Lancelin is a small fishing and tourist town north 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 ...

, Western Australia. It is within the Shire of Gingin at the end of Lancelin Road, and a few kilometres away from the scenic highway Indian Ocean Drive (State Route 60). Lancelin is close to the shipwreck site of () that was wrecked on rocks close to shore in 1656. The town has a permanent population of over 600, and swells to 2,500 during the peak holiday period around Christmas and New Year.

History

The town's name originates from nearby Lancelin Island which was named after Lancelin, the scientific writer of

Nicolas Baudin Nicolas Thomas Baudin (; 17 February 175416 September 1803) was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer, most notable for his explorations in Australia and the southern Pacific. He carried a few corms of Gros Michel banana ...

during his 1801 expedition. The area was initially a holiday camping place through the 1940s and holiday shacks were probably built in the area during this time, but interest in the area grew as it was designated as a possible port to be utilised by the

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...

lobster Lobsters are Malacostraca, malacostracans Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the family (biology), family Nephropidae or its Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on th ...

fishery. One such vessel used at Lancelin was in the 1960s, now preserved in the Western Australian Maritime Museum. Lancelin was gazetted in 1950 and was originally named , the Aboriginal word for 'fish'. The area was renamed in 1953 after a request from the Gingin Road Board. Two sounding rockets were launched from Lancelin for solar research during the solar eclipse of June 20, 1974. The Australian military has used the Lancelin Defence Training Area to the north of the town for training exercises since the 1940s.

Recreational

Two islands are located just off the coast in the bay; Edwards Island and Lancelin Island. Lancelin Island Nature Reserve, offshore, is managed for the conservation of flora and fauna. The island is an important sanctuary for a variety of breeding

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s, for several resident landbirds and

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s and for resting

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

s. A variety of marine, wading and land birds may be observed. You can go to this island by boat and it is a popular summer trip. There is a walkway along the island that visitors can walk on to see the wildlife. Edwards island is prohibited to travel to since it is a high class nature reserve.

Kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...

and

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

are popular in the ocean off Lancelin.

Sandboarding Sandboarding is a boardsport and extreme sport similar to snowboarding that involves riding down a sand dune while standing on a board, with both feet strapped in. Sand sledding can also be practised sitting down or lying on the belly or the ba ...

and riding on a

dune buggy A dune buggy — also known as a beach buggy — is a recreational off-road vehicle with large wheels, and wide tires, designed for use on sand dunes, beaches, off-road or desert recreation. The design is usually a topless vehicle with a rear ...

motorbike A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat. Motorcycle designs var ...

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

are popular on the beaches and on the dunes behind the town. Every March the annual colour blast event is held on the beach. The Lancelin District Community Association is the holder of the

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 off-road convoy.

Climate

Lancelin has a 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 ...

that is consistently warm throughout the year, resembling a typical

subtropical climate The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 3 ...

but with a dry summer.

Gallery

References

External links

Walkabout - LancelinLancelin Island Nature ReserveLancelin - News
{{authority control Coastal towns in Western Australia Fishing communities in Australia Shire of Gingin