Busselton
Superb, low key seaside resort town
The image of the Australian seaside resort is, unfortunately, one of fast food shops, thongs and peeling skin, amusement parlours, and a kind of down-at-heel cheapness sweating under an unforgiving sun. It doesn't have to be like that - as Busselton proves. This is a seaside resort with class and refinement. A delightful place with green parks, interesting historical buildings, a well established town centre, a wide variety of accommodation ranging from the cheap to the sophisticated, and a range of activities which reach far beyond waterslides, video games and pizza parlours.

The early history of European exploration of the area focuses on the French expedition of 1801 which brought Nicholas Baudin, with his ships the Geographe and Naturaliste, to the coast of Western Australia. It was Baudin who name the bay, Geographe Bay, after his vessel and named the river Vasse 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 Busselton area was first settled by Europeans in 1832 after the early settlers at Augusta - the Bussells, Turners, Molloys, Chapmans and Laymans - decided to move north to the rich and fertile valley of the Vasse River. The original plan had been for the families to settle in the Augusta area but the soil had been infertile, the giant hardwoods in the area had been hard to clear, and the isolation had meant that regular supplies had been difficult to obtain.

In 1832, only two years after they had settled at Augusta, John Garrett Bussell led a party north and discovered the Vasse River area. The Bussell party landed near the present site of the jetty, made their way up what is now Queen Street, reached the Vasse from where they travelled upstream to the land they planned to settle. The home, named 'Cattle Chosen' (named because one of the cows the family had lost in Augusta managed to find its way to these rich pastures), was built on the banks of the Vasse and it was here that John Bussell settled for the rest of his life.

Bussell's description of the area depicted it as a kind of paradise. 'Here was a spot that the creative fancy of a Greek would have peopled with Dryad and Naiad and all the beautiful phantoms and wild imagery of his sylvan mythology. Wide waving lawns were sloping down to the water's edge. Trees thick and entangled were stooping over the banks.'

News of the success of the Bussells meant that the other families at Augusta quickly followed. In 1836 a townsite was laid out at the mouth of the Vasse River (north of the present town) but even the surveyor described the area as a place where 'mud and water were far more plentiful than dry land, more fit for Dutchmen or frogs than British soldiers' and so the following year the present townsite was surveyed. The settlement grew as a result of the port facilities available in Geographe Bay and the fact that produce from the area, particularly horses, was being exported to India. Around this time Geographe Bay became a popular haunt for whaling ships, particularly American whalers, who were working the Southern Ocean. The district also became important for its dairy, beef and timber production.

Perhaps the most famous and most impressive building from this period is Wonnerup House which was built in 1859, although the Layman family had first built on the site (which lay at the edge of the original townsite) between 1837-1841. Fire destroyed the original building in 1858 and it was replaced by the present building in 1859.

The early settlement at Wonnerup makes fascinating reading. The National Trust booklet The Story of Wonnerup House recounts, in the words of George Layman, how the area was so dangerous that in 1837 members of his family were afraid to leave the house because of the danger of being speared by the local Aborigines.

'We dare not leave our house to shoot anything. I have 12 head of cattle and I fear before the natives can be made peaceable some of them will be speared as I am forced to turn them out in the bush without anyone to mind them. The natives are very savage.'

Layman did eventually leave his house only to be speared by a local Aborigine on 22 February 1841. He was only 31 at the time.

As early as 1835 people were starting to call the main settlement on the Vasse, Busselton, after John Garrett Bussell who was the first European settler in the area. The Bussell family, who wanted the town named Capel after a relative in England, protested to no avail. In a letter written in 1835 Fanny Bussell wrote 'The town at The Vasse is named Busselton in honour of its first settlers. We should have liked it called Capel, but the name was given at Perth without our knowledge.'

In spite of its large number of historic buildings, which give the impression that Busselton was a thriving centre through the nineteenth century, the truth is that it really only began to grow after the Group Settlement Policy moved people into the area after 1921. More recently its popularity as a holiday destination has ensured its continuing prosperity.

Things to see:

Wonnerup House
Today Wonnerup House is run by the National Trust and open to the public. Set in beautiful gardens it still has many of the furnishings which date from the original settlers. The complex also includes the Dairy and Kitchen which predate the main house. Over the road are the Teacher's House (1885) and School (1873). Of interest in the area is Lockeville (1870s), a beautiful limestone house on the banks of the Vasse Estuary west of Wonnerup House, near Wonnerup Beach.

