Why beautiful Busselton is Western Australia’s new beachside star

Busselton's jetty, the longest wooden structure in the Southern Hemisphere
Busselton is making a name for itself as a world-class holiday destination - Tourism Western Australia

A slate-coloured stingray slipped through the shallows, just metres from my feet, the impossibly clear waters of Busselton’s Geographe Bay defying its attempts at camouflage. It slowed a moment, then headed off up the coast – bypassing this little seaside city on Australia’s south-west tip, just as many tourists driving down from Perth, heading for the wine-producing and fine-dining towns of Dunsborough and Margaret River, still do.

But some of us know better. Like many Western Australians, I’ve been coming to Busselton since I was a child, back when holidaying here only ever got as fancy as caravanning, fishing and barbecuing. “Pretentious” wasn’t ever a word associated with this place and, despite its remarkable growth these past few years, it still isn’t.

The silhouette of Busselton's jetty, the longest wooden structure in the Southern Hemisphere, has become an Australian icon
The silhouette of Busselton's jetty, the longest wooden structure in the Southern Hemisphere, has become an Australian icon - Jarrad Seng/Tourism Western Australia

I sloshed back onto the quiet sands: my nearest neighbours were at least 20 yards away, shading themselves from the summer sun beneath a striped blue-and-white gazebo. Beyond them, the silhouette of Busselton’s pier – the longest wooden structure in the Southern Hemisphere – trailed for more than a mile towards the horizon. A prominent feature on the town’s coastline since 1865, it was still lined with commercial ships until the early 1970s, when the closure of Busselton Port saw pier and city alike shift towards cheap-and-cheerful, no-frills tourism to stay afloat, forever in the shadow of its more glamorous neighbours.

For years, the jetty remained an icon of Australia’s south west – a little tired, perhaps, but a familiar backdrop in family holiday snaps – until, at last, the tide began to change. The last 20 years have seen huge investment in this often-dismissed resort town, as well as new direct flights from Melbourne (launched in 2022) and Sydney (starting next month) which have at last drawn the attention of international visitors. Now, it seems Busselton’s gradual renaissance is finally coming of age.

Reef encounter: the Underwater Observatory at Busselton Jetty offers panoramic views of the seabed
Reef encounter: the Underwater Observatory at Busselton Jetty offers panoramic views of the seabed - Jarrad Seng/Tourism Western Australia

And new additions keep coming. Just last year, 13 large-scale sculptures were submerged at the ocean end of the pier to further encourage coral and fish to populate the jetty area after damaged piles were removed. They are both functional and aesthetic, acting as an artificial reef and an art trail to be snorkelled, dived or ogled at on an undersea walk.

Brew masters: the Shelter Bar cuts an imposing figure at the shoreside end of the jetty
Brew masters: the Shelter Bar cuts an imposing figure at the shoreside end of the jetty - Stephen Norman

Just look at the pier. Walk to the ocean end – a 20-minute stroll past jetty-jumping teens and people fishing off the weathered, squid ink-stained deck – and you’ll find the Busselton Jetty Underwater Observatory (busseltonjetty.com.au), a swish cylindrical aquarium offering panoramic views of the seabed and all the sub-tropical life which thrums in its watery depths.

But Busselton’s up-market revamp doesn’t stop at its pier. Venture ashore and you’ll come almost immediately to Shelter Brewing Co (shelterbrewing.com.au), a brewery that cuts an imposing figure at the shoreside end of the jetty.

Busselton at night: the directors of the Shelter Bar
Busselton at night: the directors of the Shelter Bar - Stephen Norman

There’s hardly a soul that completes the walk out and back without stopping here afterwards, so I did likewise, ordering an ice-cold pint of melon-and-mint summer sour (brewed in-house, naturally), and a steaming pot of white wine and chilli mussels, blue swimmer crab tostadas and juicy ginger and garlic king prawns. No rusty barbecues to be found here (though there is an imported Marana Forni wood-fired pizza oven).

Go further into town still, and you’ll find yet more evidence of a town on the up, with various new galleries, exhibitions, events and performance spaces popping up or – as with the big-news regeneration of creative hub the Busselton Cultural Precinct – in the pipeline.

The Pavilion is a restaurant, bar, distillery and wine store that only opened last month but which has already become a popular fixture
The Pavilion is a restaurant, bar, distillery and wine store that only opened last month but which has already become a popular fixture - Duncan Wright

One of the newest additions is Busselton Pavilion (busseltonpavilion.com.au), a restaurant-bar-distillery-wine store which only opened last month, but already buzzes daily with generous lunchtime crowds – no mean feat, given its 500-person capacity. This immediate popularity may well be down to its menu, a casually refined roster that includes tender Busselton squid in XO sauce and fenugreek and sesame-cured scallop – or perhaps to the fact that it’s the work of one of the region’s most lauded cheffing talents. In either case, this is a giant step in the right direction for a town long overlooked by the foodie crowd.

Chef Brendan Pratt has pioneered an eclectic menu at the Pavilion
Chef Brendan Pratt has pioneered an eclectic menu at the Pavilion - Georgia Hanson

As dusk fell, I returned to my hotel (one of several smart new boltholes to have opened here in the last year), cracked open a bottle of chardonnay and settled in for the show from my balcony. The view was as good as it gets: sunset, the beach and the jetty, all cast in a golden-yellow glow. I raised my glass to the skies, and the waves, and to this relaxed little seaside town that seems, at last, to have got its groove back.

Essentials

Qantas (qantas.com) flies from London to Perth for £1,035 return, from which it’s a 2.5-hour drive to Busselton.

JetStar (jetstar.com) connects Melbourne to Busselton (from £175 return), and will connect Sydney to Busselton (from £187) from the end of March 2024.

Hilton Garden Inn Busselton (00 618 9752 5900; hilton.com) has double rooms from £145, including breakfast.

Monique Ceccato was a guest of Hilton Garden Inn Busselton and Busselton Pavilion