Capel is a town in the South West region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, located south of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and midway between Bunbury and

Busselton Busselton is a city in the South West (Western Australia), South West region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destin ...

. The town is located on the Capel River and is approximately above sea level.

History

The Capel area was originally inhabited by the Wardandi

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...

people. Colonists visited the region early in the history of colonial Western Australia. The Capel River was visited by Frederick Ludlow in 1834, but it was not given an English name until the Bussell family settled in the area soon afterwards. The name honours Capel Carter Brockman (1839–1924), daughter of John Bussell (1803–1875), herself named after a Miss Capel Carter, a cousin of the Bussells in England with whom Bussell family members corresponded. In the 1830s a number of settlers followed the Bussells into the area, and both James Stirling and John Hutt, (the first two

Governors of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch, King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutional, ceremonial and commun ...

) took up land in the region. Plans to establish a townsite in the area were first mooted in 1844, but the site was not surveyed until the 1870s and lots were not sold until 1897. Initially the town was named Coolingnup, which is the Noongar name for the place; the name was changed to Capel in 1899.

Climate

The climate is hot-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(Köppen: ''Csa''), at a certain distance from the headquarters, Forrest Beach has the warm-summer version as in

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

(''Csb''), delimiting the northern limit of the second climatic zone on the Australian coast. Capel has hot dry summers and cool wet winters. Daily temperatures range from 13 °C to 40 °C in summer, and from 5 °C to 27 °C in winter. Average annual rainfall is about 830 mm.

Demographics

The population of the town was 91 (44 males and 47 females) in 1898. According to the 2016 census figures, the population of the Town of Capel was 2,509, and the population of the Shire of Capel was 17,123."2016 Census, Australian Bureau of Statistics"
Retrieved 31 January 2020.

Economy

Historically, Capel is a farming area; traditional agricultural pursuits include

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

. In recent times, Capel has become popular for hobby farms, and a number of innovative agricultural pursuits have been introduced, including

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. Traditionally, alpacas were kept in herds that grazed on the level heights of the Andes of Southern Peru, Western Bolivia, Ecuador, and Northern Chile. More recentl ...

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

and growing of blue gums. There is also some

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

of mineral sands in the Shire, and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

is increasingly important to the Shire's economy. Westralian Sands was established in 1954 but commenced operations in 1959 when it started mining and processing the Yoganup deposit just north of the town. Another company, RGC, operated a mine to the south of the town. In 1998 both companies merged to form

Iluka Resources Iluka Resources is an Australian resources company, specialising in mineral sands exploration, project development, operations and marketing. Iluka is the largest producer of zircon and titanium dioxidederived rutile and synthetic rutile global ...

which continues to operate

ilmenite Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral with the idealized formula . It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid. Ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium and the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printi ...

mines around the area and produce synthetic rutile at the processing facility to the north of the town along the

Bussell Highway Bussell Highway is a generally north–south highway in the South West (Western Australia), South West region of Western Australia. The highway links the city of Bunbury, Western Australia, Bunbury with the town of Augusta, Western Australia, A ...

References

External links

Capel portalSouth West portal
{{authority control Towns in Western Australia Shire of Capel Mining towns in Western Australia