St Marys Church of England
There are a number of important historical buildings in Busselton. One of the prettiest, and certainly the one with the most superb location, is St Marys Church of England which was built in 1844–45 and claims to be the oldest stone church in Western Australia. It was the brainchild of John Molloy and John Garrett Bussell, who had trained as a clergyman. The establishment of the church was slow. The church wasn't consecrated until 1848 and it was another decade before a resident clergyman could be attracted to the district. The setting of the church beside the river is enhanced by the gravestones around the back (some of them date back to 1841 - before the church was built) and the Rectory (1870s) which has wide verandahs and an unusual hexagonal bay window. There is a History of St Mary's, Busselton available for sale inside the church.

Ballarat Steam Train
Across Queen Street, in St Marys Park, is the 'Ballarat' steam train reputed to be the oldest train in Western Australia. It was built in Victoria in 1871 and hauled timber from Yoganup to Wonnerup. It was given to the local council in 1929 and mounted in the park in 1939.

Old Butter Factory Museum
Along the river from the church (on Peel Terrace) is the Old Butter Factory Museum which was built in 1918. It is an excellent folk museum. The rooms are still known by their butter factory names - 'The Churn Room', 'The Cream Holding Room', 'The Cream Tipping and Washing Room' but the museum's displays are a comprehensive history of the local area. This is a huge and well organised museum which, apart from extensive displays of memorabilia, also has a Group Settlement humpy and a small country school in the grounds.

Villa Carlotta
At 110 Adelaide Street is the Villa Carlotta which now incorporates the Captain Molloy Restaurant and a Private Hotel. It was built in 1896-97 and has such unusual design features as French windows and a tower. It is an acknowledgement that as early as the 1890s the town was developing into a rather sophisticated seaside resort.

Weld Hall
In August 2001 the Western Australian government announced that "Weld Hall, on the corner of Queen and Adelaide streets, had been listed on the State's Register of Heritage Places in recognition of its significant historical and cultural value to the local community.

"Completed in 1881 as a home for the Weld Mechanics' Institute, a school for trades, the hall has also served as a community meeting place, a rehearsal and performance venue and as a substitute classroom. Theatrical performances are still held on the site.

"The single-storey building is an example of simplified Victorian Italianate architecture and is typical of early reading rooms and libraries. Despite undergoing regular alterations, the outstanding feature of the building remains its large arched windows."

Construction of Weld Hall began in 1874 following the grant of land to the Weld Mechanics' Institute and Working Men's Association and £10 towards building costs.

The first Mechanics' Institute was formed in London in 1824 with the aim 'to improve the education of working men and to instruct them in their various trades'. Over time this goal was broadened to incorporate general adult education with reading rooms provided and popular lectures given on a wide range of topics including science, literature, history, music and art. "In the late 1850s, the Swan River Mechanics' Institute was established, with a Busselton chapter founded in 1861. This was particularly important - with the foundation of a Mechanics' Institute considered a milestone in the development of any town."

The Mechanics' Institute in Western Australia elected to adopt the name of Frederick Aloysius Weld, Governor of Western Australia from 1869 to 1875, perhaps to distinguish itself from the Working Men's Association. Unusually, there is no evidence of a foundation stone and the original plans are missing. The names of the architect and builder are similarly not known."

The 2 km long jetty at Busselton

Busselton Jetty
One of the most distinctive constructions in Busselton is the jetty. The original jetty was built of jarrah. Permission to build the jetty was given in 1853 but the jetty was not completed until 1865. The first jetty was 528 ft but drifting sands and the shallowness of the bay resulted in the construction of an additional 430 ft jetty in 1875. A further stage was added so that today it is nearly 2 km long - one of the longest jetties in the world. It was closed to shipping in 1972 and damaged by a cyclone in 1978. It is now used by fishermen and holiday makers. It is a pleasant walk with the sea breezes offering relief on a hot day.

Newtown House
To the south of the town on the road to Margaret River is Newtown House an old farm built by the Abbey family in 1851. It has been converted into a tea shop which sells arts and crafts.

Augusta-Busselton Heritage Trail
The Augusta-Busselton Heritage Trail: Retracing the Pioneer Route from Augusta to the Vasse has detailed information on the jetty, St Mary's Church, the location of the prominent old houses, and the history of the area and its early settlement. There is also an excellent booklet titled Historic Busselton, which has some interesting old photographs, which is available from the Old Butter Factory Museum.

Tourist Radio
Additional information - particularly very good up-to-the-minute information - about this town can be accessed by checking out Western Tourist Radio at www.touristradio.com.au . Not only does it provide excellent information for people planning to visit Busselton but it also provides access to information for people while they are actually travelling through the area. Check it out. It is very useful information.