Trade-A-Boat – June 2019

50 | TRADEABOAT.COM.AU

T

here’s no denying that Esperance is

a long way from anywhere, a dot on

the southern coastline of Western

Australia, 720 kilometres east of Perth and 1,500

kilometres west of Adelaide. The closest major

port is Albany, 400 kilometres to the west. But

in its isolation, on a picturesque bay referred to

in local Aboriginal language as 'a place where

the water lies in the shape of a boomerang', the

town is surrounded by some of the most

spectacular coastal scenery in the country. The

granite peaks and sugar-white sand beaches

of Cape Le Grand National Park are only 20

minutes from the city centre. Offshore, the

unspoiled Recherche Archipelago is a haven for

abundant marine life and a popular destination

for classic blue-water recreation.

With a population of about 15,000, Esperance

is the major service hub and administrative

centre of a shire that spans some 42,000 square

kilometres, stretching north to the goldfields

and east along the Bight to the arid Nullarbor

Plain. The region’s thriving economy is powered

by agriculture, mining, light industry, commercial

fishing, wind-generated electricity and tourism.

One of its key strategic assets is the Port of

Esperance, close to the town at the southern end

of Esperance Bay. As the only port in Western

Australia’s remote southeast that is serviced by

both road and rail freight, it is a major export

terminal for a wide range of products, and a

significant contributor to economic growth in

the region.

LAND AND SEA

Esperance experiences a Mediterranean climate;

hot, dry summers when northerly winds blow

from the state’s baking interior and cold, wet

winters with southerly winds off the tempestuous

Southern Ocean.

The south-east coastline is strongly indented

with numerous rocky headlands interspersed

with asymmetrical bays that reflect the prevailing

westerly current. Long, secluded beaches are

backed by sand dunes, low hills, lakes and

wetlands that support a rich variety of wildlife.

The landscapes of Cape Le Grand, Cape Arid

and Stokes National Parks are dominated by

ancient granite peaks surrounded by undulating

heath-covered sand plains that erupt in spring

with blooming wildflowers unique to the region.

Off the Esperance coast, the Recherche

Archipelago is comprised of 105 granite islands

and more than 1500 reefs, rocks and shoals that

present "obstacles to shipping", stretching 240

kilometres from east to west and 50 kilometres

“the town is

surrounded by

some of the

most spectacular

coastal scenery in

the country.”