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| Fishing in
Fitzgerald River National Park
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Bremer Bay
Sleepy little village which has a reputation
as an ideal fishing retreat
Located 496 km south east of Perth and 183 km
east of Albany, Bremer Bay is a quiet little
village which, in a very minor way, is becoming
a holiday resort and fisherman's retreat. Its
peerless location on some of the most beautiful
coastline in Australia, and its isolation from
the more developed seaside resorts, has made it
one of those places which people speak about in
whispers hoping that the hordes never get to
find out about the attractions of this tiny
settlement. However it is estimated that the
permanent population of about 100 people can
increase to up to 3000 in the peak season.
The first Europeans to make contact with the
area were Matthew Flinders who, in 1802, sailed
the Investigator along the coast charting its
beaches and rugged cliffs as he went. By the
1820s the whalers and sealers who hunted in the
southern ocean knew of Bremer Bay and used it as
a stopover point.
In 1841 Edward John Eyre passed through the
area having being revitalised at Thistle Cove
(near Esperance) after traversing the Nullarbor
Plain. Eyre and his Aboriginal companion Wylie
made the journey from Thistle Cove to Albany in
late June, 1841.
Eyre was critical of the whole area. After
nearly dying of thirst on the Nullarbor crossing
he was now confronted with almost continuous
rain. This probably accounted for his
description of Mt Barren in the Fitzgerald River
National Park as 'Most properly had it been
called Mt Barren, for a more wretched arid
looking country never existed than that around
it.' It is hard to imagine Eyre making this
observation having just crossed the Nullarbor
Plain.
In 1849 Bremer Bay was named by the WA
Surveyor General John Septimus Roe after the
captain of the HMS Tamar, Sir Gordon Bremer.
The first European settler into the area was
John Wellstead who arrived in the 1850s and
built the two storey stone homestead which still
stands near Tooleburrup Hill about 7 km south of
Bremer Bay. It is still owned by members of the
family and is not open for inspection.
The township (if it can be called that) came
into existence with the establishment of
telegraph station in 1876. The first operator
was Mary Wellstead who was probably the first
female telegraphist in the country.
Things to see:
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| Fitzgerald
River National Park with Bremer Bay on
the horizon |
Fitzgerald River National Park
Apart from the beautiful beaches and the
excellent fishing, the major attraction in the
area is Fitzgerald River National Park, a huge
242 739 ha strip of the coastline between Bremer
Bay and Hopetoun. It is, by any measure, a
superb park with four rivers cutting dramatic
gorges, wide sand plains, isolated mountains,
rugged cliffs, pebbly beaches and spectacular
displays of wildflowers between August and
October.
CALM have put out a brochure titled
Fitzgerald River and Frank Hann National Parks
which provides detailed information on the roads
in the park, a useful map, information about
camping (there are no facilities), fishing and
bushwalking
A very detailed study of the park, A Park in
Perspective, has been commissioned by the
Fitzgerald River National Park Association and
written by Keith Bradby. It provides very
detailed information on the geology,
geomorphology, climate, vegetation and history
of the park.
In the Introduction Bradby sums up the appeal
of the park when he writes: 'The park sits
astride the incised valleys of four major river
systems, which flow south-east to the coast.
Dominating the southern section is a low range
of rugged quartzite hills known collectively as
The Barrens, while the core of the park is an
extensive undulating plain...The flora of the
park is exceptionally rich and diverse. Although
the Park is only 0.2 per cent of Western
Australia's land surface, over 20 per cent of
Western Australia's plant species occur there.
Many of the plant species are endemic to the
region, reflecting the tight and varied
plant/soil mosaics. Vegetation varies, from
woodland on the richer soils through to mallee
and mallee heath.
'There are more recorded species of birds,
mammals and frogs than in any other reserve in
south-west Australia. This is partly a
reflection of the park size, but also because of
the blending of wet country and dry country
species which occur in the park.'
The Royal Automobile Club of Western
Australia has an excellent map of Bremer
Bay-Hopetoun which, apart from providing a
useful description of all the attractions in the
area, has detailed information on the tracks and
4WD roads through the Fitzgerald River National
Park. It can be obtained from the RAC in Albany
or from the head office at 228 Adelaide Terrace,
Perth.
