On our way home - after a phenomenal weekend spent with wonderful friends - we stopped in at Bussleton where there was so much happening, a half marathon & the annual 3.6km Bussleton Jetty swim.
Busselton Jetty is the longest wooden jetty (pier) in the southern hemisphere,[1] stretching almost 2 km out to sea from the town of Busselton, Western Australia. Because the shallow waters of Geographe Bay restricted ship movement, a long jetty was required so that the cut timber could be transported to the ships.
In 1839 Governor Hutt appointed "the place in Geographe Bay opposite the Settlement at The Vasse to be the legal place for the loading and unloading of goods". Construction of the jetty commenced in 1853 after persistent pressure by settlers. In 1865 the first section of the jetty became available for ships to moor.[2] In 1875 an additional 131 metres was added to the original structure, as over 10 years' accumulation of drift sands had made the water too shallow for mooring. The jetty was continually extended until the 1960s when it reached its current length of 1841 metres.
The jetty also features a rail line along its length, which operated commercially as part of the railway line into Busselton from Bunbury.
