Kalbarri, Western Australia

Infobox Australian Place
type = town
name = Kalbarri
state = wa


caption = Kalbarri river mouth at sunset
lga = Shire of Northampton
postcode = 6536
est = 1951
pop = 1,336 (2006 Census) [Census 2006 AUS|id=UCL512200|name=Kalbarri (Urban Centre/Locality)|quick=on|accessdate=2008-09-06]
elevation= 6
maxtemp = 27.5
mintemp = 14.5
rainfall = 355.3
stategov = Moore
fedgov = Kalgoorlie
dist1 = 592
dir1 = North
location1= Perth
dist2 = 167
dir2 = North
location2= Geraldtoncoord|-27.713|114.164|type:city(1332)_region:AU-WA_scale:50000|format=dms|display=title

Kalbarri is a coastal town in the Mid West region located 592 km north of Perth, Western Australia. [cite web|url=http://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/Internet/Regions/touring_wa/distance_perth.asp#K|title=Main Roads - Distances from Perth|year=2006|accessdate=2008-09-07] The town is found at the mouth of the Murchison River and has an elevation of convert|6|m|ft|0. [cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_008251.shtml|title=Bureau of Meterology - Climate Summary statistics KALBARRI|year=2008|accessdate=2008-09-08]

History

The local Aboriginal people inhabited the area for thousands of years and have a dreaming story about the Rainbow serpent forming the Murchison River as she came from inland to the coast. [cite web|url=http://www.creativespirits.info/ozwest/kalbarri/aboriginalhistory.html|title=Kalbarri Aboriginal history|year=2008|accessdate=2008-09-08] The first European people to visit the area were the crew of the trading ship belonging to the Dutch East India Company, the "Batavia", who put two mutinous crew members ashore near Bluff Point just south of the town. The cliffs near the river mouth were named after another trading ship, the "Zuytdorp", that was wrecked there in 1712. [cite web|url=http://www.kalbarri.com/kalbarri/history.html|title=Kalbarri - Western Australia
year=2006|accessdate=2008-09-08] The area became a popular fishing and tourist spot in the 1940s and by 1948 the state government declared a townsite. Lots were soon surveyed and the town was gazetted in 1951. Kalbarri was named after an Aboriginal man from the Murchison tribe and is also the name of an edible seed. [LandInfo WA|k|K|2008-09-09]

Tourism

The town is geared towards tourism, with attractions including the daily pelican feeding, the Kalbarri National Park, Murchison Gorge and the Murchison River. There are two charter boats to go on to view the Murchison River. The town attracts 200,000 tourists every year with the population of the town swelling to 8,000 during holiday seasons.

The Kalbarri National Park is home to a phenomenon of geography and geology known as the Z-Bend, a walking track, and "Nature's Window", a rock formation overlooking hundreds of kilometres of Murchison River. The Rainbow Jungle (The Australian Parrot Breeding Centre), located a few kilometres south of the town centre, features hundreds of exotic species of birds in their native habitat plus a walk-in cage allowing humans to interact with the birds. Red Bluff and other coastal cliffs and formations are located south of the town.

Recreational fishing is also popular, with good catches being taken from the beaches at Wittecarra Creek and Blue Holes as well as from the numerous cliffs.

References

ee also

*Kalbarri Airport