Busselton Jetty

Location: Busselton Town

We reached this beautiful tourist spot during lunch time. We still not hungry as we ate lot of chips along the journey over here. We decided to stroll over here first and the weather still good. We proceed to the Interpretive Centre to get ticket to the Underwater Observatory. To our great disappointment, the observatory was closed due to the bad weather the previous week, and we could see the water was not clear enough. Ooouuccchhhh!!!!

We decided to take a walk along 145-year-old jetty, measured at 1,841 metres. It is the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. The construction of the jetty commenced in 1853, and continually extended until 1960s. The jetty served to transport the cut timber to the ships, due to the shallow waters of Geographe Bay. The last commercial ship visited the jetty on 17 October 1971. On 21 July 1972, the jetty was closed to shipping.

Since the jetty is closed, government also ceased the maintenance work causing the jetty to start deteriorating. On year 2009, a AUD$27.1 million contract was awarded for the refurbishment of the jetty. I was proud to read that local community has taken the effort for fund-raising to keep this proud monument as intact as possible, and subsequently become one of the main tourist spot in the area. I'm proud of you!!! On 6 Feb 2011, the jetty was re-opened for the public again.

One of the attraction over here is the train. One can purchase the ticket from the centre, boarding the train to the Underwater Observatory and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. However, we decided to walk along this jetty as we truly like the environment here. When visiting the area, take a look on how the train make a U-turn to go back to the centre, as the rail is only a one way rail.

Once we reached the Underwater Observatory, we only able to visit the center. We are not allowed to descend to the underground tower, which is about 8 metres below the sea level. From the pictures at the tower, at any good day one able to view vivid color coral and school of fishes. What a day for us....Might be another reason for us to re-visit this place again in future.

http://www.busseltonjetty.com.au/

http://www.busseltonmail.com.au/news/local/news/general/new-date-announced-for-official-reopening-of-the-busselton-jetty/1923419.aspx