Cowaramup is a town in the South West 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 ...

, north of

Margaret River The Margaret River is a river in southwest Australia, southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River, Western Australia, Margaret River. The river arises from a catchment ...

in the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River.

Name

The town was named from the Cowaramup Siding, which was located near the townsite, on the now disused Busselton to Augusta railway. The name (pronounced ''kuh-wara-mup'') is from a

Wardandi The Wadandi, also spelt Wardandi and other variants, are an Aboriginal people of south-western Western Australia, one of fourteen language groups of the Noongar peoples. Name There are at least three theories about the meaning of the tribal et ...

word , meaning

purple-crowned lorikeet The purple-crowned lorikeet (''Parvipsitta porphyrocephala''), (also known as the porphyry-crowned lorikeet, zit parrot, blue-crowned lorikeet, purple-capped lorikeet, lory, cowara, lorikeet, and purple-capped parakeet) is a lorikeet found in scr ...

. Contrary to common misconception and marketing, the name is unrelated to cows.

Description

Cowaramup is roughly central to the Margaret River wine region. It is the closest townsite to a number of wineries and other speciality producers, including

Vasse Felix Vasse Felix was the first vineyard and winery to be established in the Margaret River (wine region)#History, Margaret River wine region of Western Australia. Founded in Wilyabrup, Western Australia, Wilyabrup in 1967 by Dr Tom Cullity, it is r ...

, Howard Park and Madfish Winery, the Margaret River Chocolate Factory, and The Margaret River Dairy Company. The town is close to Cowaramup Bay, a popular swimming and surfing beach. As such a large number of tourists to the region pass through and visit the town, playing an important role in the local economy. The town centre consists of a local store providing basic produce, a post office, a bakery, a fruit and vegetable shop, a real estate agent and farm agency, a service station/workshop, a liquor store, a social club, parkland and various speciality stores selling everything from gourmet produce, candies and arts and crafts to computing goods. Accommodation in or near the town consists of the Taunton Farm Caravan Park, a bed and breakfast and various chalets and cottages in the area. There is one restaurant and two cafés in the town, as well as numerous others on nearby winery properties. The town has one primary and pre-primary school, a town oval and tennis club,

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the ea ...

track and a bowling green. The nearest high school and university campuses are in

. Police and fire services are based in Margaret River 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 ...

. Most residents live in the townsite and surrounding rural properties, including one remaining dairy farm. The local government administration is the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River, and the local newspapers are the ''Augusta Margaret River Times'' and the ''Augusta Margaret River Mail''. The town is built on the traditional lands of the local Aboriginal people, the

Transport

Cowaramup is located on 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 ...

, which serves as the major link to other towns in the area, as well as

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 ...

, the state capital.

Development

The area around Cowaramup is predominantly agricultural/viticulture use, but over the last five years many land releases have proven popular for the many young families and tradesmen who benefited greatly from the building boom in 2005–06.

Surfing

The Cowaramup Bombora ("Cow Bombie") big wave

surf break A surf break (also break, shore break, or big wave break) is a permanent (or semi-permanent) obstruction such as a coral reef, rock (geology), rock, shoal, or headland that causes a Wind wave, wave to Wind wave#Wave breaking, break, forming a ...

, located offshore, was the location of two ''Oakley Biggest Wave'' award-winning rides; in 2011 by Damien Warr, and 2015 by Jarryd Foster. On 26 June 2015 Australian surfer Felicity Palmateer, 22, became the first female to surf Cow Bombie, on potentially the largest wave ever ridden in Australia by a woman.

Art works

In 2012 the town installed 42 lifesize fibreglass cow sculptures around the town, as a tourist attraction. In July 2014, the town set a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for the largest group of people 1,352 dressed as cows. A permanent cow-themed tourist attraction is the golden cow statue. Created by local artist Ron Roozen in 2010, "Free As A Cow" is located in Pioneer Park and is locally known as "Rump on a Stump" (a pejorative counterpoint to the "chick on a stick" statue installed in front of the Robert Oatley Winery cellar door, a few kilometres north of Cowaramup). Since 2018, there have been various artworks around the town depicting the

(') for which the town was named, including: * Anita Revel's "Cowara Dreaming" on the exterior of the Cowaramup Agencies building * Alan Meyburgh's "Cowara Bird" statue at Rosie's deli * A mural by Brenton See on the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

shed in Pioneer Park

References

{{authority control Coastal towns in Western Australia Shire of Augusta–Margaret River