Hopetoun, Western Australia

Hopetoun
Western Australia
The heritage listed Port Hotel on Veal Street, Hopetoun
Hopetoun is located in Western Australia
Hopetoun
Hopetoun
Map
Coordinates33°56′53″S 120°07′34″E / 33.948°S 120.126°E / -33.948; 120.126
Population783 (UCL 2021)[1]
Established1900
Postcode(s)6348
Elevation13 m (43 ft)
Area539.8 km2 (208.4 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Ravensthorpe
State electorate(s)Roe
Federal division(s)O'Connor
Mean max temp[2] Mean min temp[2] Annual rainfall[2]
22.0 °C
72 °F		 11.6 °C
53 °F		 481.9 mm
19 in

Hopetoun is a town on the south coast of Western Australia in the Shire of Ravensthorpe. Located on Mary Ann Harbour, Hopetoun is 590 kilometres (370 mi) south-east from capital city Perth and 160 kilometres (99 mi) west of Esperance.

History

Mary Ann Harbour was named in November 1865 by the sealer James Sale on the cutter Mary Ann. The Mary Ann was owned by whaling master John Thomas of Cheyne's Beach, 65 kilometres (40 mi) east of Albany, who had named it after his eldest daughter.[3]

Hopetoun was established in 1900 as the port servicing the Phillips River goldfield, named after the first Governor-General of Australia, John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun.[4] The townsite was gazetted on 9 February 1901.[5]

The town became a shipping port for the mining industry, with a jetty built in 1901, the terminus of a railway line between Hopetoun and Ravensthorpe that operated from 1909 to 1935. The port was closed in 1937, with the jetty remaining until its destruction in 1983.[4][6][7][8]

Some of the town's electricity is generated by a wind-diesel system. Hopetoun has two 600 kilowatt wind turbines and two low-load diesel generators.[9]

The population in the 2016 Census was 871, a 38% fall from 1,398 in the 2011 Census, due to the closure of the nearby Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine. Hopetoun was a major site of accommodation for the mine, east of the town of Ravensthorpe. There is a primary school, police station and a doctor has clinics in both Hopetoun and Ravensthorpe. Hopetoun also has a hotel, motel, tavern, bakery, IGA Supermarket, two cafes, post office/general store, hairdressers, beauty salon, CRC/library, chemist and two real estate agencies.[10][11]

Climate

See also: Climate of Western Australia

Hopetoun possesses a warm-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb) with warm, relatively dry summers and mild, drizzly wet winters.[12] Average maxima vary from 25.5 °C (77.9 °F) in February to 18.1 °C (64.6 °F) in July, while average minima fluctuate between 15.8 °C (60.4 °F) in February and 7.8 °C (46.0 °F) in July. Annual precipitation is rather low, (averaging 481.9 mm (18.97 in)), but is quite frequent: being spread across 133.4 precipitation days. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) on 6 January 2010 to −1.1 °C (30.0 °F) on 4 July 2014.[13]

Climate data for Hopetoun (33°56′S 120°08′E / 33.93°S 120.13°E / -33.93; 120.13) (26 m (85 ft) AMSL) (1996-2024 data)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 48.0
(118.4) 		45.8
(114.4) 		43.9
(111.0) 		38.0
(100.4) 		35.1
(95.2) 		27.6
(81.7) 		26.4
(79.5) 		32.2
(90.0) 		34.8
(94.6) 		39.5
(103.1) 		44.5
(112.1) 		44.6
(112.3) 		48.0
(118.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 25.1
(77.2) 		25.5
(77.9) 		24.8
(76.6) 		23.3
(73.9) 		21.2
(70.2) 		18.9
(66.0) 		18.1
(64.6) 		18.7
(65.7) 		20.2
(68.4) 		21.3
(70.3) 		23.0
(73.4) 		24.0
(75.2) 		22.0
(71.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 15.3
(59.5) 		15.8
(60.4) 		14.6
(58.3) 		12.7
(54.9) 		10.5
(50.9) 		8.7
(47.7) 		7.8
(46.0) 		7.9
(46.2) 		8.7
(47.7) 		10.3
(50.5) 		12.3
(54.1) 		14.0
(57.2) 		11.6
(52.8)
Record low °C (°F) 8.2
(46.8) 		7.7
(45.9) 		6.7
(44.1) 		5.0
(41.0) 		1.8
(35.2) 		0.6
(33.1) 		−1.1
(30.0) 		0.6
(33.1) 		1.4
(34.5) 		0.5
(32.9) 		4.9
(40.8) 		5.8
(42.4) 		−1.1
(30.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 30.6
(1.20) 		23.0
(0.91) 		30.5
(1.20) 		37.8
(1.49) 		43.9
(1.73) 		53.1
(2.09) 		63.5
(2.50) 		57.0
(2.24) 		48.7
(1.92) 		41.7
(1.64) 		31.7
(1.25) 		21.5
(0.85) 		481.9
(18.97)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 6.1 6.1 9.4 11.9 13.8 14.5 15.8 15.8 13.9 11.2 8.6 6.3 133.4
Average afternoon relative humidity (%) 63 63 62 62 59 56 57 56 56 59 61 60 60
Average dew point °C (°F) 14.4
(57.9) 		14.8
(58.6) 		13.9
(57.0) 		12.7
(54.9) 		10.5
(50.9) 		8.0
(46.4) 		7.3
(45.1) 		7.5
(45.5) 		8.3
(46.9) 		9.5
(49.1) 		11.8
(53.2) 		12.7
(54.9) 		10.9
(51.7)
Source: Bureau of Meteorology (1996-2024 data)[2]

References

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Hopetoun (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ a b c d "Hopetoun North Climate Statistics (1996-2024)". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  3. ^ Sale, Captain James (22 June 1897). "Mary Ann Harbor - A Reply to Captain Denver". Albany Advertiser. p. 3. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b "History of country town names – H". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
  5. ^ Western Australian Government Gazette, file 9159/00, 9 February 1901, p.676.
  6. ^ The Hopetoun - Ravensthorpe Railway Nugent, P.W. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, November 1966, pp249–262
  7. ^ Alex Gibson and D. H. S. du Plessis (December 1947). "Report to the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the management, workings and control of the Western Australian Government Railways" (PDF). Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Hopetoun". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  9. ^ "Blowing a gale". InterSector. Government of Western Australia. 19 September 2006. Archived from the original on 8 September 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  10. ^ Nuic, Elvira (20 July 2007). "Swamped by the mining boom ... A plea for help from a small coastal community". ABC Stateline. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  11. ^ Bennett, Mark (22 September 2017). "Ravensthorpe nickel mine closure fails to dent WA town's optimism". ABC News. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Climate classification maps: Köppen - all classes". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Hopetoun North Climate (1996-2024)". FarmOnline Weather. Retrieved 2 October 2024.