Exmouth, Western Australia
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| Exmouth Western Australia |
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 Location of Exmouth, Western Australia |
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| Population: | 1,995 [1] |
| Established: | 1964 |
| Postcode: | 6707 |
| Location: | |
| LGA: | Shire of Exmouth |
| State District: | North West Coastal |
| Federal Division: | Kalgoorlie |
Exmouth is a town on the tip of the North West Cape in Western Australia. The town is located 1,270 kilometres (789 mi) north of the state capital Perth and 3,366 kilometres (2,092 mi) southwest of Darwin.
The town was established in 1964 to support the nearby United States Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt. Beginning in the late 1970s, the town began hosting U.S. Air Force personnel assigned to Learmonth Solar Observatory, a defence science facility jointly operated with Australia's Ionospheric Prediction Service.
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[edit] History
The location was first used as a military base in World War II. Admiral James F. Calvert in his memoir, Silent Running: My Years on a World War II Attack Submarine, and Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood in Sink 'Em All, his narrative of Allied submarine warfare, describe its history. After the retreat from Java in March 1942, Allied naval forces had need of a forward base for replenishing submarines, then the sole form of offensive warfare against the Japanese. Both Darwin, Northern Territory, and Broome, Western Australia, were too exposed to air attack, so a 500-ton unmotorized lighter was placed as refueling barge near the mouth of Exmouth Gulf, where the Allies were already maintaining a seaplane tender.
Code-named Potshot, the spartan base was also developed as an advanced base and rest camp for submariners using the tender USS Pelias. An airfield (now RAAF Learmonth) was constructed to provide fighter defense for the base. Z Special Unit used Potshot as a staging base for Operation Jaywick in September 1943.
[edit] Tourism
Nowadays the town relies more on tourism than the station for its existence. At the 2006 census, Exmouth had a population of 1,995.[1] At the height of the tourist season the population swells to 6000.
Exmouth is one of the few areas in Australia that can boast the "Range to Reef" experience. The Cape Range National Park which has some spectacular gorges is an area of 506 square kilometres and its main area is focused on the west coast of the Cape which provides a large variety of camp sites on the coastal fringe of the Park.
On 22 March 1999, Tropical Cyclone Vance reached category 5 status as it made landfall near Exmouth. This resulted in the highest ever wind gust reported on the Australian mainland of 267 km/h at Learmonth, only 35 km to the south.
Vance caused significant flooding and property damage but there were no deaths.[2]
[edit] Exmouth Gulf
Exmouth Gulf is a rich marine environment. It is a nursery for humpback whales, dugong and turtles. The mangrove systems on the eastern margins are areas of high primary productivity feeding and restocking both the Gulf and the famed nearby Ningaloo Reef.
A proposed salt mine would stretch more than 30 kilometres along the south-west gulf line. The mine has given rise to heated debate on possible environmental impacts on the area.[citation needed]
The Gulf and off-shore waters beyond the Ningaloo fringing reef are home to some of Australia's greatest sport fish including Marlin, Spanish Mackerel, and several sub-species of Tuna.[citation needed] The Gulf sustains one of Western Australia's largest prawn fisheries, managed by the Kailis Fishing Group, which operates under license from the Western Australian Government.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). Exmouth (State Suburb). 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
- ^ WA Tropical Cyclone Season Summary 1998-99
[edit] Further reading
- Western Australia. Ministry for Planning.(1998) Exmouth-Learmonth (North West Cape) structure plan. Perth, W.A. : Western Australian Planning Commission. ISBN 0730990079 (The draft Structure Plan for Exmouth-Learmonth (North West Cape) has been prepared by the Ministry for Planning under the guidance and direction of the Gascoyne Coast Planning Coordinating Committee (GCPCC) and the North West Cape Technical Advisory Group)
[edit] External links
