Jurien Bay, Western Australia

The coastline around Jurien Bay was first known to Europeans in the 17th century. In 1801–03, an expedition under the command of Nicolas Baudin sailed along the Western Australian coast. Louis de Freycinet, a cartographic surveyor on the expedition, named Jurien Bay after Charles Marie Jurien (1763–1836) of the French naval administration. The area was visited by a number of English explorers from 1822 onwards.{{LandInfo WA|c|J|2007-03-18}} The bay was first surveyed by Captain James Harding, the harbourmaster of Fremantle, in 1865, with a more extensive survey made by Staff Commander W. E. Archdeacon R.N. in 1875.

The first settlement was established in the mid-1850s by Walter Padbury. A jetty was constructed in 1885–87 due to the success of pastoralism. In the early 1900s, a temporary fishing village was built around the Jurien jetty and the coastal waters were used for catching dhufish, snapper and groper. Permanent residences were only built in the 1950s; however the buildings were only corrugated iron shanties instead of properly-built dwellings. Initially the settlement struggled to grow due to a poor and unreliable water supply and the isolation of the area at that time.

The townsite was surveyed and was gazetted as Jurien Bay on 21 December 1956; it was renamed Jurien in 1959, but reverted to its original name in 1999. Crayfish (also known as Western Rock Lobster) are abundant in the area, and the town's development soon became influenced by the crayfish industry. New jetties, factories and an airstrip were constructed so that crayfish goods could be flown south to Perth. Crayfishing has now become a multimillion-dollar industry, sending goods regularly to Japan and the United States.

The Jurien Bay "Blessing of the Fleet" festival commenced in the mid-1990s to commemorate the start of the crayfishing season in November each year. Following the opening of Indian Ocean Drive (the coastal route linking Perth) in 2010, the event was re-badged as the Indian Ocean Festival.

Today, the town is experiencing a house building boom, as its population and popularity as a holiday destination grow. The principal employers in the town are housing and building construction, retail, tourism, and crayfishing. Local residents claim that the town's population more than doubles during the holiday season. The completion of Indian Ocean Drive, has afforded faster access to the Perth Metropolitan area as well as the neighbouring towns of Leeman, Cervantes and Green Head. The town has many facilities including a community resource centre, supermarket, police station, family resource and child daycare centre, skatepark and sporting facilities, recreational jetty, restaurants, small boat harbour and marina, sealed and lit airstrip and a medical centre; it also has a district high school, and is visited twice a week by a bus service from Perth operated by Integrity Coach Lines.{{cite web|url=http://www.integritycoachlines.com.au/timetable/perth-to-broome-via-coastal-highway/default.aspx|title=Perth to Broome|date=3 June 2014|access-date=3 June 2014|publisher=Integrity Coach Lines}}

In 2016 the Turquoise Way trail{{Cite web|url=http://trailswa.com.au/trails/turquoise-way-walk-trail#|title = The Turquoise Coast Walk Trail}} (shared use path) was extended southwards from the town to the Hill River so as to create a recreational cycling and walk/run course of 14.2 km.{{cite web | url=https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/Barnett/2017/01/New-path-to-put-Jurien-Bay-on-the-cycling-map.aspx | title=Media Statements - New path to put Jurien Bay on the cycling map | access-date=18 May 2018 | archive-date=18 May 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518195821/https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/Barnett/2017/01/New-path-to-put-Jurien-Bay-on-the-cycling-map.aspx | url-status=dead }}

Jurien Bay is the seat of government for the Shire of Dandaragan and is the largest community in that shire.

Jurien Bay lies on Indian Ocean Drive, a new coastal route completed in 2010, on this route Jurien Bay is 220 km north of Perth and 195 km south of Geraldton. The town of Jurien Bay is surrounded by many national parks and reserves. Just east of Jurien Bay is the biodiversity hotspot that is the Lesueur National Park. The town lies adjacent to the Jurien Bay Marine Park. Jurien Bay has an airport.

