Middleton Beach, Western Australia
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| Middleton Beach Albany, Western Australia |
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 Map of Middleton Beach within Albany. |
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| Population: | 1,084 (2001 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 6330 | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 1.0 km² (0.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Location: | 4 km (2 mi) from Albany | ||||||||||||
| LGA: | City of Albany | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Albany | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | O'Connor | ||||||||||||
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Middleton Beach is a coastal suburb of Albany, Western Australia, located within the City of Albany approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) east of the city centre. It is home to a caravan park and numerous holiday units which provide accommodation for visitors to the Albany region.
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[edit] Geography
Middleton Beach is bounded by Wollaston Road and the Albany Golf Course to the north, King George Sound to the east and Heritage Park to the west and south.[2] The suburb has a population of 1,084 persons.[1]
[edit] History
It was named after Captain Middleton in 1834, but was not officially gazetted as a suburb name until 1979.[3] In the early years of Albany's settlement, Middleton Beach provided a handy spot to off-load supplies and stock onto shore as some of the larger boats could not navigate the entrance into Princess Royal Harbour (the main port).
The beach is famous for its multiple Esplanade Hotels. In 1892 the first of the Esplanades opened only to be to be burnt down in 1908. The rebuilt hotel was finished in 1911 and became more popular as a road was built connecting Albany town to Middleton beach, as before the only way to get there was by boat or bush track. In the 1940s it was to be demolished and rebuilt in to a bigger hotel, it was finished in 1949 and became very popular. In the 1970s the old hotel was demolished and of course made way for a new hotel.
Then in 1990 it was demolished by Paul Terry who had a dream to build a 5 star boutique, colonial style hotel with bar and restaurant. It also had a separate building called the Extravaganza it housed a few shops and a vintage car museum(the museum was later closed in 1993 due to Paul Terry's death and the collection was sold as too was the hotel). In 2006 plans were made to demolish the Esplanade and surrounding buildings for a new modern apartment hotel. The Extravaganza building and adjoining units were demolished in early December while the existing hotel was demolished in early 2007. The new apartment hotel is set to commence construction in mid 2007 and to be finished in late 2008, early 2009.
[edit] Attractions
Apart from the occasional, peckish [4] 4-metre Great White Shark, Middleton Beach is a very popular, safe and beautiful beach for swimming and recreational beach activities. The waters are protected by King George Sound; the Southern Ocean's waves do not usually reach these sheltered waters. Middleton Beach is the main swimming beach of Albany. The vibrant blue waters attract locals, Great White Shark's and visitors alike.
Middleton Beach also provides an easily accessible location for viewing Southern Right and Humpback whales during their annual migration to the Southern Ocean. Whales enter the bay to rest and can sometimes be seen as close as 20-30 metres from the shore or frolicking out in the deeper waters of the bay.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (19 November 2002). Census Data by Location Name (Main Areas). 2001 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved on 2007-05-15. (5052001, 5052004)
- ^ Department of Land Information. StreetSmart® Perth Street Directory, 49 (2008), West Australian Newspapers Ltd, Map A6. ISBN 978-1-921048-19-7.
- ^ "Naming of Localities - Town of Albany (per 3773/57 V4)", Western Australia Government Gazette, 8 June 1979, p. 1979:1501.
- ^ Albany shark attack latest | PerthNow
[edit] External links
- Middleton Beach, Western Australia is at coordinates Coordinates:
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