Cape Riche, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Cape Riche is a cape
and rural locality in the Great Southern region of Western Australia
. By road, it is 525 km south-east of Perth
and 123 km north-east of Albany
Facilities in the locality include a boat launching ramp and a campground with flushing toilets and showers.
's 1791 expedition who became lost for two days near Esperance
.
Matthew Flinders
aboard the Investigator
charted the area in 1802 as part of his circumnavigation of Australia.
George Cheyne, a Scottish immigrant, took up land at Cape Riche in 1836, after arriving in Albany in 1831. He established a trading post which was often visited by American whalers
. In about 1848, sandalwood
cutters arrived in the area,
The Surveyor-General of Western Australia, John Septimus Roe
, visited the Cape in October 1848 as part of this 1848-49 expedition and reorganised his supplies while staying with the Cheyne family. He left 4 days later to make his way to the Russell Range.
The Cheyne properties were later taken over by the related Moir family. The Cape Riche Homestead, also known as Moirs Property, was designed and built between 1850 and 1860 by Alexander Moir. It comprises a large group of spongolite
buildings.
In the 1890s the schooner
Grace Darling, provided supplies and delivered the mail on its monthly run between Albany
and Esperance
.
(1840), James Drummond
(1840, 1846–48)
John Septimus Roe
(1848) and William Henry Harvey
(1854). Plant species which were formally described based on these collections included Moirs Wattle
(Acacia moirii), Sheath Cottonhead (Conostylis vaginata), Tallerack (Eucalyptus pleurocarpa), Autumn Featherflower
(Verticordia harveyi) and Bossiaea preissii. Ludwig Diels
and Ernst Pritzel also collected plant material at Cape Riche in 1901.
Cape Riche is home to a number of rare flora species including Feather-leaved Banksia
(Banksia brownii), Manypeaks Rush (Chordifex arbortivus), Many-peaks Sundew
(Drosera fimbriata) and Coast Featherflower
(Verticordia helichrysantha). The Albany/Cape Riche area is noted as a calving area for Southern Right Whale
s.
Headland
A headland is a point of land, usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends out into a body of water.Headland can also refer to:*Headlands and bays*headLand, an Australian television series...
and rural locality in the Great Southern region of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. By road, it is 525 km south-east of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and 123 km north-east of Albany
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
Facilities in the locality include a boat launching ramp and a campground with flushing toilets and showers.
History
Cape Riche was named for Claude-Antoine-Gaspard Riche, a naturalist on Bruni d'EntrecasteauxBruni d'Entrecasteaux
Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni d'Entrecasteaux was a French navigator who explored the Australian coast in 1792 while seeking traces of the lost expedition of La Pérouse....
's 1791 expedition who became lost for two days near Esperance
Esperance, Western Australia
Esperance is a large town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located on the Southern Ocean coastline approximately east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The shire of Esperance is home to 9,536 people as of the 2006 census, its major industries are tourism, agriculture,...
.
Matthew Flinders
Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
aboard the Investigator
HMS Investigator
Nine ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Investigator. Another was planned, but renamed before being launched: was a 22-gun armed ship purchased in 1798 and taken into service as HMS Xenophon. She was renamed HMS Investigator in 1801 and used as a survey ship. Under the command of...
charted the area in 1802 as part of his circumnavigation of Australia.
George Cheyne, a Scottish immigrant, took up land at Cape Riche in 1836, after arriving in Albany in 1831. He established a trading post which was often visited by American whalers
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
. In about 1848, sandalwood
Santalum spicatum
Santalum spicatum, a species known as Australian sandalwood, is a tree native to semi-arid areas at the edge of Southwest Australia. It is traded as sandalwood and its valuable oil has been used as an aromatic, a medicine and a food source. S...
cutters arrived in the area,
The Surveyor-General of Western Australia, John Septimus Roe
John Septimus Roe
John Septimus Roe was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, and a Member of Western Australia's Legislative and Executive Councils for nearly 40 years.-Early life:...
, visited the Cape in October 1848 as part of this 1848-49 expedition and reorganised his supplies while staying with the Cheyne family. He left 4 days later to make his way to the Russell Range.
