Cyclone Alby On 4 April 1978, Cyclone Alby swept south down the Western Australian coast from the North-West (a rare occurrence) and destroyed a large part of the shore end of the jetty. Subsequently, townspeople banded together to try to save the jetty and eventually persuaded the State Government and the Shire Council to provide some much needed funds for repair. Rebuilding the timber jetty proved expensive and funds soon ran out. The Jetty Preservation Society, formed in 1987, resorted to community fund-raising. By 2001, the Committee had raised just A$14,000 — a rate of A$1,000 per year. 1990s–present In December 1999, a fire burnt 65 metres of jetty to the water-line incurring damage totaling $900,000. A boatshed-style Interpretive Centre opened on the jetty in April 2001 and is located 50 m offshore. The Interpretive Centre gives visitors a glimpse into the jetty's past and its future. In 2001, a new community-development Non-Government Organization (NGO), named "The Busselton Challenge", assisted the Committee in designing and executing a new fund-raising project that raised A$220,000 in just six months — 440 times the previous rate of fund-raising. Further storm damage occurred in 2004, but the project continued. The jetty was re-positioned as an important state and national resource, enabling the Committee to attract funding for a A$27 million refurbishment project and enter the jetty into the State Register of Heritage Places, thereby securing its future. On 9 February 2006, the Queen's Baton Relay passed through Busselton. The baton was taken along the Busselton Jetty and then taken underwater by a scuba diver. The baton passed by the Underwater Observatory during its swim to allow the media to view the event. In 2011 the refurbishment project was completed and the pier and railway were reopened to the public. In 2017 the train was replaced with a solar-powered electric vehicle. Federal government funding for a new discovery centre, along with a glasshouse village, was announced in 2019. Attractions Underwater observatory The observatory was opened on 13 December 2003 at a cost of A$3.6 million. The underwater observatory is from shore – almost at the end of the Busselton Jetty – and can accommodate up to 40 people at a time in its diameter observation chamber. Descending below sea level, visitors can view the corals and fish life through eleven viewing windows. In early 2021 it was announced that the underwater observatory would be replaced