Wagerup, Western Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Wagerup
state = wa


caption =
lga = Shire of Waroona
postcode = 6215
pop =
est = 1890s
stategov = Murray-Wellington
fedgov = Forrest
dist1 = 124
location1= Perth
dist2 = 20
location2= Harveycoord|-32.948|115.905|type:city(50)_region:AU-WA_scale:50000|format=dms|display=title

Wagerup is a town located in the Peel region of Western Australia just off the South Western Highway, between Waroona (12 km to the north) and Harvey.

History

The town's name was initially spelt Waigerup or Waigeerup, derived from an Aboriginal name meaning "the place of the emu" (waitch), and was applied to a brook in the area. The same spelling was used when the railway station opened in 1896. However, by 1899, when the townsite was gazetted, the current spelling had been adopted (according to local legend, the man who painted the sign for the railway station misspelt the name). [LandInfo WA|c|W|2007-01-17]

In the mid 1970s serious community concern about impending mining in jarrah forests saw considerable protests about the construction of the Wagerup refinery. The Campaign to Save Native Forests and South West Forests Defence Foundation challenged the planned mining venture, and the conditions under which Alcoa was to be mining.

Present day

Alcoa have operated an alumina refinery in Wagerup since 1984. For years, residents and Alcoa workers have reported illnesses such as respiratory irritation, frequent blood noses, headaches, nausea and higher rates of cancer, as reported in numerous media outlets including the ABC's "Four Corners" program, [cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2005/s1471209.htm|title=Something In The Air|work=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=3 October 2005|accessdate=2007-01-11|author=Quentin McDermott] although no formal causal link has ever been established. In September 2006, Alcoa obtained permission from the Western Australian government to expand the size of the refinery to become the biggest such refinery in the world, with production capacity increased from 2.6 million tonnes per year to around 4.7 million tonnes per year, although very strict conditions have been imposed on the expansion by the Health and Environment departments. Residents in nearby Yarloop subsequently announced plans to fight the decision in the Supreme Court. [cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/wa/bunbury/200609/s1741727.htm|title=Protesters plan to lodge Supreme Court writ over Alcoa smelter|author=ABC News Online|date=15 September 2006|accessdate=2007-01-11]

References

Further reading

* Hunte, H.E. (chair) (1978) "Report by the Steering Committee on Research into the Effects of Bauxite Mining on the Water Resources of the Darling Range, September 1978". Perth, WA: Dept. of Industrial Development, Western Australia, ISBN 0724478418
* Lines, William J. (2006) "Patriots: defending Australia's natural heritage" St Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0-70223-554-7
* Working Groups of Technical Review Committee to Hunt Steering Committee and Kelsal Steering Committee. (1976) "Research into the effects of bauxite mining in the Darling Range. Research into the effects of woodchipping in the Manjimup area", reports of Working Groups of Technical Review Committee to Hunt Steering Committee and Kelsall Steering Committee, Perth, WA: Dept. of Conservation & Environment.

ee also

* Campaign to Save Native Forests
* List of Alumina Refineries

External links

* [http://www.alcoa.com/australia/en/home.asp Alcoa Australia website]