Leeman is a small coastal town in the
Shire of Coorow
The Shire of Coorow is a local government area located in the Mid West region of Western Australia, about north of Perth, the state capital, and about south of the city of Geraldton. The Shire covers an area of and its seat of government is ...
in Western Australia.
Land was first
surveyed and
sub-divided in 1961 and the townsite was
gazetted in 1961 as Snag Island, a name that is still in common use. Snag Island is a rocky island a small distance off-shore from the town.
The town was named after Abraham Leeman van Santwits,
a Dutch sailor. He was second officer on the
Dutch East India Company ship ' (''Gilt Dragon'') which was wrecked in April 1656 just south of
Ledge Point, north of what is now
Perth. Leeman was sent with a party of seven by captain Pieter Albertszoon to Batavia (now
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
) for help; they arrived there in June 1656. In 1658 Leeman returned as first officer on board ''Waeckende Boei'' in search of the wreckage. He was in charge of the shore party that was abandoned when a storm blew in. Leeman and his crew then took a six-month open boat voyage to Batavia via
Java.
In 1971 the Western Australian Education department opened the Leeman Primary School, and the town adopted the new name.
The actress
Mandy McElhinney
Mandy McElhinney (born ) is an Australian actress best known for playing Rhonda in AAMI insurance advertisements. She appeared on the sketch comedy television series, '' Comedy Inc.'', from 2003 to 2006. She appeared as Gina Rinehart in the te ...
grew up in a
caravan park in Leeman.
There is a Leeman Football Club.
References
External links
*
Leeman Primary School
{{authority control
Coastal towns in Western Australia
Populated places established in 1961
Shire of Coorow