Bunbury, Western Australia
The port of Bunbury is the second-largest city in Western Australia (population 50,500) and is situated 175 kilometres south of Perth. The site was discovered by Lieutenant Henry William St. Pierre Bunbury of the Scots Fusiliers in 1830. Today, the city is the major centre of the state's southwest region, benefiting from the rapid growth and urbanisation of nearby small towns, particularly Australind and Eaton to the north.
Bunbury is situated at the southern end of the Leschenault Inlet, which was extensively altered by major earthworks to accommodate port facilities. To the west is the Indian Ocean, with several popular surf beaches along this coastline. Coastal erosion is a problem.
Bunbury's climate is slightly more temperate than that of Perth. This is as much a consequence of its coastal location as of the slight difference in latitude; Fremantle, on the coast immediately southwest of Perth, is more comparable in climate.
The Bunbury Tower, often called the "Milk Carton" for its distinctive shape and blue-and-white colours, is the major feature of the city centre's skyline. Also prominent are the old lighthouse and lookout tower in the Marlston Hill district, which has been a focus of the city's cultural and commercial growth since the late 1990s.
Bunbury was declared a city in 1979.
