Cape Peron

**Cape Peron** is a headland at Rockingham. It is at the southern end of Cockburn Sound. The cape is locally known as **Point Peron**. It has protected beaches, limestone cliffs, reefs and panoramic views. Cape Peron includes the suburb of Peron.

Cape Peron was named after the French naturalist and zoologist François Péron. Peron was the zoologist on with the expedition of Nicolas Baudin that explored the western coast of Australia in 1801.

A causeway was built in 1973 between Cape Peron and Garden Island to carry cars and trucks between the mainland and the island. Garden Island is the home of HMAS Stirling, a Royal Australian Navy base, so access is restricted.

The wreck of RMS *Orizaba* (1886–1905) lies on Five Fathom Bank,  west of the cape.

### Military use 
 station on top of an old defence bunker]]
From 1942 until 1945, Cape Peron was the site of the "K" Battery complex. This was one of the coastal gun groups defending the Perth region between Swanbourne in the north and Cape Peron in the south. "K" Battery was built as part of Australian coastal defences in 1942. After the Japanese army captured Singapore people were worried that they would then invade Australia. The defensive complexes were known as "Fortress Fremantle". There were also guns on Rottnest Island and Garden Island. During World War II, Fremantle was the Allied forces' largest submarine base in the Southern Hemisphere. It was also an important port able to repair ships.

The Cape Peron gun battery had two  American field guns, two lookouts and numerous other buildings including storage for ammunition, engine and generator rooms, and housing for about 100 soldiers. The guns were placed to cover any shipping near Rockingham, Safety Bay and the western side of Garden Island. "K" Battery also protected a boom defence to stop submarines entering Cockburn Sound between Cape Peron and Garden Island. The guns never fired upon an enemy target and was closed in 1945. A group known as the Point Peron Restoration Project is leading a push to restore the site, stating their goals as being:

## Proposed private development
Plans to build a residential canal and marina complex at Cape Peron was very unpopular with local communities. The state government finally refused to approve the plans in 2018. The plan would have meant changing a 1964 agreement to keep the land in public ownership forever. People were worried that the development would damage seagrass beds and the ecosystems at nearby Lake Richmond.

## Plants 
Cape Peron is a headland with hot, dry summers, and strong southerly and westerly winds. The environment suits plants usually found along the  Western Australian coast. This includes plants that can live in salty conditions, such as *Spinifex*, sea-heath (*Frankenia pauciflora*) and coastal sword-sedge (*Lepidosperma gladiatum*). Further back from the shore are wattle, coastal daisy-bush and grasslands.

In the waters around Cape Peron there are many species of algae, including red, green and brown algae. These grow on the reef platforms.  The sandy seafloor has large seagrass meadows with species of kelp.

## Animals 
Surveys have found 96 species at Cape Peron. This included 66 birds, 19 reptiles, 5 amphibians and 6 mammals.All native animals found at Cape Peron are protected under the *Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999*; 47 of these species are protected on the Department of Environment and Conservation's priority list.

## References