The British John Garrett Bussell (1803-1875) came in 1832 as the first European settler and founded the settlement on the west coast of Australia. The place was named after his family name.
With the completion of the first pier in 1865 with a length of 158.4 m, the economic boom came for Busselton, as this was equivalent to a port. Horse-drawn carriages initially transported goods from one end to the other, in 1911 these were replaced by steam - and from 1960 by diesel locomotives . The last extension of the pier took place in 1960 to 1,837 m, the port operations were discontinued in 1974. Busselton Jetty was partially destroyed by cyclone Alby in 1978 and a fire in 1999.
Source: Bureau of Meteorology, Australia, data: 1877–2002
Busselton Jetty
The Busselton Jetty , built between 1853 and 1865, is almost two kilometers long and is one of the longest wooden jetties. Due to the shallow course of the coast and the shallows, a very long jetty was required here for the supply of seaplanes or ships.
At the end of the footbridge there is now an underwater observatory, which allows an insight into the underwater world from shallow water to 9 meters deep. Due to the currents on this part of the Australian west coast, especially due to the Leeuwin Current, which ensures warm water temperatures from the north, numerous tropical fish and other marine life can be observed on the wooden posts of the Busselton Jetty.
