About East of 121: Five Minute Histories from Esperance

The history of Esperance is filled with enthralling stories: shipwrecks, murders, feats of endurance and determination, gold and wealth, plagues and droughts, and even a bloodthirsty sealer who might have been a pirate. These stories, and many more, fill the pages of East of 121: Five Minute Histories from Esperance.

Before the first Europeans set foot on these shores, the Wudjari Nyungar people named this bay ‘Kepa Kurl’, the place where the waters lie like a boomerang. In 1792, a visiting French admiral named the same bay ‘Esperance’ after one of the two ships in his expedition. In 1863, the Western Australian colonial government began offering land leases in the ‘East District’, east of longitude 121°, drawing the first hopeful pastoralists to the region. This book traces the history of Esperance and the surrounding region from these early days through to today.

The stories in this book originally appeared as ‘Five Minute History’ articles in the beloved Esperance Tide magazine. Now revised and expanded, they comprise a wide-ranging history of Esperance, complete with photographs, maps, background information, and more.

‘Let me tell you about the biggest shark I ever caught.'

Salt Water In My Veins is the a new memoir written by Esperance local Fud Mackenzie. Written in Fud's inimitable style, and illustrated with photos from his life, this book is a fascinating glimpse into Esperance history and development.

Fud Mackenzie has lived his life on the ocean, working as a fisherman, a tug boat skipper, and a marine tourism operator in the beautiful but perilous Recherche Archipelago. From a childhood growing up in Esperance with fishing nets hung up in the corridor, to joining the family business as the first tug boat operators for the newly built Esperance port, and putting in the hard work to develop Woody Island for tourism, Fud’s life has been full of adventures. As Esperance developed from a sleepy backwater to a bustling town with busy port, rapidly developing fishing industry, and a significant tourism sector, Fud played a pivotal role in many of these changes.

Salt Water In My Veins is full of ripping great yarns, painting a picture of life on the sea, complete with near misses, dramatic rescues, and funny mishaps.