Jurien Bay experiences a warm Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa).

{{Weather box

|location = Jurien Bay (1991–2020 averages, 1968–2023 extremes)

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 45.7

|Feb record high C = 44.7

|Mar record high C = 44.0

|Apr record high C = 37.3

|May record high C = 32.1

|Jun record high C = 28.4

|Jul record high C = 26.2

|Aug record high C = 30.5

|Sep record high C = 35.2

|Oct record high C = 38.2

|Nov record high C = 41.6

|Dec record high C = 46.0

|Jan high C = 30.1

|Feb high C = 30.8

|Mar high C = 29.7

|Apr high C = 26.7

|May high C = 23.7

|Jun high C = 21.1

|Jul high C = 19.8

|Aug high C = 20.2

|Sep high C = 21.4

|Oct high C = 23.8

|Nov high C = 26.3

|Dec high C = 28.8

|year high C = 25.2

|Jan low C = 17.3

|Feb low C = 18.1

|Mar low C = 16.9

|Apr low C = 14.3

|May low C = 11.8

|Jun low C = 10.4

|Jul low C = 9.4

|Aug low C = 9.5

|Sep low C = 9.9

|Oct low C = 11.7

|Nov low C = 13.9

|Dec low C = 15.9

|year low C = 13.3

|Jan record low C = 8.2

|Feb record low C = 8.8

|Mar record low C = 5.6

|Apr record low C = 1.7

|May record low C = 2.7

|Jun record low C = -1.0

|Jul record low C = 0.5

|Aug record low C = 1.3

|Sep record low C = 1.3

|Oct record low C = 2.7

|Nov record low C = 4.0

|Dec record low C = 6.6

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 6.8

|Feb precipitation mm = 8.8

|Mar precipitation mm = 17.1

|Apr precipitation mm = 26.0

|May precipitation mm = 67.9

|Jun precipitation mm = 93.4

|Jul precipitation mm = 112.3

|Aug precipitation mm = 79.2

|Sep precipitation mm = 43.5

|Oct precipitation mm = 23.4

|Nov precipitation mm = 18.6

|Dec precipitation mm = 7.3

|year precipitation mm = 503.4

|Jan precipitation days = 2.1

|Feb precipitation days = 2.5

|Mar precipitation days = 3.4

|Apr precipitation days = 6.1

|May precipitation days = 10.7

|Jun precipitation days = 13.3

|Jul precipitation days = 16.1

|Aug precipitation days = 14.5

|Sep precipitation days = 11.5

|Oct precipitation days = 7.4

|Nov precipitation days = 5.0

|Dec precipitation days = 2.9

|year precipitation days = 95.5

|unit precipitation days = 0.2mm

|humidity colour= green

|Jan afthumidity = 63

|Feb afthumidity = 60

|Mar afthumidity = 61

|Apr afthumidity = 61

|May afthumidity = 62

|Jun afthumidity = 65

|Jul afthumidity = 68

|Aug afthumidity = 64

|Sep afthumidity = 66

|Oct afthumidity = 64

|Nov afthumidity = 62

|Dec afthumidity = 61

|year humidity = 63

|source = Bureau of Meteorology, Jurien Bay (1991–2020){{cite web |url = http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/cdio/cvg/av?p_stn_num=009131&p_prim_element_index=0&p_comp_element_index=0&redraw=null&p_display_type=full_statistics_table&normals_years=1991-2020&tablesizebutt=normal

|title = Jurien Bay 1991–2020 averages |publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |access-date = 17 March 2023}}

|source 2 = Bureau of Meteorology, Jurien Bay (all years){{cite web |url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_009131_All.shtml

|title = Jurien Bay all years |publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |access-date = 17 March 2023}}