The Cheyne properties were later taken over by the related Moir family. The Cape Riche Homestead, also known as Moirs Property, was designed and built between 1850 and 1860 by Alexander Moir. It comprises a large group of spongolite
Spongolite
Spongolite is a stone made almost entirely from fossilised sponges. It is light and porous.The silica spicules fossilised with the sponges makes the material hazardous to handle by being highly abrasive...
buildings.
In the 1890s the schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Grace Darling, provided supplies and delivered the mail on its monthly run between Albany
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
and Esperance
Esperance, Western Australia
Esperance is a large town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located on the Southern Ocean coastline approximately east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The shire of Esperance is home to 9,536 people as of the 2006 census, its major industries are tourism, agriculture,...
.
Flora and fauna
A number of botanists and explorers conducted plant collections in the area in the mid 19th century including Ludwig PreissLudwig Preiss
Johann August Ludwig Preiss was a German-born British botanist and zoologist.Preiss was born in Herzberg am Harz, Germany. He obtained a doctorate, probably at Hamburg, then emigrated to Western Australia...
(1840), James Drummond
James Drummond
James Drummond may refer to:*James Drummond, 1st Baron Maderty*James Drummond , Bishop of Brechin*James Drummond , Scottish-born botanist and naturalist, early settler in Western Australia....
(1840, 1846–48)
John Septimus Roe
John Septimus Roe
John Septimus Roe was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, and a Member of Western Australia's Legislative and Executive Councils for nearly 40 years.-Early life:...
(1848) and William Henry Harvey
William Henry Harvey
William Henry Harvey was an Irish botanist who specialised in algae.- Biography :William Henry Harvey was born at Summerville near Limerick, Ireland, in 1811, the youngest of 11 children. His father Joseph Massey Harvey, was a Quaker and prominent merchant...
(1854). Plant species which were formally described based on these collections included Moirs Wattle
Acacia moirii
Acacia moirii is a subshrub which is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It grows to between 0.15 and 0.6 metres high and has densely hairy leaflets...
(Acacia moirii), Sheath Cottonhead (Conostylis vaginata), Tallerack (Eucalyptus pleurocarpa), Autumn Featherflower
Verticordia harveyi
Verticordia harveyi is a spindly shrub found in Southwest Australia.It is commonly referred to by the name Autumn Featherflower.The plants are upright and sparse, with one or several main stems, and a lignotuber which provides the ability to regenerate after bushfire.Ranging in height from 0.2 -...
(Verticordia harveyi) and Bossiaea preissii. Ludwig Diels
Ludwig Diels
Dr. Friedrich Ludwig Emil Diels , was a German botanist.Diels was born in Hamburg, the son of the classical scholar Hermann Alexander Diels. From 1900 to 1902 he traveled together with Ernst Pritzel through South Africa, Java, Australia and New Zealand. Shortly before the first world war he...
and Ernst Pritzel also collected plant material at Cape Riche in 1901.
Cape Riche is home to a number of rare flora species including Feather-leaved Banksia
Banksia brownii
Banksia brownii, commonly known as Feather-leaved Banksia or Brown's Banksia, is a species of shrub that occurs in southwest Western Australia. An attractive plant with fine feathery leaves and large red-brown flower spikes, it usually grows as an upright bush around two metres high, but can also...
(Banksia brownii), Manypeaks Rush (Chordifex arbortivus), Many-peaks Sundew
Drosera fimbriata
Drosera fimbriata, the manypeaks sundew, is a perennial tuberous species in the genus Drosera that is endemic to Western Australia. It grows to 10 to 15 cm tall with two or three whorls of non-carnivorous leaves on the lower portion of the stem and 2 to 5 whorls of carnivorous leaves above that...
(Drosera fimbriata) and Coast Featherflower
Verticordia helichrysantha
Verticordia helichrysantha is a rare shrub found amongst heath on the southern coast of Western Australia.It is commonly referred to by the name Coast Featherflower....
(Verticordia helichrysantha). The Albany/Cape Riche area is noted as a calving area for Southern Right Whale
Southern Right Whale
The southern right whale is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus Eubalaena. Like other right whales, the southern right whale is readily distinguished from others by the callosities on its head, a broad back without a dorsal fin, and a long arching...
s.