Mandurah, some 80 kilometres south of the capital city of Perth, Western Australia, is renowned as one of the fastest growing regional centers in Australia. I resided in Mandurah between 2001 and 2004. During those years I saw massive land & infrastructure development, in & around this popular coastal holiday town. In actuality the town is now classified with city status due to the 70,000 plus, rapidly growing population.

An example of continuing Canal development in Sept 2008, just half a kilometre west of Mandurah central

I lived in the suburb of Erskine, opposite the Mandurah estuary, on what is referred to as the Island. The Island is exactly what that tract of land is…because you can only access the Island  from the north via the Old Traffic bridge from central Mandurah, or by the major bypass traffic bridge two kilometres to the south of Mandurah central. Access to the Island by road traffic from the south is via the huge bridge over the Dawesville Cut. The Dawesville Cut, located some 10 kilometres south of Mandurah central, is the result of a massive removal of earth to create a canal between the Indian Ocean & the huge, expansive Mandurah Estuary.

That project was undertaken in the late 1980’s & required a number of years earth works & bridge building to complete. Once the canal had been dug, the canal walls & the bridge built, the dams were removed & the Dawesville Cut filled with water from the Indian Ocean, thereby connecting the Mandurah Estuary to the Indian Ocean via a man made canal. A major reason for building the canal was to assist the flow of water into & out of the Mandurah Estuary, which was in environmental trouble due to massive algae blooms caused by inneficient movement of water from the estuary to the open sea.

Mandurah has always been famous for the catching of Blue Manna crabs…a much desired delicacy fished for by hundreds of people & boats during the season. Between late November & March each year, the estuary is alive with boats laying & pulling crab pots, or holiday makers walking through the shallows towing a baby bath (or similar) scooping Blue Manna crabs with scoops into their floating containers. Ensure that you check on season dates, crab sizes, & catch limits before doing any crabbing. Large fines apply for law breakers…& I mean large fines!!!

A consequence of the construction of the Dawesville Cut was to provide idlyic tracts of land for the building of palatial homes with both ocean, estuary & views over the expanse of the watery Cut. Developers very quickly seized on the concept of building a canal system off the main Dawesville Cut. Now, in 2008, the region known as Port Bouvard, which adjoins the Dawesville Cut, is covered with canals, huge two & three story homes, apartment complexes on newly created islands within islands, & boats everywhere. An added plus which makes Bouvard a magical destination, either to visit or reside, is that it has numerous beaches everywhere.

Recently, an added attraction was built on the south banks of the Dawesville Cut…the Cut Resort Golf Course. There are now numerous huge homes erupting all around the Golf Course. So there you have it. The perfect place to live. You can reside in a massive mansion on a canal, with your personal jetty to moor your 30 footer cruiser, views to die for, an 18 hole golf course on hand, fishing & crabbing in abundance, & a beautiful beach with pure white sands, crystal clear water & surf right next door. However,before you get too excited & tear off to move there, you will need around a million Aussie dollars just to purchase one of the large homes or apartments!!

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