- NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR THE NORTHERN AGRICULTURAL REGION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The Shire of Gingin has approximately 65 km of Indian Ocean coastline, including the coastal communities of Guilderton, Seabird, Ledge Point and Lancelin. Sandy beaches, coastal dunes, limestone reefs and offshore islands support significant ecological, recreational, cultural and economic values. The coastal and marine environment supports diverse marine life and important seabird habitat. Lancelin and Edwards islands form part of the Turquoise Coast island nature reserves, a chain of islands, islets and rocks extending northwards along the coast. Coastal waters are also important for recreational and commercial fishing, boating and tourism. Coastal erosion and inundation are significant long-term management issues. The Shire has undertaken coastal hazard risk management and adaptation planning for Guilderton, Seabird, Ledge Point and Lancelin. Seabird, Ledge Point and Grace Darling Park at Lancelin are recognised by the Western Australian Government as coastal erosion hotspots, and ongoing planning and management are required to respond to changing coastal conditions and future sea-level rise.
The Shire of Gingin has approximately 65 km of Indian Ocean coastline, including the coastal communities of Guilderton, Seabird, Ledge Point and Lancelin. Sandy beaches, coastal dunes, limestone reefs and offshore islands support significant ecological, recreational, cultural and economic values. The coastal and marine environment supports diverse marine life and important seabird habitat. Lancelin and Edwards islands form part of the Turquoise Coast island nature reserves, a chain of islands, islets and rocks extending northwards along the coast. Coastal waters are also important for recreational and commercial fishing, boating and tourism. Coastal erosion and inundation are significant long-term management issues. The Shire has undertaken coastal hazard risk management and adaptation planning for Guilderton, Seabird, Ledge Point and Lancelin. Seabird, Ledge Point and Grace Darling Park at Lancelin are recognised by the Western Australian Government as coastal erosion hotspots, and ongoing planning and management are required to respond to changing coastal conditions and future sea-level rise.
The Shire of Gingin has a diverse economy based on agriculture, horticulture, fishing, mining, construction, tourism and local services. Its proximity to the Perth metropolitan area, together with major transport routes including Brand Highway and Indian Ocean Drive, influences both economic activity and development across the Shire.
Agriculture is the Shire’s primary economic industry. Rural land supports cattle and sheep grazing, broadacre agriculture, apiaries, viticulture, olive production and a range of intensive agricultural enterprises. Irrigated horticiculture is particularly important, with fruit and vegetable production supplying markets within Western Australia and beyond.
Mining and construction also make substantial contributions to the local economy. Along the coast, commercial fishing — including the Western Rock Lobster industry — and tourism support communities such as Lancelin, Ledge Point, Seabird and Guilderton. The Shire’s beaches, dunes, waterways and coastal environments attract significant numbers of visitors, particularly during holiday periods.
The Shire of Gingin lies within the northern Perth Basin and includes two major landscape units: the Swan Coastal Plain in the west and the Dandaragan Plateau in the east, separated by the Gingin Scarp.
The Swan Coastal Plain is dominated by extensive dune and sandplain systems, with coastal limestone forming a broad belt inland from the coast. The Dandaragan Plateau is a raised landscape of sand and laterite overlying Cretaceous sedimentary rocks. The Gingin Scarp marks the transition between these landscapes and represents an ancient shoreline.
Soils vary considerably across the Shire and include deep coastal and inland sands, calcareous sands associated with limestone and younger dunes, lateritic sands and gravels on the Dandaragan Plateau, and heavier clay and loam soils associated with older alluvial deposits, wetlands and drainage systems.
The Shire lies within the Dandaragan Plateau (SWA01) and Perth (SWA02) subregions of the Swan Coastal Plain IBRA bioregion. Native vegetation includes Banksia woodlands, species-rich heathlands and shrublands, eucalypt woodlands, wetlands and riparian vegetation, reflecting the diversity of soils, landforms and hydrological systems across the Shire.
