Bremer Bay, Western Australia


Bremer Bay is a coastal town situated on the south coast of Western Australia in the Great Southern region between Albany and Esperance, at the mouth of the Bremer River. Bremer Bay is southeast of the state capital, Perth, and east of Albany. In 2016 the townsite had a population of 231. Over the 2018 Christmas and New Year holiday period the town's population reached almost 6,500.
Bremer Bay is known for its beautiful beaches; the main beach is only 10 minutes walk from town. A marina at Fishery Beach offers full boating facilities. The Bremer Marine Park lies offshore. Electricity is generated by a wind-diesel hybrid system.
The bay was named by John Septimus Roe, who visited the area in 1831, after Sir James Bremer, captain of, under whom he served as a lieutenant from 1824 to 1827.
The area was originally settled in the 1850s with the first homestead, the Wellstead homestead being built in 1857 and the first telegraph station being built in 1875. A second telegraph station was built of stone in 1896 to replace the first one.
The town was originally included in the township of Wellstead until a local petition in 1951 favoured a change to the current name, which was approved and gazetted in 1962.
In 2012, the town was menaced by a bushfire that burnt for five days after being started by lightning. The fire burnt out of farmland and bushland, requiring 120 fire-fighters to bring it under control just outside the town.