}}

At the 2011 census, Jurien Bay had a population of 1,507,{{Census 2011 AUS|id=SSC50366|name=Jurien Bay (State Suburb)|accessdate=28 October 2012}} which represented over one-third of the total population of the Shire of Dandaragan and an increase of over 300 people over the 2006 Census population of 1,175.{{Census 2006 AUS|id=UCL512000|name=Jurien (Urban Centre/Locality)|accessdate=18 January 2008}} It was surveyed within the Moore region, which includes five local council areas to the north of Perth with a population of 14,038, and has grown consistently over recent years.{{Census 2006 AUS|id=52505|name=Moore (Statistical Subdivision)|accessdate=28 January 2008|map=yes}}

Jurien Bay residents had a median age of 42, compared to the Moore regional average of 40 and the state average of 37. 21.29% of the population were under 16 years of age at the census, while 26.92% (above the regional average of 20.52% or the state average of 16.64%) were over 60 years of age. The median individual income in the area was $453 per week, while 1.49% of the population had incomes above $1,000 per week. The main industry sector in Jurien Bay was construction (13.29%) followed by hospitality (12.20%), retail (11.33%), manufacturing (8.06%), education (7.19%) and agriculture (5.66%)—representing significant declines in retail and agriculture since the 2001 census. 3.92% were employed by the mining industry. This profile differed significantly from both Dandaragan and the region, where over 28% were involved with agriculture.

Nearly all of Jurien Bay's 514 occupied dwellings were separate homes, although a small number of townhouses and units were located in the northern section of the town. The caravan park in Jurien accommodated 59 residents in 38 dwellings. In common with the Shire of Dandaragan generally but at odds with the region, a high number – 407 – of Jurien Bay's dwellings were unoccupied. The average house price in Jurien Bay in the 12 months to January 2008 was $476,250, significantly higher than the regional average.{{cite web|url=http://www.domain.com.au/Public/suburbprofile.aspx?mode=research&searchTerm=Jurien%20Bay |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927221638/http://www.domain.com.au/Public/suburbprofile.aspx?mode=research&searchTerm=Jurien%20Bay |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 September 2007 |title=Suburb profiles – Jurien Bay 6516 |author=domain.com.au (Fairfax Digital Network) |date=January 2008 |access-date=28 January 2008 }}

The population of Jurien Bay are predominantly Australian-born, with 77.7% of its residents being born in Australia as at the 2001 census. The second most prevalent birthplace was the United Kingdom at 5.79%. 3.33% of Jurien's population reported one or both parents of Italian birth. The most popular religious affiliations in descending order in the 2001 census were Anglican, no religion, Roman Catholic, Uniting, and Presbyterian. The Daughters of Charity have a parish ministry based in Jurien Bay.{{cite web|url=http://www.daughtersofcharity.org.au/parish.htm |title=Parish Ministries |author=Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul – Province of Australia |access-date=18 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208090254/http://www.daughtersofcharity.org.au/parish.htm |archive-date= 8 February 2007 |url-status=dead }}

Polling place statistics are shown below, with the votes from Jurien Bay in the federal and state elections as indicated.

Jurien Bay District High School is the base of the Emergency Services Cadet Corps managed by the Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services and Cadets.{{cite web|url=https://www.jdhs.wa.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Cadets-information-package.pdf|title=Emergency Services Cadet Corps Information Booklet|date=2018|access-date=7 November 2020|archive-date=3 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303200549/https://www.jdhs.wa.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Cadets-information-package.pdf|url-status=dead}}

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category}}

{{wikivoyage|Jurien Bay}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070901012843/http://www.walkabout.com.au/locations/WAJurienBay.shtml Walkabout – Jurien Bay]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051103121706/http://www.westernaustralia.com/en/search/product.htm?ID=9004570 Jurien Bay in Tourism in Western Australia]
• [http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_009131.shtml Jurien Bay] (Bureau of Meteorology)
• {{Gazetteer of Australia | name = Jurien Bay | id = 309905}}

{{Towns Wheatbelt South WA}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Coastal towns in Western Australia

Category:Bays of Western Australia

Category:Shire of Dandaragan

Category:Populated places established in the 1850s