Mandurah

Coastal city in the southwest of Western Australia, 74 km/46 mi south of Perth; population (1996) 35,900. Current industries include tourism, fishing, cattle, sheep, dairying, and light manufacturing. The town became a popular holiday destination after World War II and has attracted increasing numbers of retirees from Perth and surrounding rural districts. Mandurah was granted city status in 1990.

It is located on the Peel Inlet, which was named after a pioneer settler, Thomas Peel, in 1830. Peel was granted 101,000 ha/250,000 acres in the Mandurah district, and planned to settle the area in the form of towns and estates on a English feudal basis. The scheme failed when convict labourers claimed discharge and his partner withdrew capital. The area developed slowly as a sheep and cattle farming district. The town also serviced a small fishing industry.