Wollaston, Western Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name=Wollaston
city=Bunbury
state=wa

---

caption=Transwa Australind train at Bunbury Passenger Terminal, Wollaston.
lga=City of Bunbury
area=1.4
postcode=6230
pop=1,407 (2001 Census)
dist1=4 | location1=Bunbury
est=1840s
fedgov=Forrest
stategov=Bunbury
propval=$349,000 (Q3 2006)
near-nw=South Bunbury
near-n=East Bunbury
near-ne=Vittoria
near-w=South Bunbury
near-e=Glen Iris
near-sw=Mangles
near-s=Carey Park
near-se=Pictoncoord|-33.3414|115.6608|type:city(467)_region:AU-WA_scale:50000|format=dms|display=title

Wollaston is an inner southeastern suburb of Bunbury, Western Australia, located 4 km from the centre of Bunbury. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bunbury, and it contains the Bunbury Passenger Terminal, the terminus for the Transwa Australind service.

History

The suburb's name honours Rev. John Ramsden Wollaston (1790-1856), who initially migrated privately to be the chaplain for the Western Australian Land Company's failed settlement scheme at Australind. Finding himself without a parish, together with his sons, he built a small timber chapel on his own land at "Charterhouse" alongside the Preston River, as a condition of his receiving a stipend to act as Colonial Chaplain, and was opened without consecration in September 1842 (it had to wait until 1969 for this). A churchyard was built alongside it which contains the graves of some of the Bunbury area's pioneers. [cite web|url=http://www.heritage.wa.gov.au/register/PDF_Files/CHURCHES%20-%20A-D/St%20Marks%20Ang%20Ch%20P%20(I-AD).PDF|title=Register of Heritage Places - St Mark's Anglican Church, Picton|date=5 November 1996|accessdate=2006-11-11]

Suburban development in the area took place in the 1950s and 1960s.

Geography

Wollaston is bounded by Sandridge Road to the north, Robertson Drive and the Preston River to the east, and the railway to the south. The suburb is mostly residential, although a light industrial area extending from central Bunbury exists west of King Road and the Horseshoe Lake, a remnant oxbow lake is located within the suburb opposite the Bunbury Forum shopping centre. The suburb contains a diverse mix of residents, with a strong emphasis on trades, retail and services, and over 15% of its population are of Italian descent. [http://www8.abs.gov.au/censusoutput/[e-mail]/cdbygeogtype!OpenView&Start=1&Count=1000&Expand=1.5.2.2.1&RestrictToCategory=Main%20Areas#1.5.2.2.1 Main Areas - Bunbury] (CCD 5050203, 5050204, 5050207) - Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001. Accessed 25 December 2006.]

Facilities

Wollaston is next to Bunbury Forum, one of Bunbury's two main shopping centres, and also contains a small neighbourhood shopping centre. The suburb contains no primary schools, although three are located within 800 m. [http://web.bunburycatholic.wa.edu.au/ Bunbury Catholic College] , established in 1973 and with a student population of about 900, and the historic St Mark's Anglican Church (1842) are located within the suburb.

Transport

Wollaston is also the terminus of the Transwa Australind rail service. The Bunbury Passenger Terminal was constructed at Wollaston in 1983-1985 to replace the central train station (now Bunbury Visitor Centre and bus station). The last train to use the old station departed Bunbury on 28 May 1985, and the new terminal commenced operations the following day. The Australind passenger service was subsequently upgraded in 1987.

At present there are two departures and two arrivals at Wollaston every day of the week. [ [http://www.transwa.wa.gov.au/LinkClick.aspx?link=Australind.pdf&tabid=93&mid=418 Australind Timetable] (PDF), Transwa, effective 16 March 2004. Accessed 25 December 2006.] The 101 and 103 Bunbury City Transit routes depart for the city centre regularly, with a journey time of 15-20 minutes. [ [http://www.bct.com.au/timetables/B1.pdf Bunbury 1] , Bunbury City Transit, effective 18 January 2004. Accessed 4 October 2006.] Both of these services are free of charge to those connecting to/from Bunbury from the Australind train.

All services are operated by the Public Transport Authority.

References