Bunbury

Bunbury, Western Australia

Bunbury, town and seaport, southwestern Western Australia, south of Perth and Fremantle. It is situated on the southern shore of Koombana Bay around Leschenault Inlet, which is fed by the Collie and Preston rivers.

A French ship on a scientific expedition to the area brought the first Europeans in 1803, but it was not until about 1830 that the immediate region began to be fully explored. The first family of settlers established their homestead in 1838. The town was founded in 1843 and named for Lieutenant Henry William St. Pierre Bunbury, who had explored the area. By the mid-19th century, Bunbury was well established as a cargo port for both imported and exported goods. A railway line connecting Bunbury with Perth was completed in 1893.

Bunbury is now one of the largest urban centres in the state, apart from metropolitan Perth. It is an outlet for the export of timber, wheat, wool, dairy products, and fruit from the southern farmlands; for coal from nearby Collie Field; for alumina; and for ilmenite and other heavy minerals that are extracted from beach sands. Wine production developed as a regional industry in the 1970s, and aluminum refineries were built to process bauxite from Mount Saddleback (to the northeast). Port expansion followed, and a new inner harbour opened in 1976. In the early 21st century Bunbury was the major port for southwestern Western Australia.

Surfing and boating facilities have made Bunbury a popular seaside resort. St. Boniface Cathedral was the first to be consecrated (1962) in Australia in the 20th century. Pop. (2006) local government area, 29,702; (2011) local government area, 31,348.