Mandurah
WA's largest dolphin population (~84 resident). Canal suburbs built around Peel Estuary (2x Sydney Harbour). Top Aussie Town 2025. Near world's largest bauxite mine and Australia's largest gold mine.
Mandurah markets what swims through its canals: dolphins. A distinct community of approximately 84 bottlenose dolphins (as of March 2025) lives year-round in the Peel Estuary—WA's largest dolphin population. The Mandurah Dolphin Research Project, established at Murdoch University in 2016, studies their contribution to ecosystem services including tourism economics.
The town grew from a fishing settlement into a canal suburb. Artificial waterways extend from the Peel Inlet through neighborhoods like Halls Head, Dudley Park, and Wannanup—homes with private boat moorings facing dolphin habitat. The estuary is twice the size of Sydney Harbour; the ocean beyond ranks among the world's healthiest.
Tourism recognition has followed. Mandurah was crowned Wotif's Top Aussie Town of the Year 2025 and Australia's Top Tourism Town 2023. Just 55 minutes from Perth by car or train, the town draws visitors for dolphin cruises, crab fishing (the annual Crab Fest celebrates blue manna crabs), and the Giants of Mandurah—Thomas Dambo's enchanting sculptures hidden along trails.
The economy mixes construction, professional services, retail, and the flow-on from nearby mining—the Huntly Mine at Pinjarra is the world's largest bauxite operation; Boddington has become Australia's largest producing gold mine.
By 2026, Mandurah tests whether a canal city can sustain tourism while protecting the dolphins that make it marketable.