the nickname Busselton in honour of the people of Busselton and their support of War Loan fundraising activities. In the 1950s many facilities for holiday-makers were built west of Busselton and the 1960s saw the beginnings of the professional fishing industry and, in particular, the Margaret River wine region, which greatly increased tourist numbers in and around Busselton. The Busselton port closed in 1972. From the 1970s Busselton began growing particularly as a tourism centre and retirement location. By 1996 it had become one of the fastest-growing areas in Western Australia, with an annual growth rate since then of five percent. In 2012, the Shire of Busselton gained city status. Geography Busselton is in the South West region of Western Australia, about south-west of Perth. The city is composed of a city centre along with the suburbs of Abbey, Ambergate, Bovell, Broadwater, Geographe, Kealy, Vasse, West Busselton, and Yalyalup. It is bordered by Geographe Bay to the north, with urban development traditionally being concentrated on the bay, extending from Abbey in the west to Geographe in the east. Urban development south of this area has traditionally been obstructed by wetlands and estuaries; however, since the 1980s, development has taken place to the south of these waterway systems. The Vasse River flows through the city to the Vasse-Wonnerup Estuary; reserves adjoining this estuary to the north form Busselton's eastern border. The city's western border is formed by The corner of Caves Road and Bussell Highway. Caves Road leads to the nearby town of Dunsborough, which is separated from Busselton by a green belt, notably including the Locke Nature Reserve, known locally as the "Holy Mile". Busselton's nearest city is Bunbury, the administrative centre of the south West region, which is about away. Climate Busselton has a borderline warm/hot summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb/Csa), depending on the recording station used, as the warmest months have mean temperatures around , the cut-off mark between these two climate types. The Bureau of Meteorology has had three major temperature-recording sites in Busselton: the Busselton Shire office, with temperatures recorded from 1900 to 1975 and rainfall from 1877 to the present, Busselton Town near The Busselton District Hospital site on Mill Road (recording from 1998 to 2011), and the Busselton Margaret River Airport, east of the Busselton Town station (recording since 1997). Wind observations have been made at Busselton Jetty since 1997, and temperature observations have