by A slate-coloured stingray slithered through the shallows, just meters from my feet, the unbelievably clear waters of Busselton’s Geographe Bay defying its camouflage efforts. He paused a moment, then headed up the coast – avoiding this seaside city on the south-western tip of Australia, just like many tourists driving down from Perth, taking in the wine and food towns of Dunsborough and Margaret River, still do.
But some of us know better. Like many West Australians, I have been coming to Busselton since I was a child, back when I was on holiday here which was always so fancy with caravanning, fishing and barbecuing. “Pretentious” was never associated with this place and, despite its significant growth in recent years, it still isn’t.
I slipped back onto the quiet sand: my nearest neighbors were at least 20 yards away, shading themselves from the summer sun under a striped blue-and-white gazebo. Beyond them, the silhouette of Busselton pier – the longest wooden structure in the Southern Hemisphere – stretched for more than a mile towards the horizon. A prominent feature on the town’s coast since 1865, it was still lined with commercial ships until the early 1970s, when Busselton Port was closed which changed both the pier and the city towards a cheap and relaxed tourist stay floating, forever. overshadowed by its more glamorous neighbors.
For years, the jetty remained an icon of south-west Australia – a bit tired, perhaps, but a familiar backdrop to family holidays – until, finally, the tide began to change. Over the past 20 years this oft-dismissed resort town has seen major investment, as well as new direct flights from Melbourne (launching in 2022) and Sydney (starting next month) that have finally caught the attention of international visitors. Now, it seems Busselton’s gradual revival is finally coming of age.
And new additions are still coming. Just last year, 13 large-scale sculptures were submerged at the ocean end of the pier to further encourage coral and fish to populate the jetty area after damaged pilings were removed. They are both functional and aesthetic, acting as both an artificial reef and an artistic trail to snorkel, dive or bask on an undersea walk.
Just look at the pier. Walk to the ocean end – a 20-minute walk past jetty-jumping teenagers and people fishing from the weathered deck, ink-stained squid – and you’ll find the Busselton Jetty Underwater Observatory (busseltonjetty.com.au), a cylindrical swish an aquarium offering panoramic views of the seabed and all the subtropical life that teems in its aquatic depths.
But Busselton’s upmarket renovation doesn’t stop at its pier. Go ashore and you’ll almost immediately come to Shelter Brewing Co (shelterbrewing.com.au), a brewery that cuts a giant figure at the shore end of the jetty.
There is hardly a soul who completes the walk out and back without stopping here afterwards, so I did the same, ordering an ice-cold pint of summer melon-and-mint sour (brewed in-house, naturally), and a steam pot of white. wine and chilli mussels, blue swimmer crab tostadas and juicy ginger and garlic king prawns. No rusty barbecues to be found here (although there is an imported Marana Forni wood-fired pizza oven).
Head further into the town still, and you’ll find more evidence of a growing town, with new galleries, exhibitions, events and performance spaces springing up or – as with the legendary regeneration of the creative hub, Busselton Cultural Centre. – ongoing.
One of the newest additions is Busselton Pavilion (busseltonpavilion.com.au), a restaurant-bar-distillery wine shop that only opened last month, but is already buzzing daily with generous crowds. lunchtime – no mean feat, given its capacity of 500 people. . This instant demand could be down to its menu, a casually refined roster that includes tender Busselton squid in XO sauce and fenugreek and sesame-cured scallops – or perhaps the fact that it’s the work of one of it is the most famous chewing gum in the region. Either way, this is a huge step in the right direction for a home that foodies have been waiting for for a long time.
When dusk fell, I returned to my hotel (one of several smart new boltholes that have opened here in the past year), opened a bottle of Chardonnay and settled in for the show from my balcony. The view was as good as it gets: the sunset, the beach and the jetty, all cast in a golden-yellow glow. I raised my glass to the skies, and the waves, and to this peaceful little town by the sea which, at last, seems to have turned its back.
Fundamentals
Qantas (qantas.com) flies from London to Perth for £1,035 return, from where it’s a 2.5-hour drive to Busselton.
JetStar (jetstar.com) connects Melbourne to Busselton (from £175 return), and Sydney to Busselton (from £187) from late March 2024.
Hilton Garden Inn Busselton (00 618 9752 5900; hilton.com) has double rooms from £145, including breakfast.
Monique Ceccato was a guest at Hilton Garden Inn Busselton and Busselton Pavilion
