Usher is an outer southern suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 of Bunbury

Bunbury, Western Australia

The port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...

, a city in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, located within the City of Bunbury

City of Bunbury

The City of Bunbury is a Local Government Area in the South West region of Western Australia, covering an area of along the coast about south of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. The council is responsible for just over half of the Greater Bunbury metropolitan area, and the Port of Bunbury...

 local government area

Local Government Areas of Western Australia

The Australian state of Western Australia is divided into 141 local government areas...

. Located between the Indian Ocean coast and Bussell Highway

Bussell Highway

Bussell Highway is a generally north-south highway in the South West of Western Australia. The highway links the city of Bunbury with the town of Augusta and is approximately 150 km in length...

, it is the southernmost continuous suburb in Bunbury's metropolitan area.

Demographics

At the 2006 census, Usher had a population of 2,251.

Usher residents had a median age of 29—well below the median of 37 in the Bunbury statistical district—and the median individual income was slightly below-average for the region—$479 per week compared with $492 per week. The population of Usher was predominantly Australian-born—79.4% as at the 2006 census, and at the 2006 census, 4.62% of residents identified as Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

.

The most popular religious affiliations in descending order in the 2006 census were no religion, Anglican

Anglican Church of Australia

The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...

, Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church in Australia

The Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Pope.Australia is a majority Christian but pluralistic society with no established religion. There are approximately 5.1 million Australian Catholics . Catholicism...

 and Uniting

Uniting Church in Australia

The Uniting Church in Australia was formed on 22 June 1977 when many congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, the Presbyterian Church of Australia and the Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union....

.

Facilities

Two large areas within the suburb have been set aside as open space - the southern part contains pristine tuart

Eucalyptus gomphocephala

Eucalyptus gomphocephala is a species of tree, also known as Tuart, in the genus Eucalyptus. Native to the southwest of Western Australia the tree grows to over 35m tall. As a durable hardwood the timber is sought after for scantlings, structural timber, the construction of railway carriages, and...

 forest, officially named the Usher-Dalyellup Regional Park in 2003, with an interpretative walkway leading to Maidment Parade in neighbouring Dalyellup

Dalyellup, Western Australia

Dalyellup is an outer southern suburb of Bunbury, a city in Western Australia, located within the Shire of Capel local government area. The suburb was established in 1999 when the Department of Housing and Works entered into a joint venture with Satterley Property Group to develop Dalyellup Beach...

 which was opened on 8 October 2006 by the Minister for the South West, and a western section extending southward from Maidens Hill Reserve.

Education

No schools are located within Usher's boundaries, but in Withers to the north, Withers Primary School and a Catholic primary school, St Joseph's, provide for Usher residents' educational needs. Usher is within the catchment area for Newton Moore Senior High School

Newton Moore Senior High School

Newton Moore Senior High School is a comprehensive public high school located in Bunbury, a regional centre south of Perth, Western Australia....

 and is about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) from the Bunbury campus of Edith Cowan University

Edith Cowan University

Edith Cowan University is located in Perth, Western Australia. It was named after the first woman to be elected to an Australian Parliament, Edith Cowan, and is the only Australian university named after a woman....

.

Transport

Usher is served by the 301 and 302 routes from Bunbury's central bus station, terminating at the intersection of Mosedale Avenue and Nalbarra Drive, with a journey time of between 12 and 22 minutes. The route is operated by TransBunbury

TransBunbury

TransBunbury is a system of public bus transport in the regional city of Bunbury, Western Australia, and is part of the Western Australian Government's TransRegional scheme. It was known as Bunbury City Transit from its establishment in 1986 until 2 May 2011...

 for the Public Transport Authority.