The new open cut mine at Greenbushes

Greenbushes
An interesting and unusual old timber and mining town.
Once a separate shire, Greenbushes has recently been incorporated into the shire of Bridgetown. Located 250 km south of Perth and only 17 km from Bridgetown it is now a small settlement relying on a combination of mining, timber, tourism and farming.

Greenbushes is really an old mining town. It came into existence in 1888 after tin had been found in the district by a Mines Department surveyor in 1886. The first company into the area was Bunbury Tin Mining and they were followed by a number of other smaller companies. The town boomed until 1893 when a world slump in the price of tin saw the local industry collapse. Since then the town's population and productivity have fluctuated according to the demand and price of the metal. A census carried out in 1904 gives a fascinating insight into a typical mining community at the turn of the century. The town had 159 miners who were serviced by '9 storekeepers, 8 builders, 2 tin smiths, 7 carpenters, solicitors, mining agents, chemists, butchers, tailors, bootmakers, bakers and a blacksmith'. By 1913 the town's population had reached 2000. Of this population approximately one quarter were working in the timber industry which had sprung up shortly after the establishment of the mine.

Things to see:  

The old police lockup in Greenbushes

Greenbushes
The Geegelup Heritage Trail, which covers the 'Exploration and settlement of the Bridgetown-Greenbushes District' includes the Post Office (1891) which has been privately run since 1970, the Roads Board Office (1907), the site of one of the early mines and the excellent Greenbushes Historical Park which focuses on the town's history as a tin mining centre. In the park are old pieces of machinery as well as a mine shaft with a head frame and a replica of a prospectors hut. The town's mining past is also recalled in a series of information boards which were placed around the town in 1988 to help visitors understand what the town was like when it was booming and successful.

Greenbushes
It is possible to visit both Whittaker's Timber Mill and the Greenbushes Tin Mine. Enquiries should be made at the shops around the town.

	Hotels
	Exchange Hotel Blackwood Rd Greenbushes WA 6254 Telephone: (08) 9764 3509
	Shamrock Hotel Blackwood Rd Greenbushes WA 6254 Telephone: (08) 9764 3512
	Restaurants
	Exchange Hotel Blackwood Rd Greenbushes WA 6254 Telephone: (08) 9764 3509
	Shamrock Hotel Blackwood Rd Greenbushes WA 6254 Telephone: (08) 9764 3512