Wannanup (also known as Port Bouvard, Avalon and Florida) is a residential

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

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 ...

, located southwest of

Mandurah Mandurah () is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 107,641 as of the 2021 Australian census, 2 ...

and south-southwest of the state capital,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. It is surrounded on three sides by water – the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

to the west, the Harvey Estuary to the east and the

Dawesville Channel Dawesville Channel (also known as Dawesville Cut) is an artificial channel between the Peel-Harvey Estuary and the Indian Ocean at Dawesville, about south of Perth in Western Australia. It is south of the regional city of Mandurah and north o ...

to the south – and is home to the Port Bouvard development. It is one of four suburbs which lie on an island created by the building of the Dawesville Channel.

History

Wannanup is the original Aboriginal name for the suburb known as Florida. However, upon the development of the Dawesville Channel, the suburb was split in half. The southern section was placed in Dawesville while the northern section was regazetted as Wannanup in 1996. The 21st century has seen the landscape of Wannanup transformed, with the development of Port Bouvard transforming the community from that of a sleepy fishing settlement to a commuter suburb and holiday destination. The Northport estate to the suburb's west lies close to Avalon and Village beaches and consists of modern townhouses based around a small shopping centre surrounded by a network of canals and modern mansions. Meanwhile, the Eastport estate is home to the Port Bouvard Marina, which is a popular area for activities such as boating and fishing.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, Wannanup had a population of 2,769 – up from 1,958 people in the 2006 census —and essentially tripling in size since the 2001 census (where 754 people were recorded).

Politics

Wannanup is located within the federal seat of

Canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...

, currently held by

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

member

Andrew Hastie Andrew William Hastie (born 30 September 1982) is an Australian politician and former military officer currently serving as the Shadow Minister, shadow minister for defence. He previously served as the Minister for Defence (Australia), Assistan ...

, and within the state seat of Dawesville, currently held by Lisa Munday The suburb does not have a polling place of its own, but at the nearby polling place at Dawesville, the

two-party preferred In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP, ...

vote favours the Liberal Party over the Labor Party. At federal level, the Liberals achieved 64.41% in 2004, 59.46% in 2007 and 58.33% in 2010. At the 2008 state election, the Liberals received 63.02% (up from 55.72% in 2005) of the two-party preferred vote at Dawesville from a primary vote of 58.05% (up from 43.83% for the Liberals and 9.26% for the Nationals). At local level, Wannanup is located within the Coastal Ward of the

City of Mandurah The City of Mandurah is a local government area of Western Australia, covering both Mandurah proper and an additional area reaching down as far south as Lake Clifton. The city has a total area of approximately . The city is located in the Pee ...

, and is represented by three councillors: Bruce Blay (first elected 2006), Don Pember (elected 2007) and Rhys Williams (elected 2009).

Transport

Wannanup is bisected by Old Coast Road in a similar manner to neighbouring suburbs

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

and Dawesville.

Transperth Transperth is the brand name of the public transport system serving the city and suburban areas of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation. Train op ...

routes 592, 593 and 594 frequently service the suburb. 592 runs six days a week through the Northport portion of Wannanup while 593 and 594 go straight through the suburb via Old Coast Road and run 7 days a week. Services generally run every twenty minutes during peak hour with 592 and 594 alternating every ten minutes in terms of departing

Mandurah Station Mandurah Station is the terminus of the Mandurah railway line and a bus station on the Transperth network, serving the satellite city of Mandurah, Western Australia. History The bus station opened prior to the railway station, on 17 Septe ...

with some school specials deviating from this normal pattern.

History

Demographics

Politics

Transport

References

See also