Wellesley, Western Australia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wellesley Bunbury, Western Australia
Wellesley Location in Western Australia
Postcode(s)	6233
Area	[convert: needs a number]
Location	26 km (16 mi) from Bunbury
LGA(s)	Shire of Harvey
State electorate(s)	Murray-Wellington
Federal Division(s)	Forrest
Suburbs around Wellesley: Binningup Benger Parkfield Wellesley Brunswick Junction Leschenault Australind

Wellesley is a small area, also called a locality, located near Bunbury in Western Australia. It's about 10 kilometers north-east of Australind. The local government that looks after Wellesley is the Shire of Harvey.

Wellesley is special because it's surrounded by two rivers: the Brunswick River and the Wellesley River. The most important part of Wellesley is the Kemerton Industrial Park, which is a big area where many different factories and businesses operate.

Kemerton Industrial Park: A Hub for Industry

The Kemerton Industrial Park was created in 1985. It was designed as a special "strategic industrial area" to provide a good place for heavy industry to set up. This means it has enough space and is far enough away from homes.

The park covers a huge area of 7,543 hectares. This includes a main industrial part, an area for support businesses, and a large buffer zone. This buffer zone helps protect the environment. It has bushland, wetlands, and even places for recreation. There are plans to connect the park to the main Perth-Bunbury railway line, which would help transport goods.

Kemerton's Past: Before the Factories

Before 1980, not much was known about the Kemerton area. It was mostly a rural place, meaning it was countryside. Most of the land was undeveloped. Farmers used some of it for grazing animals like sheep or cattle, but there wasn't much other farming. This was probably because the soil wasn't very good, and the drainage was poor. There was a pig farm and a place where animals were processed for meat, called an abattoir. The abattoir is still working today.

Plans for an Aluminium Factory

In 1980, a company called Alcoa started looking for places to build an aluminium smelter. An aluminium smelter is a factory that turns raw materials into aluminium metal. Kemerton was one of the top choices.

Later, a new group of companies, called the International Aluminium Consortium, became interested. The government of Western Australia, led by Premier Brian Burke, wanted to develop the Bunbury area. In 1984, the government bought a large piece of land at Kemerton. This land was meant to be a buffer zone around the proposed factory. Environmental experts recommended Kemerton because it seemed to have fewer environmental risks.

In 1985, a detailed study was done for a proposed aluminium smelter that would produce 230,000 tonnes of aluminium each year. The land was even zoned (officially set aside) for industrial use. However, the plan for the smelter was put on hold in 1987 because of economic reasons.

Growing the Industrial Park

Even though the aluminium smelter didn't happen, the land being set aside for industry attracted other businesses. In 1988 and 1989, several other companies moved into the area and started their operations.

A new group of companies later proposed a smaller aluminium smelter, but this also didn't go ahead. In 1989, the Kemerton Steering Committee was formed to help guide the development of the park. Around this time, a magazine article suggested that Kemerton could become a great example of how industries can work well with nature. The park was planned to include natural bushland, wetlands, and even tree farms.

Companies at Kemerton Industrial Park

Many different types of industries operate at Kemerton today. Here are some of them:

• Millennium Inorganic Chemicals: This company makes titanium dioxide pigment. This pigment is a white powder used to make paints, plastics, paper, rubber, and even cosmetics. They use a special process with chlorine and materials found locally. In 2004/05, they made 85,000 tonnes of this pigment.
• BOC Limited: This company operates a plant that separates air into oxygen and nitrogen. They supply these gases to Millennium Inorganic Chemicals and other businesses in the park.
• Nufarm-Coogee Pty Ltd: This company makes chlorine and caustic soda. They use about 40,000 tonnes of salt each year to produce these chemicals. Chlorine is used by the titanium dioxide industry, and caustic soda is used in many different industrial processes.
• Simcoa Operations: This is the only company in Australia that makes silicon metal. Silicon is used to make aluminium alloys, silicones (like sealants), and parts for solar panels. In 2005, they produced about 32,000 tonnes of high-quality silicon. They also produce Silica fume, which is used to make strong concrete.
• Kemerton Silica Sand: This company mines special feldspathic silica sand. Most of this sand is sent to Japan and other Asian countries. It's used to make glass for containers and windows. In 2004/05, they exported over 334,000 tonnes of silica sand.
• Kemerton Power Station: This power station generates electricity. It uses natural gas and has diesel as a backup. It started operating in 2005 and provides power to the South West Interconnected System, which is the main electricity grid for the region.
• Water Corporation of Western Australia: This organization opened a modern wastewater treatment plant in 2003. It cleans 3 million liters of wastewater every day. Some of the cleaned water is even recycled and used to water nearby tree farms.
• Goodchild Abattoir Pty Ltd: This family-owned company has been processing meat in the area since the late 1970s. Each year, they process about 35,000 beef cattle and 225,000 sheep and lambs.