The Shire of Capel is a local government area in the South West region of Western Australia, taking in the land between the cities of Bunbury and Busselton about 200 kilometres (124 mi) south of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of 557.6 square kilometres (215.3 sq mi), and its seat of government is the town of Capel.
The Shire of Capel has 29 km of beach frontage onto Geographe Bay including access at Forrest Beach, Peppermint Grove Beach, Minninup Beach and Dalyellup Beach.[2][3] The eight kilometer stretch of Stirling Beach (commencing at the Capel River, north to the Minninup Beach access at Rich Road) has no public access points since all the adjacent land is privately owned.[4]
According to the 2016 census figures, the population of the Shire of Capel was 17,123.[5]
History
Capel was initially constituted as the first Bunbury Road District on 15 June 1894 (as distinguished from the Bunbury Municipal District). On 26 July 1907, it was renamed to the Capel Road District, and on 1 July 1961, it became a shire under the Local Government Act 1960.[6]
Indigenous people
The Shire of Capel is located on the traditional land of the Wardandi (also spelled Wadandi) people of the Noongar nation.[7][8]
Wards
The Shire is no longer divided into wards and the nine councillors sit at large.
^"Shire of Capel: Home". www.capel.wa.gov.au. Shire of Capel. Retrieved 18 September 2023. We wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we are meeting on, the Wadandi people.
^* This LGA holds city status under the Local Government Act 1995, ^† This LGA holds town status under the Local Government Act 1995, ^# Western Australian law applies to the Indian Ocean Territories under the Territories Law Reform Act 1992