Esperance Suburb Profile

REIWA

The townsite of Esperance, located on the central south coast of the state, derives its name from the bay on which it is located. Esperance Bay was given this name by Admiral Bruny D'Entrecasteaux, commander of the French expedition which explored this coast in 1792. The name honours the ship "L'Esperance" commanded by Captain Huon de Kermadec, which anchored here on 9 December 1792. The bay provided safe anchorage while repairs were made to the "L'Esperance". The name of the other ship in D'Entrecasteaux's expedition, "L'Recherche", is preserved by the naming of the adjacent islands as the Archipelago of the Recherche.

The area of the Esperance townsite was first settled by the Dempster family in the 1870's, and in 1876 a telegraph station was opened here. The formal gazettal of the townsite did not occur until 1893.

Esperance facts

KEY FACTS

Distance to Perth (km) 592
Postcode 6450
Local Government Esperance
Primary schools Esperance Primary School, Esperance Christian Primary School, Our Lady Star Of The Sea Catholic Primary School, Nulsen Primary School, Castletown Primary School, Scaddan Primary School, Condingup Primary School, Cascade Primary School, Munglinup Primary School, Salmon Gums Primary School
Secondary schools Esperance Anglican Community School, Esperance Education Support Centre, Esperance Senior High School, Wongutha Christian Aboriginal Parent-Directed School, Ravensthorpe District High School, Norseman District High School, Jerramungup District High School, Kambalda West District High School, Christian Aboriginal Parent-Directed School, Lake Grace District High School
 

Property ownership types

Esperance property types

Esperance by age

Esperance households

 
2016 Census Summary Esperance Esperance urban area
Population - usually resident 2,144 51,913
Median age of residents (years) 50 35
Average household size (persons) 2.00 3.00
Number of occupied dwellings * 890 17,378
Number of unoccupied dwellings 235 3,995
Median weekly household income $929 $1,797
Median monthly mortgage repayment $1,582 $1,733
Total private dwellings 1,124 21,371
Area (sqkm) 3 305,447
* Excludes visitor only households