Rock work on a new 460-metre northern breakwater at Bunbury’s Casuarina Boat Harbour is complete, making way for further development on the waterfront.
Completion of the breakwater rock structure followed the dredging of its seabed footprint in late 2024 and the relocation of more than 120,000 cubic metres of material.
It took almost a year to place 290,000 tonnes of core rock and 65,000 tonnes of armour sourced from quarries at Roelands, Byford, Shenton Ridge, and Jarrahdale to build the breakwater.
Marking another important milestone in the transformation of Bunbury’s waterfront, permanent navigation aids have been installed on the breakwater and at the end of Jetty Road to assist skippers as they navigate the narrower entrance to the harbour.
The $69.2 million breakwater contract which also includes works to upgrade the Koombana groyne, is the centrepiece of Stage 3 of the Transforming Bunbury’s Waterfront (TBW) project, which is supported by a $112.2 million investment from the Cook Government.
Construction of the breakwater has created quality local jobs, with the contract delivered by Western Australian companies WA Limestone Contracting and Italia Stone Group.
The State Government project is focused on rejuvenating the harbour by creating a regional hub for the marine industry and delivering quality infrastructure for the local community.
With the breakwater now in place, work will start in 2026 on the roads and services that will be required to improve public access to the breakwater and support further development of the area.
It will also make way for the delivery of a new $4 million universally accessible fishing platform on the breakwater’s northern side.
Detailed design of the accessible fishing platform and surrounding precinct, including parking and other facilities are complete, with tenders to be called early next year.
Discussions are also progressing to establish a boat lifting and servicing operation at the breakwater as part of the State Government’s vision to grow commercial marine activities in the area to support the local economy.
