Ledge Point is a small coastal township 105 km north of
PerthPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. With a population of 1,650,000 , Perth ranks fourth amongst the nation's cities, with a growth rate consistently above the national average....
,
Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Australia's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.2 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.The state's capital...
. It was established to service the local fishing and crayfishing industries.
The town's name originates from the nearby coastal feature of the same name, a series of rocky ledges on the point that was first described in an 1875 hydrographic survey. The Gingin Road Board requested that land be set aside in the area in 1937 for camping and recreation purposes.
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Ledge Point is a small coastal township 105 km north of
PerthPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. With a population of 1,650,000 , Perth ranks fourth amongst the nation's cities, with a growth rate consistently above the national average....
,
Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Australia's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.2 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.The state's capital...
. It was established to service the local fishing and crayfishing industries.
The town's name originates from the nearby coastal feature of the same name, a series of rocky ledges on the point that was first described in an 1875 hydrographic survey. The Gingin Road Board requested that land be set aside in the area in 1937 for camping and recreation purposes. In 1952 there were three
squatters'Squatting is the act of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use. Squatting is significantly more common in urban areas than rural areas, especially when urban decay occurs...
shacks that had been built in the reserve and once a road was completed into the area in 1953 more people began to request land leases. The government decided to subdivide the area in 1954 and sell blocks for retirees and holiday housing. The town was gazetted in 1955.
The area is well known as a
windsurfingWindsurfing is a surface water sport using a windsurf board usually two to four meters long and powered by the effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a mast, wishbone boom and sail...
venue, and in January each year the prestigious Ledge Point to
LancelinLancelin is a small fishing and tourist town 110 km north of Perth, Western Australia. It is located in the Shire of Gingin at the end of Wanneroo Road , and a few kilometres from the start of the proposed Indian Ocean Drive....
Windsurfing Classic draws competitors from around the world.
In 1963, divers discovered the wreck of the Dutch ship
Vergulde DraeckThe Vergulde Draeck was a Dutch merchant ship of the seventeenth century. It left from Texel bound for Batavia , but on 28 April 1656 was wrecked off Ledge Point, 107 km north of what is now Perth, Western Australia...
(Gilt Dragon) which sunk after striking a nearby reef on 28 April 1656. This was one of the earliest European ships to visit Australia. In 1972, a full expedition was mounted to systematically excavate the remains of the ship's cargo and fittings, but damage by looters had left little intact. Nevertheless, over several months a quantity of artefacts was recovered and which are now displayed at the Maritime Museums in
GeraldtonGeraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth. According to the 2006 census, Geraldton has a population of 31,553, making it the fourth-largest city in Western Australia....
and
FremantleFremantle is a port city in Western Australia, located southwest of Perth, the state capital, at the mouth of the Swan River on Australia's western coast. It was the first settlement of the Swan River colonists in 1829...
.
The area is also known for the wreck of a new oil rig, Key Biscayne, which toppled over in storms in 1983 around offshore whilst under transport.