In the language of local Aboriginal people, Meelup means the place of the moon and about 100 people took up Busselton Naturalists Club invitation to walk the five kilometre coastal track from Dunsborough to see the phenomenon. The walkers joined a crowd already assembled on the beach and settled in for a picnic tea, while awaiting the event.

Despite earlier cloud cover they were not disappointed. Shortly after 8pm, the moon rose over the water for the second time in the month, something which won’t be seen in Western Australia for some years to come. Just how many depends on your definition of what constitutes a blue moon.

A blue moon takes its name from folklore, and by popular definition, refers to the second full moon in a calendar month however, throughout history various interpretations have been applied according to different traditions.

For the clergy, the moon is used to identify the correct time to observe Lent and Easter, and an errant full moon was known as a betrayer, or belewe, moon.

Farmers also relied on the moon to define the seasons, and the fourth full moon within three months was called a blue moon, however astrologers generally agreed the term referred to the thirteenth full moon in a given calendar year.

Western Australia’s first full moon rose about 3.15am on New Year’s Day, but for moon-gazers in the Eastern States, the spectacle was even rarer, with the blue moon rising on New Year’s Eve, which last occurred 20 years ago.

One thing is for sure, the rarity of the event gives way to the old adage “only once in a blue moon”.