Bremer Bay is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Jerramungup, Great Southern region of Western Australia.[2][3] It is situated on the south coast of the state, between Albany and Esperance, at the mouth of the Bremer River. Bremer Bay is 515 kilometres (320 mi) southeast of the state capital, Perth, and 180 kilometres (112 mi) east of Albany.[4] It is on the lands of the Southern Noongar (sometimes known as the Koreng) people of the Noongar nation.[5] The claim for Native Title was made in September 2006.[6]
| Bremer Bay Western Australia | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 View of Bremer Bay | |||||||||||||||
  Bremer Bay | |||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°23′38″S 119°22′34″E / 34.394°S 119.376°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 211 (UCL 2021)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6338 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 27 m (89 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 617.6 km2 (238.5 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Jerramungup | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Roe | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | O'Connor | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Demographics
editIn 2016, the townsite had a population of 231.[7] Over the 2018 Christmas and New Year holiday period, the town's population reached almost 6,500.[8]
European settlement
editAfter visiting the area in 1831, the bay was named after Sir Gordon Bremer by John Septimus Roe, captain of HMS Tamar, onboard which he served as a lieutenant from 1824 to 1827.[9][10]
The area was first settled by Europeans in the 1850s; the Wellstead homestead, the area's first, was established in 1861.[11]
Originally, Bremer Bay was included in the township of Wellstead; a local petition, in 1951, favoured a change to the current name, which was approved and gazetted in 1962.[12]
In 2012, Bremer Bay was menaced for five days by a looming bushfire, just outside of town, which began when vegetation was ignited by lightning. The fire burnt through nearly 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of agricultural property and bushland and required 120 firefighters to contain it.[13]
Bremer Bay Telegraph Station, 1875–
editIn 1874, Bremer Bay was identified as a site for a Repeater Station on the East–West Telegraph Line from Perth to Adelaide via Eucla.[14] The first telegraph station was built in 1875 – it was a small timber building with a shingle roof.[15]
The Repeater Stations along the East-West LIne was staffed by a Station master, an assistant, linesmen and frequently Aboriginal workers. Personnel at Bremer Bay included:
- Mary Wellstead (b. 1850, d. 1894),[16] trained by James Coates Fleming, Superintendent of Telegraphy. Mary was the telegraph operator at Bremer Bay from 1875 to 1877, and served as an assistant until 1881 when she married John James Harris.[17]
- George Philip Stevens (c. 1861, d.1941 ),[18][19] known as ''GPS'', arrived at Bremer Bay in late 1877. He would later be the Station Master at the Eucla Telegraph Station, and then Manager of Telegraphy in the Colony of Western Australia. He was still employed in government service in the 1930s.[20]
The original station, along with several others along the line, was replaced in 1896 with a larger stone building designed by George Temple Poole.[21]
The repeater station is still standing. Since 1986, it has been on the Register of the National Estate.[1] It is currently a café and bakery.
Amenities
editBremer Bay is known for its beautiful beaches, and the main beach is only a ten-minute walk from town. A marina at Fishery Beach offers full boating facilities.[22] The Bremer Marine Park lies offshore. Electricity is generated by a wind-diesel hybrid system.
References
edit- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Bremer Bay (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021.
- ^ "SLIP Map". maps.slip.wa.gov.au. Landgate. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
- ^ "NationalMap". nationalmap.gov.au. Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
- ^ "Great Southern Regional Portal Bremer Bay". 2006. Retrieved 30 May 2007.
- ^ "Noongar". Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ^ "Wagyl Kaip and Southern Noongar". Retrieved 22 July 2024.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Bremer Bay (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
- ^ Smith, Shannon (4 January 2019). "New Years celebrators trash Bremer Bay". Albany Advertiser. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
- ^ Jackson, Janice Lynne Burton (1982). Not an Idle Man: A Biography of John Septimus Roe. Western Australia's First Surveyor-general, 1797–1878. West Swan, W.A.: M.B. Roe.
- ^ Uren, Malcolm (1967). "Roe, John Septimus (1797–1878)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
- ^ "GENERAL NEWS". Daily News. 25 February 1896. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ "History of country town names – B". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2007.
- ^ "Bremer Bay residents warned of worst case scenario". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 December 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ "Telegraph Line from Albany to Eucla". Western Australian Times. 9 October 1874. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ "The Eucla Telegraph". Inquirer and Commercial News. 2 November 1875. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ "Family Notices". Australian Advertiser. 17 December 1894. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ Heritage Council of Western Australia (2008). Wellsteads Homestead Group'. Register of Heritage Places – Assessment Documentation. p. 10.
- ^ "More About "G.P.S."". Western Mail. 11 December 1941. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Vale—"G.P.S."". Western Mail. 27 November 1941. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "SERVICE SECRETARY". Daily News. 26 May 1932. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Shire of Jerramungup – Municipal Inventory". Shire of Jerramungup. Archived from the original on 17 March 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ^ "Bremer Bay, Western Australia Webpage". 2006. Archived from the original on 16 May 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2007.