Meelup Regional Park, Coastal regional park in Dunsborough, Australia.
Meelup Regional Park is an A-class coastal reserve of 11.5 km of shoreline between Dunsborough and Bunker Bay, managed by the City of Busselton with the Meelup Regional Park Management Committee. It holds Meelup Beach, Eagle Bay, Castle Bay, Curtis Bay, Rocky Point, Point Piquet and Gannet Rock, with jarrah and marri forest, banksia woodland and heath behind the beaches.
The Wardandi Noongar camped at the freshwater lagoon above Meelup Beach and fished for Australian salmon long before European arrival. On 30 May 1801 a landing party from the Baudin expedition searched unsuccessfully for water at Eagle Bay; a memorial unveiled in 2001 marks the event. Castle Bay was used for whaling from 1845 to 1872 by the Castle Bay Whaling Company. In the 1980s proposals for a fishing harbour at Point Picquet and a marina at Curtis Bay led to the park's creation; it became an A-class reserve in 1993.
The Wadandi Aboriginal people named this area Meelup, referring to the sight of the full moon rising from the ocean. This connection between the land and its original inhabitants remains part of the place's identity today.
The park has multiple parking areas at the main beaches and is accessible by car from nearby towns. Trails and paths are marked, though conditions can vary with the season and weather.
The shoreline here faces northeast, an unusual direction for Western Australia, which allows tall trees and thick vegetation to grow right down to the water. This feature creates a landscape quite different from other parts of the coast.
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