Gibson is a town and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

of the

Shire of Esperance The Shire of Esperance is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, about south of the town of Kalgoorlie and about east-southeast of the state capital, Per ...

in the Goldfields-Esperance 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 ...

, about north of Esperance. The

Coolgardie–Esperance Highway Coolgardie–Esperance Highway is a Western Australian highway between Coolgardie and Esperance. It runs in a north–south direction linking the state's Eastern Goldfields to the coast. The Coolgardie–Norseman stretch (National Highway 9 ...

and Kalgoorlie to Esperance railway the run through the locality from north to south.

Esperance Airport Esperance Airport is an airport in Esperance, Western Australia. The airport is northwest of the city, near the locality of Gibson. Airlines and destinations Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier ...

and Helms Arboretum Reserve are located in the south-west of Gibson. At the 2016 census, Gibson had a population of 449.

History

The population of the area was 16 (7 males and 9 females) in 1898. Gibson was originally proposed in about 1910 as a siding on the

Esperance branch railway The Esperance railway line runs from Kalgoorlie to Esperance in Western Australia. It was lobbied for by Esperance residents to be linked into the Western Australian Government Railways railway network to provide land transport to their regio ...

due to a reliable water source in the area, named by surveyor A. W. Canning after a man who discovered the soak whilst searching for stock. The railway itself was not completed until 1925, but the townsite was gazetted on 19 October 1921.

Transport

It is served by a station on the

Brookfield Rail Arc Infrastructure, formerly Brookfield Rail and WestNet Rail, is a rail infrastructure manager and access provider in Western Australia with a long-term lease on the network from the Government of Western Australia. It operates approximately 5 ...

network, and is also the site of the

. In 2009, a long crossing called by this name but located slightly away from the town was built.

Parks and reserves

Esperance Bird & Animal Park is a small animal park located at Gibson and includes: cockatoos, parrots, macaws, eagles, emus, sheep, goats, highland cattle, horses, llamas, kangaroos, wallabies and foxes. Helms Arboretum Reserve, a biodiversity hotspot and popular wedding venue, was severely damaged by fire in December 2024. The arboretum, home to more than 120 species of planted trees, has a size of .

References

{{authority control Shire of Esperance