WAPort & river
Rockingham
Before the navy and the beach crowds, Rockingham shipped jarrah.
1872Timber railway and jetty open
WHAT STARTED IT
Rockingham sits on Mangles Bay at the southern end of Cockburn Sound. From 1872 a railway and jetty brought jarrah and sandalwood down from Jarrahdale to be shipped overseas from here.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
The name comes from the settler ship Rockingham, blown ashore nearby in 1830. A townsite was surveyed in 1847, but little development came until the timber trade arrived. After Fremantle’s deep-water harbour opened in 1897 the port faded, and the motor car turned Rockingham into a seaside resort for day-trippers from Perth and Fremantle.
TURNING POINTS
1872A timber railway from Jarrahdale and a deep-water jetty are built to ship jarrah overseas.
1897Fremantle’s deep-water harbour opens, and Rockingham’s timber trade begins to decline.
1908The timber port ceases to function.
1950The surviving old jetty is rebuilt for holiday-makers.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A fast-growing coastal centre in Perth’s south-west and the hub of the City of Rockingham. The navy’s largest base, HMAS Stirling, on nearby Garden Island keeps its maritime role alive.