Australind, Western Australia
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Australind Western Australia |
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 Australind
Location in Western Australia
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| Coordinates | 33°16′48″S 115°43′34″E / 33.28°S 115.726°ECoordinates: 33°16′48″S 115°43′34″E / 33.28°S 115.726°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 11,954 (2011 census) | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 1,638/km2 (4,241/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1841 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6233 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 7.3 km2 (2.8 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 12 km (7 mi) from Bunbury | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Harvey | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Murray-Wellington | ||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Forrest | ||||||||||||||
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Australind is a town in the Shire of Harvey, Western Australia, and can be found 12 km north-east of Bunbury's central business district. Its local government area is the Shire of Harvey. At the 2011 census, Australind had a population of 11,954.
Prior to European settlement, the area was home to the Wardandi people. Early explorers found them to be timid and settlers found them excellent trackers, and many of them found employment on farms. The first sighting of the coast was by Captain A. P. Jonk in the VOC ship Emeloort, who sighted land at 33°12' S (most likely opposite the estuary from Australind) on 24 February 1658 while looking for the Vergulde Draeck, but did not land. A few months later, the Elburg, under Capt. J. P. Peereboom, anchored off what is now Bunbury. Peerboom met three Aborigines, and returned to Batavia on 16 July 1658. In 1802–03, Nicolas Baudin visited the coast and explored the estuary and nearby rivers. He named Point Casuarina in Bunbury after one of his ships Casuarina, and the Leschenault Inlet after on-board botanist Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour.
The name Australind is a combination of Australia and India, which was chosen due to the belief that the area could be used for breeding horses for the British Indian Army, as was later done at Cervantes, Northampton and Madura. In 1840, the Western Australian Land Company purchased 103,000 acres (420 km2) of land with a plan to create an English-style village populated by settlers. The area had been mapped in 1831 by John Septimus Roe and explored by land by Lieutenant Henry Bunbury in 1836. A detailed plan of the town included a town square, church, a school, stores, a mill and a public hall. Marshall Clifton, who arrived on the Parkfield in 1841, was appointed leader of the 440 settlers. However, in January 1841, the Swan River Colony's Methodist minister Rev. John Smithies wrote in the following terms to the Wesleyan Missionary Society in London:
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