Several nationally listed threatened ecological communities occur within or extend into the Shire. These include the Endangered Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain, the Endangered Shrublands and Woodlands on Muchea Limestone of the Swan Coastal Plain, and the Endangered Shrublands and Woodlands on Perth to Gingin Ironstone of the Swan Coastal Plain. Individual vegetation patches must meet the diagnostic and condition requirements of the relevant ecological community to qualify for protection under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Western Australia also recognises a number of threatened and priority ecological communities within the Gingin area, including communities associated with ironstone, limestone, wetlands, claypans, Banksia woodlands and other distinctive Swan Coastal Plain habitats.
The Shire’s wetlands, rivers and groundwater-dependent ecosystems are also of high conservation significance. Freshwater habitats in the Gingin area support Carter’s Freshwater Mussel (Westralunio carteri), which is listed as Vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The Shire also contains important habitat associated with conservation programs for the Western Swamp Tortoise (Pseudemydura umbrina), which is listed as Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act.
The coastal and marine environment includes sandy beaches, dunes, limestone reefs, seagrass and offshore habitats that support diverse marine fauna and seabirds. Coastal and nearshore waters provide habitat for the Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea), which is listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act, together with migratory and breeding seabirds including the Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica) and Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii).
Agriculture is the dominant productive land use across much of the Shire of Gingin. Rural areas support broadacre agriculture, livestock grazing, horticulture and other intensive agricultural enterprises, with particularly important horticultural areas occurring on the Swan Coastal Plain.
Urban, rural-residential, commercial and tourism-related land uses occur around Gingin and the coastal settlements of Lancelin, Ledge Point, Seabird and Guilderton. Mining and extractive industries, transport infrastructure and other utilities are also important components of the Shire’s land-use pattern.
Significant areas of native vegetation, wetlands and waterways remain throughout the Shire, including within conservation reserves and other protected areas. These areas protect coastal, wetland, woodland and heathland habitats and provide important ecological connections across a landscape increasingly affected by agriculture, settlement and infrastructure.
Maintaining native vegetation, waterways, wetlands and ecological linkages is particularly important as population growth and development extend northwards from the Perth metropolitan area and place increasing pressure on parts of the Shire.
The Shire of Gingin has a dispersed population living across the Gingin townsite, coastal communities, rural-residential areas and farming properties. Major coastal communities include Lancelin, Guilderton, Ledge Point and Seabird, while Gingin is an important administrative and service centre for the surrounding rural district.
At the 2021 Census, the Shire of Gingin had 5,576 residents. The median age was 50 years, and 144 people — 2.6% of the population — identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
The Shire’s location immediately north of the Perth metropolitan area influences population growth and settlement patterns, particularly in coastal and rural-residential areas. Its coastal communities also experience seasonal increases in population associated with tourism and holiday visitation.
The Shire of Gingin contains an important network of rivers, streams, wetlands and groundwater resources. The Moore River and Gingin Brook are the two major watercourses, supported by numerous tributaries, lakes, swamps and smaller streams across the Shire. The Moore River flows through the western part of the Shire and reaches the Indian Ocean at Guilderton. Gingin Brook is a groundwater-fed freshwater stream with important ecological, cultural and agricultural values. Groundwater discharge provides much of the Brook’s baseflow, creating a close connection between surface-water and groundwater systems. Groundwater is particularly important for agriculture, horticulture, public water supply, industry and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Most of the Shire lies within the Gingin groundwater plan area, part of the Northern Perth Basin, which contains several major aquifer systems. Water resources are under increasing pressure from declining rainfall, groundwater abstraction and reduced streamflow. The Western Australian Government’s 2024 evaluation of the Gingin groundwater and surface-water allocation plans identified long-term declines in groundwater levels and streamflow in parts of the region and introduced updated management arrangements to help protect water users and water-dependent ecosystems.
