Busselton Jetty is the longest timber-piled jetty (pier) in the Southern Hemisphere at long. The jetty is managed by a not-for-profit community organisation, Busselton Jetty Inc. The jetty's construction commenced in 1864 and the first section was opened in 1865. The jetty was extended numerous times until the 1960s, ultimately reaching a length of . The last commercial vessel called at the jetty in 1971 and the jetty was closed the following year. It passed into the control of Busselton Shire and has been gradually restored and improved since. The jetty has survived Cyclone Alby in 1978, borers, weathering, several fires, and the threat of demolition, to have become a major regional tourist attraction. The jetty features a rail line along its length, a relic of the railway line into Busselton from Bunbury. The line now carries tourists along the jetty to an underwater observatory, one of only six natural aquariums in the world, which opened to the public in 2003. A new observatory, the Australian Underwater Discovery Centre, History Early history In 1839 Governor Hutt appointed "the place in Geographe Bay opposite the Settlement at The Vasse to be the legal place for the loading and unloading of goods". Construction of the jetty – originally known as the Vasse Jetty – commenced in 1864 after persistent pressure by settlers, among others timber merchant Henry Yelverton and magistrate Joseph Strelley Harris; Yelverton's company was awarded the tender for construction. In 1865 the first section, approximately 176 metres, of the jetty became available for ships to moor. In 1875 an additional 143 metres was added to the original structure, as over 10 years' accumulation of drift sands had made the water too shallow for mooring. The jetty was continually extended until the 1960s when it reached its current length of . Fires on the jetty were commonplace, with some attributed to fishermen carelessly disposing of burning cigarettes, dropping lit matches or to sparks falling from the train's fire box. Closure Even while the port was operating commercially, maintenance costs were controversial. The last commercial ship visited the jetty on 17 October 1971. On 21 July 1972, the jetty was closed to shipping by Governor's Proclamation in the Western Australian Government Gazette after more than a century of use. Once closed, government maintenance of the jetty ceased and it began to deteriorate, suffering attack by wood borers, rot and the occasional fire.