Places of interest
1 DOLPHIN DISCOVERY CENTRE
Located off Koombana Drive, this popular tourist attraction has recently had a
$12 million upgrade to be able to showcase “an expanded range of themed fish and coral aquariums and an amazing 360-degree Digital Dolphinarium”. Its Dolphin Eco Cruises offer 90-minute boat trips on Koombana Bay, allowing visitors to experience the many bottlenose dolphins in the bay. The Swim with the Dolphins tour, available November–April, provides an opportunity to do just that. For details and costs: dolphindiscovery.com.au
2 BOULTERS HEIGHTS LOOKOUT
Located between Wittenoom Street and Haig Crescent, Boulters Heights Lookout was named after A.H. Boulter, who established a rotunda on the site in the late 1920s. In 1966, to coincide with a visit from the Queen Mother, the local council built a 26m waterfall, the remnants of which still exist. The lookout provides panoramic views across Leschenault Inlet.
3 CHEQUERED LIGHTHOUSE
The current Bunbury Lighthouse, off Marlston Drive and overlooking Casuarina Point, is the fifth lighthouse to be built to guide ships into Koombana Bay. The original lighthouse, a wooden keg with a storm lantern, was replaced first by a square wooden lighthouse in 1870, then a temporary tower in 1901, followed by a cast iron beacon in 1903. The current chequered lighthouse was built in 1971. Its height is now 37m above sea level and it’s visible from 20km in clear weather.
4 WARDANDI BOODJA SCULPTURE
Located on Koombana Bay foreshore, the Wardandi Boodja sculpture is a 5.5m high steel bust of a Noongar man. Designed to represent all Noongar families, it was commissioned by the City of Bunbury and funded under the state government’s Royalty for Regions policy. The huge sculpture is the work of local artists Alex and Nicole Mickle of Safehaven Studios and a design engineer, Mike Kimble.
5 MARLSTON WATERFRONT HISTORIC WALK
This pleasant walk along the promenade on the Marlston Waterfront has a number of interesting signs. These provide details of Bunbury’s history, including stories of: the 29 ships wrecked in Koombana Bay (also known as Shipwreck Bay); the convicts who constructed the first jetty using local jarrah; the breakwater off Casuarina Point, which was designed by the great C.Y. O’Connor, who built the famous pipeline that transported water to Kalgoorlie, and a bust of Nicolas Baudin, the French explorer who sailed down the WA coast in 1800.
6 BUNBURY’S STREET ART AND PUBLIC SCULPTURE
There are two maps – ReDiscover Murals and Outside the Box – that provide detailed information to allow visitors to explore the 31 murals and artworks dotted around the centre of the city.