Bridgetown is a town in the South West region of Western Australia, approximately 270 kilometres (168 mi) south of Perth on the Blackwood River at the intersection of South Western Highway with Brockman Highway to Nannup and Augusta. Slogan or Nickname: Wildflower State or the Golden State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Ken Michael Premier Alan Carpenter (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 15  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2005-06)  - Product ($m)  $107,910 (4th)  - Product per capita  $53,134/person... Year 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Australian postcodes have four digits; envelopes for posting from Australia reflect this. ... “km” redirects here. ... “Miles” redirects here. ... Location of Perth within Australia This article is about the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. ... This article is about the city of Bunbury. ... Entrance to Manjimup, late afternoon. ... Nannup is a town and shire located in the South West region of Western Australia, the town is 288 km south of the state capital Perth. ... Boyup Brook (33°50′S 116°23′E) is a town located in the great southern agricultural region, 269 km south south east of Perth and 31 km north east of Bridgetown in Western Australia. ... Map of Local Government Areas in Western Australia There are 144 Local Governments in Western Australia (including Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands), represented by the Western Australian Local Government Association. ... This article is about a local government area. ... State Electoral District is a term used to refer to a voting area within Australian states. ... Warren-Blackwood is an Electoral district of Western Australia. ... The Australian House of Representatives is elected from 150 single-member districts called Divisions. ... The Division of Forrest is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia. ... The South West region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. ... Slogan or Nickname: Wildflower State or the Golden State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Ken Michael Premier Alan Carpenter (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 15  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2005-06)  - Product ($m)  $107,910 (4th)  - Product per capita  $53,134/person... “km” redirects here. ... “Miles” redirects here. ... Location of Perth within Australia This article is about the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. ... The Blackwood River is a major river and catchment in the south west of Western Australia. ... The Bunbury-Walpole stretch of South Western Highway is a part of the National Route 1 network South Western Highway is a Western Australian highway connecting Perth and Walpole. ... Brockman highway is in western australia. ... Nannup is a town and shire located in the South West region of Western Australia, the town is 288 km south of the state capital Perth. ... Augusta is a town on the south-west coast of Western Australia, where the [Blackwood River] emerges into Flinders Bay. ...

History

The area was previously known as Geegelup, which in the Noongar Aboriginal language meant "place of gilgies", referring to the fresh water crustaceans that live in the area. In 1857, Edward Godfrey Hester (now honoured in nearby Hester) and John Blechynden settled in the area. In 1861, convicts built the road from Donnybrook into the area.^[1] The Noongar (alternate spellings: Nyungar/Nyoongar/Nyoongah),[1] are an indigenous Australian people who live in the southwest corner of Western Australia from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the south coast. ... Language(s) Several hundred Indigenous Australian languages (many extinct or nearly so), Australian English, Australian Aboriginal English, Torres Strait Creole, Kriol Religion(s) Primarily Christian, with minorities of other religions including various forms of Traditional belief systems based around the Dreamtime Related ethnic groups see List of Indigenous Australian group... Hester ( ; post code: 6254) is a small town in the South West region of Western Australia, 7km north of Bridgetown on the railway. ... Donnybrook is situated between Boyanup and Kirup on the South Western Highway, 210km south of Perth, Western Australia, Latitude 33° 35 S Longitude 115° 49 E. The townsite of Donnybrook was gazetted in 1894. ...

Bridgetown's name was first proposed by surveyor T.C. Carey in 1868, for two reasons - "as it is at a bridge and the "Bridgetown" was the first ship to put in at Bunbury for the wool from these districts", and was approved and gazetted on 9 June 1868.^[2] A gazette is a newspaper. ... is the 160th day of the year (161st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

From then until about 1885, many buildings including the primary school (1870), post office and two hotels were constructed, many of which are still standing today. In 1885, the Bridgetown Agricultural Society was formed and local farmers produced sheep, cattle, dairy products, timber, fruit and nuts. The gold rush from 1892 onwards brought prosperity to the town and saw a considerable increase in settlement. In 1907, a number of significant buildings including the police station were erected. Timber in storage for later processing at a sawmill Timber is a term used to describe wood, either standing or that has been processed for use—from the time trees are felled, to its end product as a material suitable for industrial use—as structural material for construction or wood... For other meanings, see Gold rush (disambiguation) A California Gold Rush handbill A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers into the area of a dramatic discovery of commercial quantities of gold. ...

Present day

Bridgetown is the seat of the Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes and the centre of a productive agricultural district. Many buildings in the town centre are over a century old. The town has a Jigsaw Gallery and Museum, which claims to host the only jigsaw collection of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, and also a primary school (1870) and high school (1962), district hospital, telecentre, shire offices, roadhouse, agricultural showground, shopping facilities, accommodation for travellers (hotel/motel, B&Bs, caravan park) and numerous picnic spots along the Blackwood River. The rural residential area of Kangaroo Gully to the town's east has grown since the 1990s. This article is about a local government area. ... southern hemisphere highlighted in yellow (Antarctica not depicted). ... A telecentre is a public place where people can access computers, the Internet and other technologies that help them gather information and communicate with others at the same time as they develop digital skills. ... Tourists of various nationalities chatting over breakfast at a B&B in Quebec City. ... The Blackwood River is a major river and catchment in the south west of Western Australia. ...

Each year, Bridgetown hosts these and many other events:

• May: Festival of Country Gardens (autumn)
• October: Blackwood Marathon
• October: Blackwood Valley Wine Show
• November: Blues at Bridgetown music festival
• November: agricultural show (which traces its roots to the 1920s)
• November: Festival of Country Gardens (spring)

Main street, Bridgetown, August 2007

Main street, Bridgetown, August 2007

References

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Bridgetown, Western Australia is at coordinates 33°57′29″S 116°08′28″E / -33.958, 116.141 (Bridgetown, Western Australia)Coordinates: 33°57′29″S 116°08′28″E / -33.958, 116.141 (Bridgetown, Western Australia)
• Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes
• Bridgetown-Greenbushes Visitor Centre
• Blues at Bridgetown
• Blackwood Marathon
• Blackwood Valley Wine Industry Association
• Blackwood Valley Small Landholders Group
• Festival of Country Gardens
• Blackwood River Valley
• Bridgetown's climate statistics
• Bridgetown's daily weather statistics