Exmouth (/ˈɛksmaʊθ/ EX-mowth[a]) is a town on the tip of the North West Cape and on Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia, 1,124 kilometres (698 mi) north of the state capital Perth and 2,060 kilometres (1,280 mi) southwest of Darwin.[3][4]
| Exmouth Western Australia | |
|---|---|
 Main park c. 2007 | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 21°55′59″S 114°7′41″E / 21.93306°S 114.12806°E |
| Population | 2,806 (SAL 2021)[1][2] |
| Established | 1964 |
| Postcode(s) | 6707 |
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Area | 50.7 km2 (19.6 sq mi) |
| Location | |
| LGA(s) | Shire of Exmouth |
| State electorate(s) | North West Central |
| Federal division(s) | Durack |
The town was established in 1967 to support the nearby United States Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt. It is named after Exmouth Gulf. Beginning in the late 1970s, the town began hosting United States Air Force personnel assigned to Learmonth Solar Observatory, a defence science facility jointly operated with Australia's Ionospheric Prediction Service. The town is served by Learmonth Airport.
History
editIn 1618, Dutch East India Company ship Mauritius, under command of Willem Janszoon, landed near North West Cape, just proximate to what would be Exmouth, and named Willem's River, which was later renamed Ashburton River.
The location was first used as a military base in World War II. US Admiral James F. Calvert in his memoir, Silent Running: My Years on a World War II Attack Submarine, and US Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood in Sink 'Em All, his narrative of Allied submarine warfare, describe its history. After the retreat from Java in March 1942, Allied naval forces required a forward base for replenishing submarines, then the sole form of offensive warfare against the Japanese. Both Darwin, Northern Territory, and Broome, Western Australia, were too exposed to air attack, so a 500-ton unmotorized lighter was placed as a refueling barge near the mouth of Exmouth Gulf, where the Allies were already maintaining a seaplane tender.
Code-named "Potshot", the spartan base was also developed as a submarine advanced base and rest camp using the tender USS Pelias. An airfield (now RAAF Learmonth) was constructed to provide fighter defense for the base. Z Special Unit used Potshot as a staging base for Operation Jaywick, a raid on Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour, in September 1943.[5]
In 2009, an emergency landing of the flight Qantas 72 was made at the nearby Learmonth Airport / RAAF Base Learmonth. The A330 had an incident involving the ADIRU which confused AoA (Angle of Attack) data with altitude data, making the plane think it was in a 16° pitch up when it was flying level. So the protection measures on the plane forced a 16° pitch down twice and brought negative G forces on all passengers and it made them float for about 15 seconds. There were no deaths, but 1 crew member and 11 passengers suffered serious injuries.[6][7]
Tourism
edit
The town relies more on tourism than the station for its existence. At the 2016 census, Exmouth had a population of 2,486.[8] At the height of the tourist season, the population swells to 6,000.
Exmouth is popular for diving and snorkelling.[9] Some of the most famous snorkeling spots include Turquoise Bay and Oysters Stacks.
The Cape Range National Park, which has several gorges, is an area of 506 km2 (195 sq mi) and its main area is focused on the west coast of the Cape, which provides a large variety of camp sites on the coastal fringe of the Park. Yardie Creek and Charles Knife Gorge are land based attractions.
On 20 April 2023, Exmouth was in the direct path of a total solar eclipse, which was the first to be visible in Australia since November 2012.[10] More than 20,000 people watched the eclipse from Exmouth. This cost the State Government of Western Australia $22 million AUD in planning and logistics fees.[11]
Big Things
editExmouth is also home to two of Australia's Big Things: The Big Whale Shark (constructed 2002) and The Big Prawn (constructed 2005) both of which were constructed by Brian Paskins.[12][13]
There is an ongoing "Prawn War" between this Big Prawn and the Big Prawn in Ballina, New South Wales; the Big Prawn in Ballina is larger but Exmouth locals say theirs is much more realistic.[14]
Climate
editExmouth has a hot semi-arid climate (BSh). Temperatures often reach over 40 °C (104 °F) in summer; however, winters are warm with daytime temperatures around 25 °C (77 °F). There is no specific wet and dry season in Exmouth, although rain is most likely to fall between January and July, usually with monsoonal showers and storms from January to April and from the northern edges of cold fronts in May, June and July. The area occasionally gets caught by tropical cyclones. The period from August to December is usually dry.
