- NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR THE NORTHERN AGRICULTURAL REGION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The Shire of Coorow extends to the Indian Ocean at Green Head and Leeman, where sandy beaches, coastal dunes, limestone headlands, reefs and nearshore marine habitats support significant ecological, recreational and economic values. The coastal and marine environment supports diverse marine life, including Australian sea lions, as well as fish, corals and other marine species. The waters around Green Head and Leeman are important for commercial and recreational fishing, particularly Western Rock Lobster, as well as boating, swimming, snorkelling and diving. Coastal dunes and native vegetation provide important habitat and help protect the shoreline from erosion. Offshore islands, reefs and other marine habitats add to the biodiversity and conservation significance of this part of the Turquoise Coast. Coastal erosion, changing shoreline conditions and increasing recreational use require ongoing management. The Shire’s Coastal Management Plan provides a framework for managing coastal reserves, access, recreation and environmental values along the Green Head and Leeman coastline.
The Shire of Coorow extends to the Indian Ocean at Green Head and Leeman, where sandy beaches, coastal dunes, limestone headlands, reefs and nearshore marine habitats support significant ecological, recreational and economic values. The coastal and marine environment supports diverse marine life, including Australian sea lions, as well as fish, corals and other marine species. The waters around Green Head and Leeman are important for commercial and recreational fishing, particularly Western Rock Lobster, as well as boating, swimming, snorkelling and diving. Coastal dunes and native vegetation provide important habitat and help protect the shoreline from erosion. Offshore islands, reefs and other marine habitats add to the biodiversity and conservation significance of this part of the Turquoise Coast. Coastal erosion, changing shoreline conditions and increasing recreational use require ongoing management. The Shire’s Coastal Management Plan provides a framework for managing coastal reserves, access, recreation and environmental values along the Green Head and Leeman coastline.
The Shire of Coorow has a diverse economy shaped by its agricultural hinterland and coastal communities. Agriculture, commercial fishing, tourism, transport and local services are important economic activities across the Shire.
Agriculture is the principal productive industry in the inland areas around Coorow and Marchagee. Broadacre cropping and livestock production support agricultural services, grain handling, transport and other businesses serving the surrounding farming district.
Along the coast, commercial fishing is particularly important to Leeman and Green Head, with the Western Rock Lobster industry contributing strongly to the local economy. Recreational fishing, boating and other marine activities also support coastal businesses and services.
Tourism contributes across both the coastal and inland parts of the Shire. Green Head and Leeman attract visitors for beaches, fishing, boating and marine recreation, while wildflowers, national parks, caves, heritage attractions and natural landscapes draw visitors throughout the wider district.
The Shire of Coorow lies within the northern Perth Basin and extends from the coast eastwards across several distinct landforms, including the Coastal Plain, Arrowsmith Region and Dandaragan Plateau. The underlying geology is predominantly sedimentary, while younger coastal deposits form extensive dune and sandplain systems.
Along the coast, the landscape includes the Quindalup dune system, Tamala Limestone, sandplains and low-lying lagoonal areas. Further inland, the Arrowsmith landscape is characterised by gravelly rises, slopes and valleys with areas of deep sand, duplex soils and alluvial flats. The eastern part of the Shire extends onto the Dandaragan Plateau, where sandy soils are widespread and generally low in nutrients.
The Shire lies within the Lesueur Sandplains (GES02) subregion of the Geraldton Sandplains IBRA bioregion and the Merredin (AVW01) subregion of the Avon Wheatbelt bioregion. Native vegetation varies from species-rich proteaceous heath and shrublands on sandy soils to York gum (Eucalyptus loxophleba) and jam (Acacia acuminata) woodlands further inland.
Several threatened ecological communities occur within the Shire. The Lesueur-Coomallo Floristic Community A1.2 is listed as Critically Endangered under Western Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. This species-rich heath community occurs on lateritic uplands and is characterised by emergent Hakea obliqua over a diverse shrub layer.
The Herbaceous plant assemblages on Bentonite Lakes ecological community is listed as Endangered in Western Australia. It occurs on the beds and margins of ephemeral freshwater bentonite lakes and claypans in the Watheroo-Marchagee area and supports distinctive herbaceous vegetation adapted to the specialised bentonite substrate.
The nationally listed Subtropical and Temperate Coastal Saltmarsh ecological community also occurs along parts of the coast. It is listed as Vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and includes salt-tolerant vegetation associated with intertidal and estuarine environments.
The coastal and marine environment is also of high conservation significance. Part of Jurien Bay Marine Park lies off the Shire’s coast, protecting limestone reefs, seagrass meadows, sandy seabeds and other marine habitats. Coastal and offshore habitats support a variety of seabirds, including the Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica) and Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii).
Agriculture is the dominant productive land use across the inland areas of the Shire of Coorow, particularly around Coorow and Marchagee. Broadacre cropping and livestock production occupy extensive areas and are supported by grain handling, transport infrastructure and agricultural services.
Urban, commercial and community land uses are concentrated in Coorow, Green Head and Leeman, with tourism, recreation and commercial fishing particularly important along the coast. Other rural land uses, infrastructure and resource-related activities occur throughout the Shire.
The western part of the Shire contains substantial areas of native vegetation and conservation land. National parks and other reserves protect species-rich sandplain vegetation, wetlands, coastal environments, caves and other significant natural features. Alexander Morrison, Lesueur and Watheroo national parks are among the important conservation areas associated with the Shire.
Maintaining remnant native vegetation, waterways, coastal reserves and ecological connections is particularly important where agricultural clearing and other development have fragmented natural habitats. Land-use planning therefore needs to balance productive land uses, settlement and development with protection of the Shire’s significant environmental values.
The Shire of Coorow has a dispersed population living across its inland and coastal communities. Coorow is the main administrative centre for the surrounding agricultural district, while Leeman and Green Head are coastal communities with strong connections to fishing, tourism and marine recreation. Marchagee is a smaller settlement within the inland farming area.
At the 2021 Census, the Shire of Coorow had 1,055 residents. The median age was 57 years, and 31 people — 2.9% of the population — identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
The Shire has a substantially older population profile than Western Australia overall, where the median age was 38 years in 2021. Its small and geographically dispersed communities make access to local services, community facilities, volunteering and social connections particularly important.
Water resources within the Shire of Coorow vary considerably between the coastal sandplain and the inland agricultural areas. Groundwater is particularly important for town water supplies, agriculture, industry and groundwater-dependent ecosystems, while seasonal drainage systems, wetlands and salt lakes form important components of the inland landscape. Green Head and Leeman rely principally on groundwater for their public water supply. The Mount Peron and Leeman (Midway) water reserves protect groundwater sources used to supply these coastal communities, making protection of groundwater quality an important land-management consideration. Groundwater across much of the Shire forms part of the Northern Perth Basin. The western and central parts of the Shire are associated with the Arrowsmith Groundwater Area, where shallow and deeper aquifers provide water for communities and productive land uses while also supporting groundwater-dependent environments. Inland agricultural areas experience different water-management challenges, including variable rainfall, salinity, waterlogging and altered surface-water movement associated with extensive land clearing. Sustainable groundwater use, protection of drinking-water sources and careful management of drainage and saline water are therefore important across the Shire.
