Flinders Bay is a bay and locality that is immediately south of the townsite of Augusta, and close to the mouth of the

Blackwood River The Blackwood River is a major river and catchment in the South West of Western Australia. Course The river begins at the junction of Arthur River and Balgarup River near Quelarup and travels in a south westerly direction through the tow ...

. The locality and bay lies to the north east of

Cape Leeuwin Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly (but not most southerly) mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of Western Australia. Description A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further in Flinders Ba ...

which is the most south-westerly mainland point of the

Australian Continent The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts by the names Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, Meganesia, or Papualand to distinguish it from the Australia, country of Australia, is located within the Southern ...

, in the state of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Bay

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

Terra Australis Sheet 1 1801–1803 the area was originally known as ''Dangerous Bight''. The bay runs from Point Matthew East North East of

Ledge Point Ledge or Ledges may refer to: * Ridge, a geological feature * Reef, an underwater feature * Stratum, a layer of rock * A narrow, flat area with cliff faces or steep slopes both below and above, a one sided cut into a cliff or mountain side * Sl ...

some east. It was named by either James Stirling or

Septimus Roe John Septimus Roe (8 May 1797 – 28 May 1878) was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, a member of Western Australia's Western Australian Legislative Council, legislative and executive councils for near ...

in 1829 or 1830. Matthew Flinders was first in the Bay on 7 December 1801.

Railway terminus and jetty

The name of the locality of Flinders Bay is tied to the small settlement that had been a whaling and fishing location, as well as the terminus of the

Busselton Busselton is a city in the South West region of the state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destination for Western Australians; however, the closure of the Busselton ...

Flinders Bay Branch Railway The Flinders Bay Branch Railway, also known as the Boyanup to Flinders Bay Section ran between Boyanup and Flinders Bay, in South Western Western Australia. The section from Flinders Bay to Busselton has now been converted into a rail trai ...

railway line (1920s, closed 1957). The name is also tied to the Flinders Bay jetties (also known as the Barrack Point Jetties). The settlement was in the earlier days considered to be separate from Augusta but now is more or less the southern portion of the larger community.

Boat harbour

The need for safe and efficient transfer of whale watchers and a safe mooring location in the Bay for fishermen has seen a proposal for a marina in 2004 which had included plans for the marina close to the old settlement of Flinders Bay. The 2005 revised proposal has moved to a bay further around towards Cape Leeuwin. The Flat Rock site is complete and has been called "Augusta Boat Harbour" by the department of Transport.http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/imarine/augusta-boat-harbour.aspAugusta Boat Harbour

Whaling

The landing area adjacent to the old railway station yard was originally known as "The Whaling". It was the area where boats would work from in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Up until the early 1970s sheds and ramps were still present. In the late 20th century the area had whale rescue operations occurring very close to the area. Also businesses involved in

whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins ( cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...

have more recently used the bay.

Islands

The

St Alouarn Islands St Alouarn Islands are a group of islands and rocks south-east of Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia, approximately 11 km south of Augusta in Flinders Bay. History In 1772 Louis de St Alouarn in the ''Le Gros Ventre'' was in the region as ...

stretch out south of Point Matthew (on the road to Cape Leeuwin), and are effective barriers along with reefs for the outer reaches of the bay to the south.

Climate

Like the majority of the southwestern coastal regions of Western Australia, Flinders Bay experiences a cool-summer Mediterranean climate with cool to warm summers and mild, wet winters.

Abalone sea ranch

After trials in 2012, a world-first commercial "sea ranch" was set up in 2016, to raise

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...

. The ranch is based on an artificial reef made up of 5000 () separate concrete units called ''abitats'' (abalone habitats). The abitats can host 400 abalone each. The reef is seeded with young abalone from an onshore hatchery. The abalone feed on seaweed that has grown naturally on the habitats. The ecosystem enrichment of the bay also results in growing numbers of

dhufish ''Glaucosoma hebraicum'', the West Australian dhufish , Westralian jewfish, or West Australian pearl perch, is a species of fish in the family Glaucosomatidae, the pearl perches. It is endemic to the waters around Western Australia from Shark Bay ...

pink snapper The Australasian snapper (''Chrysophrys auratus'') or silver seabream is a species of porgie found in coastal waters of Australia, Philippines, Indonesia, mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and New Zealand. Its distribution areas in the Northern an ...

wrasse The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into 9 subgroups or tribes. They are typically small, most of them le ...

samson fish The samson fish (''Seriola hippos'') is a jack of the genus ''Seriola''. It is found in the Indo-Pacific Oceans to eastern Northland in Australia. It is not found anywhere in New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island coun ...

and other species. The company emphasises the similarity to wild abalone and the difference from shore based aquaculture. "We're not aquaculture, we're ranching, because once they're in the water they look after themselves." Flinders Bay from the ridge to the west

Notes

References

*Fornasiero, Jean; Monteath, Peter and West-Sooby, John. ''Encountering Terra Australis: the Australian voyages of Nicholas Baudin and Matthew Flinders'', Kent Town, South Australia,Wakefield Press,2004. *DLI Geographic names cards {{coord, 34, 21, S, 115, 20, E, display=title, region:AU_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki Bays of Western Australia Flinders Bay, Western Australia