| Climate data for Learmonth Airport | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 48.9 (120.0) |
47.7 (117.9) |
45.5 (113.9) |
42.5 (108.5) |
37.3 (99.1) |
31.9 (89.4) |
31.7 (89.1) |
35.3 (95.5) |
41.3 (106.3) |
43.0 (109.4) |
44.2 (111.6) |
48.9 (120.0) |
48.9 (120.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 37.9 (100.2) |
37.5 (99.5) |
36.5 (97.7) |
33.3 (91.9) |
28.5 (83.3) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.3 (75.7) |
26.4 (79.5) |
29.4 (84.9) |
32.8 (91.0) |
34.6 (94.3) |
36.9 (98.4) |
31.9 (89.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 30.5 (86.9) |
30.8 (87.4) |
29.8 (85.6) |
26.9 (80.4) |
22.3 (72.1) |
19.0 (66.2) |
17.9 (64.2) |
19.3 (66.7) |
21.6 (70.9) |
24.6 (76.3) |
26.6 (79.9) |
28.9 (84.0) |
24.8 (76.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23.0 (73.4) |
24.1 (75.4) |
23.0 (73.4) |
20.4 (68.7) |
16.1 (61.0) |
13.1 (55.6) |
11.4 (52.5) |
12.1 (53.8) |
13.8 (56.8) |
16.4 (61.5) |
18.5 (65.3) |
20.9 (69.6) |
17.7 (63.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 16.1 (61.0) |
17.4 (63.3) |
15.0 (59.0) |
12.9 (55.2) |
7.6 (45.7) |
4.9 (40.8) |
3.5 (38.3) |
4.2 (39.6) |
5.6 (42.1) |
7.9 (46.2) |
12.0 (53.6) |
14.2 (57.6) |
3.5 (38.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 31.0 (1.22) |
40.9 (1.61) |
40.8 (1.61) |
17.6 (0.69) |
42.2 (1.66) |
43.2 (1.70) |
22.0 (0.87) |
11.4 (0.45) |
2.1 (0.08) |
1.6 (0.06) |
1.8 (0.07) |
6.1 (0.24) |
256.7 (10.11) |
| Average precipitation days | 2.7 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 3.7 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 27.3 |
| Source: [15] | |||||||||||||
Weather events
editOn 22 March 1999, Tropical Cyclone Vance reached category 5 status as it made landfall near Exmouth. This resulted in the highest wind gust ever reported on the Australian mainland, 267 km/h (166 mph) at Learmonth, 35 km (22 mi) to the south. Vance caused significant flooding and property damage. There were no casualties.[16][17]
In April 2014, Exmouth was hit by a massive flash flood, nearly destroying the caravan park and seriously damaging much of the town's infrastructure, causing a severe blow to tourism in the region.[18]
Notes
edit- ^ According to British conventions of pronunciation, as applied in the cases, eg, of Bournemouth, Falmouth, Plymouth, and Portsmouth, England, the pronunciation of Exmouth, Western Australia, would be /ˈɛksməθ/ (EX-muth), as for its namesake, Exmouth, England. However, the local pronunciation of Exmouth, Western Australia, is /ˈɛksmaʊθ/ (EX-mowth).[19]
References
edit- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Exmouth (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Exmouth (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021.
- ^ "Distance from Exmouth Western Australia Australia to Perth Western Australia Australia Google Maps Mileage, Driving Route Directions & Flying Distance - Fuel Cost, Midpoint Route and Journey Times Mi Km". Distantias. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ "Distance from Exmouth Western Australia Australia to Darwin City Of Darwin Australia Google Maps Mileage, Driving Route Directions & Flying Distance - Fuel Cost, Route and Journey Times Mi Km". Distantias. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ Potshot Memorial
- ^ "In-flight upset, 154 km west of Learmonth, WA, 7 October 2008, VH-QPA, Airbus A330-303" (PDF). Australian Transport Safety Bureau. 14 November 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
- ^ Nicholson, B. (9 October 2008). "Data show Qantas jet in two sudden plunges". The Age. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Exmouth (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ Destination Exmouth, westernaustalia.com
- ^ "Eclipses visible in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia – Apr 20, 2023 Solar Eclipse". timeanddate.com. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- ^ "Solar eclipse chasers descend on tiny Western Australian town to experience 'wonders of the universe'". The Guardian. 20 April 2023. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023.
- ^ "Ningaloo George". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ "Exmouth's iconic and much-loved crustacean is back". www.exmouth.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ "Prawn Wars: Who has the best big prawn?". The Northern Star. 1 February 2019.
- ^ "Climate statistics for Exmouth". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
- ^ WA Tropical Cyclone Season Summary 1998-99
- ^ "Cyclone leaves Aussie town in ruins". USA Today. 24 March 1999. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ "Exmouth clean-up continues after heavy rains caused extensive flood damage". ABC News. 29 April 2014. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
- ^ Groundwater, Ben (29 March 2023). "Eight Australian places we keep pronouncing incorrectly". Traveller. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
Further reading
edit- Barker, Anthony J; Ondaatje, Michael L (2015). A Little America in Western Australia: The US naval communication station at North West Cape and the founding of Exmouth. Crawley, WA: UWA Publishing. ISBN 9781742586854.
- Western Australia. Ministry for Planning.(1998) Exmouth-Learmonth (North West Cape) structure plan. Perth, W.A. : Western Australian Planning Commission. ISBN 0-7309-9007-9 (The draft Structure Plan for Exmouth-Learmonth (North West Cape) has been prepared by the Ministry for Planning under the guidance and direction of the Gascoyne Coast Planning Coordinating Committee (GCPCC) and the North West Cape Technical Advisory Group)
External links
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