| Mandurah | |
Location: | 74km South of Perth |
Shire: | Mandurah |
Population: | 23 343 |
Postcode: | 6210 |
Located 74 kilometres south of Perth, this fastgrowing city has been a favourite resort area for many years and in recent times has attracted a lot of retirees from Perth who have chosen to settle in the area. Mandurah's status as a major regional centre was recognised when it was declared a city in 1990.
Thomas Peel, a man who set out from England in 1829 with high hopes for life in the new colony, was the founding father of the early settlement. After many disappointments and hardships attempting to settle in other areas, he moved his family and servants to the site on which Mandurah now stands. Other settlers followed and the region was established. The activities of sawmillers and the arrival of the railway in the 1880s increased the pace of development.
The city has grown around the vast inland waterways of Peel Inlet and boasts beautiful beaches excellent for swimming, boating and fishing. Grassed playing areas with picnic shelters, barbecues and changing rooms are found along the foreshore. The ideal way to see Peel Inlet and the rivers is by taking a cruise on the MV Peel Princess or to hire a boat.
Visitors to Mandurah will find a wide range of accommodation available from luxury hotel rooms to caravan parks. Shoppers are catered for with an excellent range of shopping facilities, while fresh local seafood is the main item on the menus of the many eating places to choose from. Mandurah is well known for its fine seafood, particularly blueswimmer crabs and school prawns.
Attractions around the city are many and varied. For family fun there is King Carnival Amusement Park on the western foreshore, with the traditional dodgem cars, ferris wheel and merrygorounds or Castle Fun Park, a theme park with a Bavarian flavour, 2 kilometres south of Mandurah at Halls Head. Western Rosella Bird Park on Old Pinjarra Road is home to a large selection of native birds in natural bushland settings and admission to Marapana Wildlife World includes a free bag of animal food.
Many of the old farm houses, churches and public buildings around Mandurah are in good condition with some having been restored as museums. These include Hall's Cottage, 'Dedallumup', built in the 1830s by an early settler, and Mandurah Community Museum in the Dalrymple School. 'Cooper's Cottage' on Mandurah Terrace, 'Eacott Cottage' on Gibla Street and 'Allandale', located at Dawesville, south of Mandurah are other historic cottages.
Mandurah is known for its galleries and potteries. They include Threlfall Galleries on the Old Coast Road, the Cottage Potters in Pinjarra Road and Pioneer Pottery 20 kilometres north of the city. The tourist bureau has a complete list and information on others. Another well known attraction is Peel Estate Winery, where visitors may sample and purchase local vintages.