Carnarvon is the capital of the Gascoyne region of Western Australia and has a population of about 4400. It is located at the mouth of the Gascoyne River in the Indian Ocean, about 900 km north of Perth . There is a sea port in the city.
The city was founded in 1883 and named after the British Colonial Minister , Lord Carnarvon . It served primarily as a port and supply station for the sheep farms in the area - in 1930 1.4 million sheep lived here - and as an administrative center for the Shire of Carnarvon . The wool of the sheep was brought to the port by camel caravans. It is thanks to those caravans that Robinson Street is unusually wide and is considered to be the widest street in Australia.
Agriculture
In the vicinity of the city, fruit and vegetables are grown on large plantations. Among other things, pineapples, avocados, bananas, beans, jojoba seeds , mangoes, melons, oranges and tomatoes are grown. About 80 percent of the bananas consumed in Western Australia come from Carnarvon.
One problem is the irrigation of the plantations: the Gascoyne River only flows about 120 days a year. Outside of this time, the Gascoyne River groundwater is used as it is available all year round.
Attractions
The former satellite observation station
Carnarvon Space Tracking Station
The satellite observation station "The Big Dish" was built in 1964 and used in the Gemini and Apollo programs . She also played an important role in the Apollo 11 mission . The former site of NASA was closed in 1974 and can be visited today. The museum is located five kilometers south of Carnarvon.
Blow holes
75 km north of Carnarvon there are about 30 blowholes , narrow openings of sea caves from which the incoming surf waves splash about twenty meters into the air. This spray water collects in small troughs and then evaporates relatively quickly, so that a seawater brine forms in these troughs and the salt crystals that settle can be easily scooped up, which results in very good table salt. In the marine nature reserve a few hundred meters to the south, a shallow lagoon behind a coral reef, fishing is prohibited; however, the removal of Pacific oysters of considerable size is permitted.
