Greenbushes

A town which owes its existence to tin deposits nearby, which have been mined since 1888.

Geegelup Heritage Trail

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 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.

Lithium mining

Operations are located directly south and immediately adjacent to the town of Greenbushes. Initial development of the lithium ore body at Greenbushes commenced in 1983 and the first lithium processing plant was commissioned in 1985. The site comprises a number of open cut mining operations for spodumene (lithium). The Greenbushes pegmatite is the largest and highest grade hard rock lithium minerals resource in the world.

Tin was discovered near here in 1888. The first company into the area was Bunbury Tin Mining and they were followed by a number of other smaller companies.

A townsite that was gazetted in 1889 was located about three kilometres south of the present townsite, but was abandoned and cancelled in 1893, because the land in the area was mineralised.

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.

The railway from Donnybrook to Bridgetown was opened in 1898, and a station named Greenbushes established about 6km north of the original townsite.

A new townsite was then created at the railway station, and following the survey of lots, the new Greenbushes townsite was gazetted in May 1899. However, the location of this townsite was around 3 km north of the main road through the tin fields, where a number of businesses and residences were established, including some government buildings.

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.

The name recalls a stand of particularly green bushes which stood out from the grey of the local Eucalyptus.


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Where is it?

251 km south east of Perth, located between Balingup and Bridgetown.

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