ACCOMMODATION
An excellent selection of resorts, hotels & motels, bed & breakfast, guesthouses, self-contained and caravan park style accommodation available. A minimum of 3 nights is recommended to truly appreciate all that is on offer in the Busselton/Margaret River Region. Advance bookings are highly recommended, particularly for school holidays and long weekends. The Busselton and Dunsborough Tourist Bureaux provide an excellent free accommodation and tour booking service.

HISTORY
Busselton was one of the earliest settlements in Western Australia and consequently has an interesting history. In 1801, a French sailor named Vasse from the French Expedition ships Geographe and Naturaliste, was lost when a longboat wrecked during a violent storm in Geographe Bay. Subsequently, the river and district were named "Vasse", the bay "Geographe" and the cape "Naturaliste".

In 1832, after two years of settlement in Augusta, where problems such as crop failure beset them, the Bussells, Molloys and most of the other original settlers applied for grants of land in the Vasse River/Geographe Bay area, which had been previously inspected by John Garratt Bussell and his party. From 1834, settlement began, with the original town site planned for Wonnerup. However, this area was considered too wet and low-lying and Lt Bunbury, the Surveyor General, recommended the present site.

The town is named after the Bussell family. Queen Street, which extends from the Jetty to the river, is along the original track cut by John G Bussell. Captain Molloy's wife, Georgiana, was largely responsible for collecting and identifying the wonderful variety of native plants in the district and for introducing many foreign plants, such as the yucca lilies and willows, which were not common in the area. The willows are believed to have been grown from cuttings taken from the graveside of Napolean on St Helena and first planted in Australind. Captain Molloy took cuttings from these and planted them in the Busselton area. Being in close proximity to the tall timber country, Busselton soon established itself as a leading port. In 1850 timber was exported and the small town prospered. Work commenced on a two kilometre wooden jetty - which would become the largest in the southern hemisphere.

GENERAL
Busselton, judged WA's top tourism town in 1995 and 1996, is the State's premier seaside resort town. Sheltered from most prevailing winds, it has 30 kilometres of white sandy beaches and is an aquatic playground remarkable for the variety it offers in the tranquil waters of Geographe Bay. The bay is used by fisherman, water skiers, snorkellers, scuba divers, windsurfers and sailors. In the last 20 years, a new industry has developed in the region with the establishment of many vineyards, which produce award winning premium table wines. This helps to supplement the traditional industries of dairying, beef cattle, sheep, fruit and vegetable growing and forestry. In Spring, the wildflowers are magnificent and such varieties as kangaroo paws, cats paws, pink vine, acacias and donkey and spider orchids are in abundance. Busselton makes an excellent base from which to explore the surrounding area, in particular the Margaret River Wine Region, which extends westward from Busselton in the north to Augusta in the south.