span> River in Western Australia

The Kalgan River is a river in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King River (Great Southern, Western Australia)</span> River in Western Australia

The King River is a river in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kendenup, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Kendenup is a small town in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, within the Shire of Plantagenet. It is known for its view of Porongurup Range and the Stirling Range. It is 345 kilometres (214 mi) south east of Perth and 22 kilometres (14 mi) north of Mount Barker. The Great Southern Railway passes through the town, being one of the original stations on the line. At the 2006 census, Kendenup had a population of 1,290.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oyster Harbour, Western Australia</span> Estuary in Western Australia

Miaritch/Oyster Harbouris a permanently open estuary, north of King George Sound, which covers an area of 15.6 square kilometres (6 sq mi) near Albany, Western Australia. The harbour is used to shelter a fishing fleet carrying out commercial fishing and the farming of oysters and mussels via a dredged channel around Emu Point to the Emu Point Boat Pens. A significant number of waterbirds use the harbour for feeding. The place is currently a family tourist center. Oyster Harbour is fed by the King and Kalgan Rivers and discharges into King George Sound.

References

Notes

  1. Government of Western Australia (1 December 2010), Regional Commissions Act 1993, State Law Publisher, retrieved 26 November 2014
  2. "You are being redirected - Department of Health - Government of Western Australia". www.health.wa.gov.au. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  3. Australia. Bureau of Meteorology (1960), Climatic survey : region 11 - great southern Western Australia, The Bureau, retrieved 10 March 2012 and http://www.bom.gov.au/wa/albany/
  4. "The Department of Training and Workforce Development - Great Southern". Archived from the original on 12 December 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  5. "Great Southern". Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.

Further reading

  • Arnold, Murray (2015). A Journey Travelled: Aboriginal-European Relations at Albany and the Surrounding Region from first contact to 1926. Crawley, WA: UWA Publishing. ISBN   9781742586632.

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