Busselton Jetty closed permanently!

Oh my gosh, terrible news!

Unsafe Busselton jetty closed to public

It seems that the Busselton Jetty — all but a 200m section — has been closed to the public after being declared structurally unsound, and will remain closed permanently despite $24 million rebuilding works to make the bridge safe again.

Closed permanently? That’s a bit sad. I love the Busselton Jetty; at 2km long, it was always an adventure to walk so far out to see, but a massive pain in the bum to walk back in again. You could commence your walk down the jetty in perfectly clear weather conditions, but by the time you turned around to head back, you were often faced with squally winds and heavy rain.

The bridge is certainly in need of repair. It’s unnerving, to say the least, walking along the edge of the bridge where the wood is rotting away, and the concrete is long cracked and dodgy-looking. I’m really disappointed to hear that it will be closed permanently, however. If Rhys and I had decided to have our wedding in the South West, I’d hoped for some of our wedding photos to be taken on the bridge. I feel really privileged, suddenly, that I’ve had the opportunity to walk the bridge on numerous occasions (and to have taken some pretty awesome photos from it, as well). From the Busselton Jetty, we’ve seen dolphins, crazy boat races, and extremely keen swimmers.

I don’t feel so grumbly anymore about the $5 I’ve paid each time I’ve walked along the jetty in the past, but I really have to question why they’re bothering to spend $24 million if the jetty will remain closed to the public. I’m hoping that was a brainfluff on the behalf of the reporter, and that the jetty will reopen some time in the near future. Poor jetty.