Cape Naturaliste, Western Australia
Settlements
The nearest settlement is Bunker Bay – a community that evolved from holiday shacks to very expensive housing for wealthy residents as well as featuring a popular beach resort. Further east, across the Bay, is Dunsborough, a much older settlement. Busselton is located still further east from there.
History
The first peoples in Cape Naturaliste were the Wardandi Aboriginal people, who called it Kwirreejeenungup, meaning 'the place with the beautiful view'. In 1801, the French navigator Nicolas Baudin stopped here on 30 May during his exploration of Australia. The French were mapping the coast of New Holland. Baudin named the bay they found Geographe Bay, after his flagship, Géographe. Later, the cape was named after the expedition's second ship, Naturaliste.
Climate
Cape Naturaliste has a warm-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb, with warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters).
| Climate data for Cape Naturaliste (33º32'S, 115º01'E, 109 m AMSL) (1903-2024 normals and extremes) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 40.6 (105.1) |
39.4 (102.9) |
37.4 (99.3) |
32.1 (89.8) |
27.8 (82.0) |
24.3 (75.7) |
22.9 (73.2) |
23.6 (74.5) |
27.5 (81.5) |
31.7 (89.1) |
36.7 (98.1) |
38.5 (101.3) |
40.6 (105.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 25.6 (78.1) |
26.0 (78.8) |
24.6 (76.3) |
22.0 (71.6) |
19.3 (66.7) |
17.4 (63.3) |
16.4 (61.5) |
16.5 (61.7) |
17.4 (63.3) |
19.0 (66.2) |
21.6 (70.9) |
23.8 (74.8) |
20.8 (69.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 15.3 (59.5) |
15.7 (60.3) |
15.1 (59.2) |
13.9 (57.0) |
12.6 (54.7) |
11.5 (52.7) |
10.5 (50.9) |
10.1 (50.2) |
10.4 (50.7) |
11.1 (52.0) |
12.5 (54.5) |
14.0 (57.2) |
12.7 (54.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 7.8 (46.0) |
8.9 (48.0) |
6.4 (43.5) |
5.1 (41.2) |
6.1 (43.0) |
4.2 (39.6) |
4.1 (39.4) |
3.7 (38.7) |
3.8 (38.8) |
4.6 (40.3) |
5.2 (41.4) |
7.5 (45.5) |
3.7 (38.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 10.6 (0.42) |
11.7 (0.46) |
22.9 (0.90) |
44.2 (1.74) |
113.6 (4.47) |
160.2 (6.31) |
158.8 (6.25) |
112.2 (4.42) |
75.1 (2.96) |
48.6 (1.91) |
25.4 (1.00) |
13.1 (0.52) |
793.6 (31.24) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 1.9 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 6.6 | 12.9 | 16.7 | 18.8 | 16.4 | 12.6 | 8.9 | 5.0 | 2.7 | 107.6 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 57 | 56 | 58 | 62 | 69 | 72 | 72 | 70 | 68 | 65 | 61 | 59 | 64 |
| Average dew point °C (°F) | 14.1 (57.4) |
14.4 (57.9) |
13.6 (56.5) |
12.7 (54.9) |
11.8 (53.2) |
10.8 (51.4) |
9.8 (49.6) |
9.5 (49.1) |
9.9 (49.8) |
10.6 (51.1) |
11.9 (53.4) |
13.0 (55.4) |
11.8 (53.3) |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology | |||||||||||||
General references
- Marchant, Leslie R. French Napoleonic Placenames of the South West Coast, Greenwood, WA. R.I.C. Publications, 2004. ISBN 1-74126-094-9
- Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Australia: Western Australia". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
References
- ^ McCormack, James (20 October 2010). "Cape to Cape Track". Australian Geographic. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ F. Peron; L. Freycinet (1809). A Voyage of Discovery to the Southern Hemisphere: Performed by Order of the Emperor Napoleon during the Years 1801, 1802, and 1804. London: Richard Phillips. OCLC 6521670. OL 6948659M. Wikidata Q128790983.
- ^ Fornasiero, F. Jean; Monteath, Peter; West-Sooby, John (2004). Encountering Terra Australis: The Australian Voyages of Nicolas Baudin and Matthew Flinders. Wakefield Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-1862548749.
- ^ "Cape Naturaliste Climate Statistics". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
External links
Australian places named by French explorers in the 18th and 19th centuries | ||
|---|---|---|
| South Australia |
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| Western Australia | ||
Only places with the name still in use in either the original or anglicised version are listed above. Many names have been anglicised; for these the original French name appears in brackets. | ||