Dwellingup, Western Australia
Dwellingup is a town in Western Australia located in a timber and fruitgrowing area in the Darling Range east-south-east of Pinjarra. At the 2011 census, Dwellingup had a population of 383.[2]
| Dwellingup Western Australia | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dwellingup History and Visitor Information Centre | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 32.72°S 116.06°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 332 (UCL 2021)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1910 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6213 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 267 m (876 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 37 km2 (14 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 97 km (60 mi) S of Perth | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Murray | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Murray-Wellington | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Canning | ||||||||||||||
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Name
Townsite lots were surveyed at this place by surveyor W.F. Rudall in 1909 after the Lands Department became aware that the site was planned as the terminus of the "Pinjarra-Marrinup Railway". Names suggested for the place by Rudall were "Dwellingerup" or "Marrinup", after nearby brooks, or "McLarty" after a local MLA who had been very active concerning the railway (John or Edward McLarty). Surveyor General H.F. Johnston chose "Dwellingupp" after being misinformed regarding the spelling of Dwellingerup Brook. Ignoring a suggestion from the Under Secretary to amend the name to "Dwellingdown", the Minister for Lands approved the name as "Dwellingup" in December 1909. Eventually, the spelling "Dwellingupp" was chosen by order of the Under Secretary for Lands, and the townsite was gazetted as Dwellingupp in February 1910. The spelling was amended to Dwellingup in 1915.[3] Dwellingup is an Aboriginal name said to mean "place of nearby water" or "on and by the whole place there is fog, dew and mist".[4]
Bushfires
In one of Western Australia's worst bushfires, the fires of 1961, many small surrounding communities in the area were destroyed, including 132 houses in Dwellingup itself. There were no fatalities, but 800 people were left homeless. The town was rebuilt.[5]
Dwellingup experienced serious bushfires again over the week starting on 3 February 2007. Sixteen houses were destroyed and thousands of hectares of private property and forest were burnt. There was no loss of life.[6][7]
Bauxite mining
Dwellingup is near the one of the largest bauxite mines in the world, at Huntly,[8] which supplies ore to the Pinjarra and Kwinana aluminium refineries.
Facilities
Dwellingup is home to Nanga Bush Camp, a popular camp for senior primary schools and high schools. Some of the activities at Nanga Bush Camp include water rafting, night watching, swimming and bush walks.[9]
Another major attraction in the area is the Hotham Valley Railway. A Dwellingup Forest Ranger Tour operates between May and October, and is steam hauled between Pinjarra and Dwellingup.[10]
Dwellingup has a skate park and pump track. It also has the Munda Biddi Bike Trail and the Captain Fawcett 4WD Trail.
The Bibbulmun Track, a long-distance walk trail, passes through Dwellingup.[11]
Climate
Dwellingup is one of the wettest inhabited places in Western Australia, with an average annual rainfall of over 1,200 mm.[12] It has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa).
| Climate data for Dwellingup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 42.9 (109.2) |
43.5 (110.3) |
40.6 (105.1) |
34.7 (94.5) |
29.0 (84.2) |
24.3 (75.7) |
23.1 (73.6) |
24.7 (76.5) |
30.4 (86.7) |
35.6 (96.1) |
38.0 (100.4) |
42.0 (107.6) |
43.5 (110.3) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.7 (85.5) |
29.6 (85.3) |
27.0 (80.6) |
22.5 (72.5) |
18.5 (65.3) |
16.0 (60.8) |
15.0 (59.0) |
15.7 (60.3) |
17.3 (63.1) |
20.1 (68.2) |
23.8 (74.8) |
27.3 (81.1) |
21.9 (71.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 22.0 (71.6) |
22.1 (71.8) |
20.0 (68.0) |
16.4 (61.5) |
13.1 (55.6) |
11.3 (52.3) |
10.3 (50.5) |
10.6 (51.1) |
11.9 (53.4) |
14.1 (57.4) |
17.2 (63.0) |
20.0 (68.0) |
15.7 (60.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 14.3 (57.7) |
14.6 (58.3) |
13.0 (55.4) |
10.3 (50.5) |
7.7 (45.9) |
6.5 (43.7) |
5.5 (41.9) |
5.5 (41.9) |
6.5 (43.7) |
8.0 (46.4) |
10.5 (50.9) |
12.6 (54.7) |
9.6 (49.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 6.0 (42.8) |
5.0 (41.0) |
3.0 (37.4) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
0.6 (33.1) |
0.9 (33.6) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 17.1 (0.67) |
21.7 (0.85) |
26.4 (1.04) |
65.5 (2.58) |
157.7 (6.21) |
235.8 (9.28) |
234.8 (9.24) |
194.0 (7.64) |
131.5 (5.18) |
79.0 (3.11) |
45.7 (1.80) |
21.2 (0.83) |
1,233 (48.54) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2mm) | 3.4 | 3.4 | 5.0 | 9.6 | 15.8 | 18.8 | 20.9 | 19.2 | 16.2 | 12.2 | 8.1 | 4.9 | 137.5 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 325.5 | 268.4 | 244.9 | 183.0 | 158.1 | 117.0 | 133.3 | 161.2 | 177.0 | 232.5 | 255.0 | 310.0 | 2,565.9 |
| Source: [12] | |||||||||||||
See also
References
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Dwellingup (Urban Centre and Locality)". Australian Census 2021.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "2011 Census Quickstats: Dwellingup". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- "History of country town names – D". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2007.
- Nyungar Boodjera Wangkiny (The People’s Land is Speaking): Nyungar Place Nomenclature of the Southwest of Western Australia Nyungar names of the boodjar or land in the southwest of Australia and their interpretations http://www.boodjar.sis.uwa.edu.au/_literature.../Nyungar_Boodjera_Wangkiny.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - Courtney, Joe; Middelmann, Miriam (2005). "Meteorological hazards". Natural hazard risk in Perth, Western Australia – Cities Project Perth Report. Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
- "Fire recovery work continues in Dwellingup". Australia: ABC News. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
- "WA blaze contained but crews still busy". Australia: ABC News. 5 February 2007. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
- Global Operations Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- "Nanga Bush Camp Website ". Western Australia. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- "Hotham Valley Railway Website". Western Australia. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- Website Bibbulmun Track Foundation
- "Climate statistics for Dwellingup". Bureau of Meteorology. August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
External links
Media related to Dwellingup, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons