The Gascoyne
The Gascoyne region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia.
It is located in the north west of Western Australia, and consists of
the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper
Gascoyne.
The Gascoyne contains about 600 km of Indian Ocean coastline,
and extends inland about 500 km; altogether it has an area of 137,938 km²
(including islands). It has the lowest population and lowest population
density of any region of Western Australia, with a population of just over
10,000 people, most of whom live in the main towns of Carnarvon, Exmouth,
Denham, Gascoyne Junction and Coral Bay.
The Gascoyne has a moderate arid tropical climate. It is generally warm all
year round, with mean maximum daily temperatures ranging from 22°C (72°F) in
July to 35°C (95°F) in January. The region receives about 320 days of sunshine
per year. Annual rainfall is low and variable, averaging about 200 mm (8 in),
most of which occurs as a result of cyclonic activity. Because of the
semi-arid climate, most of the Gascoyne is covered in scrub, primarily
Spinifex and Mulga, with very little tree cover.
The Gascoyne has a diverse economy. Tourism is a major industry, due to the warm,
dry climate and the long coastline, which includes the Ningaloo Reef and the Shark
Bay World Heritage Site. Pastoralism is an important industry, and represents the
region's main land use: 84% of the Gascoyne's land area is covered by Pastoral
leases. The Gascoyne also has a substantial mining sector, mainly based on
extraction of salt and gypsum.
Before its discovery by Westerners, the Gascoyne had been home to Indigenous
Australians for many thousands of years. The first known westerner to land in the
region was Dirk Hartog in 1616; other early visitors include Willem Jansz, William
Dampier, Nicolas Baudin, and Phillip King. In 1839, George Grey explored the area
and gave the Gascoyne River its name. Shark Bay became the site of Australia's
first pearling industry in the 1850s. In 1858 Francis Gregory explored the region
and subsequently publicised it as highly suitable to pastoralism. Settlement began
in the 1860s, and Carnarvon was gazetted in 1883.
