Dongara is a city in Western Australia , 351 kilometers northwest of Perth . It's on the Brand Highway . The city is located at the mouth of the Irwin River . In recent years, Dongara has become known as the "Australian capital of rock lobsters" ( Latin: Jasus edwardsii ).
Dongara is the seat of the Shire of Irwin . In the Shire live about 3500 people, including 2782 in Dongara and Port Denison .
The name "Dongara" is the English variant of "Thung-arra", the name of the local Wattandee people for the estuaries bordering the city . "Thung-arra" means something like "sea lion place".
European settlement of the area around the estuary began in 1853 when port commander Edward Downes was stationed there to keep an eye out for passing ships. He was employed by the Cattle Company, which set up large pastoral care stations 15 km inland. In the 1860s, ex-convicts claimed the local river plains and worked as farmers. A newly built mill (Irwin or Smith's Mill) was already running. In 1871 it became an independent region. A police station and a public school were established. In the 1880s the Anglican Church of St. John the Baptist and the Methodist Church were established.
The larger Royal Steam Roller Flour Mill was built directly on the new railway line connecting the region with Perth in the 1890s . The town developed slowly, and although relatively small, it had several shops and churches, a police station, a public school and even a town hall. The surrounding area was settled by smaller wheat and sheep farmers, most of whom settled in the hamlets of Bookara, Irwin and Strawberry. There were also some fishermen and some Chinese who lived in Port Denison .
Personalities
David Brand (1912–1979), Prime Minister of Western Australia
Carmen Lawrence (* 1948), Prime Minister of Western Australia
