Rockingham (Western Australia)
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Rockingham is an Australian city about 50 kilometers south of Perth . It has almost 15,000 inhabitants and is the center of the LGA Rockingham City with over 125,000 inhabitants, the third largest in Western Australia .
geography
Rockingham is located on Mangles Bay , a bay on the coast of the Indian Ocean . Off the coast is Garden Island , an island connected to the mainland by a causeway. The industrial city of Kwinana borders the town to the northeast . Mandurah , a city of about the same size, is to the south.
history
The place was first mentioned in 1847 and received city rights in 1897. The place gained importance through the export of eucalyptus and sandalwood . The establishment of Fleet Base West on Garden Island, the main base of the Royal Australian Navy on the west coast, and the growing shipbuilding industry further strengthened the importance of shipping.
In 1876, Rockingham was the scene of a spectacular prisoner liberation , during which six Fenians , Irish freedom fighters, broke out of Fremantle Prison , fled to Rockingham and reached the American ship Catalpa with a small dinghy . The catalpa had been traveling from the United States to Australia for almost a year to pick up the prisoners. The prisoners successfully escaped. A sculpture on the seashore is reminiscent of the Fenians today.
economy
Today the city - together with Mandurah - is one of the fastest growing places in Australia.
The region was also able to establish itself as a tourist destination. It is possible to watch dolphins, seals, pelicans and penguins in the adjacent Shoalwater Islands Marine Park . The coast is also good for windsurfing and kitesurfing . In the immediate vicinity of the city beach, it is possible to dive various ship and aircraft wrecks on the Rockingham Wreck Trail .
traffic
Rockingham is on the Mandurah Line , a railway line that connects Perth with Mandurah. The route and thus the station were opened on December 23, 2007. Perth can be reached within half an hour by train.
Personalities
- Brydan Klein (born December 31, 1989 in Rockingham), British-Australian tennis player
Individual evidence
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics : Rockingham (State Suburb) ( English ) In: 2016 Census QuickStats . June 27, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ↑ The Fenians ( Memento of the original from May 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , FremantlePrison.com.au. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
