Gregory
Western Australia
Port Gregory general store
Gregory is located in Western Australia
Gregory
Gregory
Coordinates28°11′17″S 114°15′04″E / 28.18806°S 114.25111°E / -28.18806; 114.25111
Population53 (SAL 2021)[1]
Established1853
Postcode(s)6535
Elevation6 m (20 ft)
Area3 km2 (1.2 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Northampton
State electorate(s)Moore
Federal division(s)Durack

Gregory (Port Gregory until 1967) is a small town and fishing port located 7 km (4.3 mi) northwest of the mouth of the Hutt River, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. At the 2016 census, Gregory had a population of 64 in 83 dwellings. Most of the dwellings are holiday houses. The population of Gregory fluctuates depending on tourism; with the town at full capacity during school holidays and throughout the summer. During the census (Tuesday 9 August 2016) 50% of dwellings were unoccupied (national average 11%).[2]

Port Gregory, formerly called Boat Harbour, was established in 1849 and named after brothers Augustus and Frank Gregory, two of Western Australia's most active explorers.[3] In May 1853 sixty convicts and Pensioner Guards arrived from England via Fremantle in the brigantine Leander and the cutter Gold Digger.[4] A townsite was gazetted in 1853 as Pakington near the shore, with Lynton gazetted around the same time as the convict depot and townsite for the guards, 1.4 km (0.87 mi) inland on the Hutt River.[5] The convicts were used for Government works and in establishing a road to the Murchison River and the Geraldine lead Mine, operated from 1849 to 1875. Ticket-of-leave men from the depot were hired out for work at the port and on nearby farms and stations.[6][7]

A major employer was Captain William Ayshford Sanford who, as magistrate for the region and the Superintendent of Convicts, built an impressive homestead alongside Lynton. He resigned in 1854 and took up pastoral and whaling pursuits, establishing a whaling facility just north of the Pakington townsite. John Bateman and others also established whaling facilities nearby. The name Pakington was rarely used however and the name Port Gregory, the harbour located next to the town, was more generally accepted. Initially the port was used by whalers and pastoralists and to ship lead ore and pig lead from the mines, notably the Geraldine mine. Salt from nearby Hutt Lagoon was shipped until the depression when the port and both the 'towns' became deserted.[7]

On 27 January 1943 the Japanese submarine I-165, while planning to bombard the nearby port of Geraldton, observed three aircraft and what was believed to be a destroyer and aborted the attack. On the following night the submarine bombarded Port Gregory with about ten 100-mm (3.9-inch) shells from her deck gun, in the belief that a crayfish cannery was an ammunition factory. There was no damage and Port Gregory was at the time deserted. Naval authorities only learned of the attack when the submarine's battle report radio signal was intercepted and decoded a week later.[8][9]

There are many shipwrecks in the vicinity, most caused by the unsuitability of the port for large vessels. These include trading and whaling vessels and the screw steamer SS Xantho, which sank while loaded with lead ore from the Geraldine mine.[10]

The town changed its name to Gregory in 1967.[5]

Climate

Gregory lies in the warm-summer Mediterranean climate zone (Köppen: Csa). Winters are warm with moderate precipitation, and summers are hot and dry.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Gregory (WA) (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
  2. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Gregory (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "Mining Journal". The Inquirer. Perth, WA. 2 October 1850. p. 2. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  4. ↑ "The Independent Journal". The Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News. 17 June 1853. p. 3. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  5. 1 2 "History of country town names – G". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "Geraldine Lead Mine Site". inHerit - State Heritage Office. Perth, WA: Shire of Northampton. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  7. 1 2 McDonald, G. K., 1994. The Little Boat harbour: history of Port Gregory. WA Museum, Fremantle.
  8. ↑ Hiroyuki Agawa (nd). The reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto and the Imperial Navy. Kodansha international, Tokyo, p. 307.
  9. ↑ Bertke, Donald A; Smith, Gordon; Kindell, Don (2015). World War II Sea War, Vol 8: Guadalcanal Secured. Lulu.com. p. 215. ISBN 9781937470135. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  10. ↑ "Accident to the SS Xantho". The Inquirer and Commercial News. Perth WA. 27 November 1872. p. 33. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  11. ↑ Beck, Hylke E.; Zimmermann, Niklaus E.; McVicar, Tim R.; Vergopolan, Noemi; Berg, Alexis; Wood, Eric F. (30 October 2018). "Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution". Scientific Data. Nature Research. 5: 180214. doi:10.1038/sdata.2018.214. ISSN 2052-4463. PMC 6207062. PMID 30375988.
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