Near the water in Rockingham
Rockingham sits on Mangles Bay at the southern end of Cockburn Sound, with the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park to the west and south. The GAA's corrosion guide sets its harshest bands for surf beaches, and Rockingham Beach faces the sound instead, so exposure changes from street to street. Ask an installer who works near the water how much protection your outdoor unit needs.
Wind is part of the picture too. Safety Bay, also in the City of Rockingham, is known for windsurfing and kitesurfing. An outdoor unit on an exposed wall bracket needs fixing for it, and a sheltered spot helps the coil as well.
Rockingham's homes
Units on the foreshore
Older beachside shops have been redeveloped into high-rise residential units. At the 2021 Census, 14.1% of Rockingham's 6,905 occupied homes were flats or apartments and 20.1% townhouses or semis.
Shacks, then villas
Holiday shacks went up from the early 20th century, and retirement villas were common by the 1970s. If yours has a gas heater, book its service before winter.
A mix of tenure
36.8% of homes were rented in 2021, 33.5% owned outright and 26.1% owned with a mortgage. The median age was 49.
The city's centre
Rockingham is 47 km south-south-west of Perth and the main centre of the City of Rockingham.
Before you book in a Rockingham unit or villa
- What does the strata or village need from you before work starts?
- Where will the outdoor unit go, and is that spot out of the worst of the wind and spray?
- Does the model have coastal coil protection, and what does its warranty say about sea air?
- Will it heat the room well on a cold night, not just cool it?
What we'd do
What we'd do in Rockingham
We'd go reverse cycle, because heating matters here as much as cooling. In a foreshore unit, we'd get strata approval in writing and an outdoor unit with coastal protection on the most sheltered wall available. In an older villa, we'd have any gas heater serviced before winter and think about a split as a replacement when it's time.
