Perth Suburbs - History and Trivia

Great Eastern Highway in Greenmount taken in 1994.

The truck arrester bed at Stuart Park was constructed after the fatal truck accident down the hill at the Great Eastern Highway and Roe Highway intersection that occurred on December 30, 1993.

The arrester bed was opened on March 1, 1995 with the upgrade to this section of Great Eastern Highway completed in 2002.

Most of the homes on the northern side of the highway are now gone for future highway widening and has the Greenmount 24 Hour Deli on the southern side.

Photo from Main Roads Western Australia.

GREENMOUNT

Today's post comes requested by local resident Jessica.

The name Greenmount refers to the 'green mountain' that sits within Greenmount National Park, which was an important landmark that signified the start of the journey along York Road and remains an important visual aspect today. The road has now been replaced by Great Eastern Highway, with a section of Old York Road still in place parallel to the highway.

The broader area was originally a 4,000 acre land grant that belonged to Governor James Stirling, known as Woodbridge (hence Woodbridge Drive, Stirling Road and Settler Place). Greenmount today is bordered by two former railway lines to the north and the south, which are now popular walking/cycling trails. The train line through Swan View closed in 1966 which coincided with the opening of the new Avon route which is still used today, and is just beyond the suburb's western border. To the east, it borders the John Forrest National Park, named after the explorer/politician of the same name (also originally known as Greenmount National Park).

The northern-most section of Greenmount was known as Blackboy Hill, named after the grass trees (formerly known as blackboys) that were prevalent in the area. Following the declaration of WWI, the area was used as a training ground and camp for soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force. Following the war, the camp was repurposed as a hospital for those suffering from the pneumonic flu.

A commemorative site, built in 1962, is situated between St. Anthony's School and the relocated Greenmount Primary School, where ANZAC Day remembrance ceremonies are held each year. It is included on the State Register of Heritage Places.

Streets in this area are named after WWI events: the Battle of Gallipoli, the Capture of Damascus, the Battle of Lone Pine, Flanders Fields, the Battle of Polygon Wood, Battle of Messines and the First Battle of Gaza. Fleur Road may have been named after the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. In the north-east of the suburb also sits Peace Park.

Some streets may have been named after soldiers associated with Blackboy Hill (Albert Facey, Richard Sydney Roberts, Frank (William John) Fraser, Henry Arundel, Charles Colin Russell/ Leonard William Oertele Russell/William Francis Russell, Edgar Alexander Hamilton, Richard Sydney Roberts/Timothy George Roberts/William Alexander Roberts) or soldiers employed by the Midland Railway Workshops (Thomas Hesketh, Alfred George Wortley). However, Hesketh Road is more likely to have been named after Joseph Hesketh of Bellevue, member of the Greenmount Road Board/Hesketh Hall in Bellevue, which initially housed meetings of the Board.

Prichard Road was named after Katharine Susannah Prichard, a renowned writer, and Throssell Road after her husband, Hugo Throssel VC, a decorated WWI soldier. Their house was located at 11 Old York Road and today operates as a writer's centre. A memorial for Hugo Throssell is situated across the road from it.

The Greenmount Public Library/Katharine Susannah Prichard Library was situated on the corner of Great Eastern Highway and Scott Street, at Welbourne Park (thought to be named after Welbourne Keatley Lamzed, 1918 owner of the nearby Darling Range Hotel). The library closed in 2016 and relocated to the Boya Community Centre at the southern end of Scott Street. Scott Street may have been named after Captain Thomas Scott, retired Bunbury harbour master who resided in Mundaring.

Ward Avenue was likely named after 1938-1939 Greenmount Road Board chairman, Harry Ward, and Burton Place/Road after William Burton, who operated a gravel pit at Smith's Mill (Glen Forrest).

Alandale Road may be in reference to Allandale/Werribee Farm Boys Home/Farm School on Werribee Road, Wundowie.

High View Road was likely named after the view of the hills to north from the crest of the road.

Bona Vista Road is named after Samuel Hancock's Bona Vista Homestead/Dairy in nearby Swan View. The homestead, built in 1908, still stands proudly today at 414 Morrison Road (formerly Boundary Road, the northern boundary of the land grant area). Morrison Road is named after James Morrison, who owned and subdivided a significant portion of land within Swan View and Greenmount.

The Marloo Theatre, on the street of the same name, sits where the original Greenmount Primary School used to, prior to relocating to nearby Innamincka Road. Marloo is believed to be an Aboriginal term for kangaroo but is likely in reference to the ship the SS Marloo, which visited Fremantle in the late 1800s.

A number of other streets are thought to have been named after ships that visited the ports of Fremantle, Bunbury and Albany: SS Bullara, SS Gabo, SS Innamincka, SS Wooloomooloo, SS Buninyong and SS Woolowra.

Within/nearby the Greenmount National Park is the popular Goat Farm Mountain Bike Park, walking trails and former quarries. Today, the Mountain Quarry is a popular place for rock climbing and abseiling. The lookout at the end of Padbury Road offers sweeping views of John Forrest National Park, the Swan Valley, greater Perth metropolitan, the city, the airport, and even towards the Helena Valley through the trees.

A granite outcrop sits on Great Eastern Highway near the eastern end of Old York Road, known as Chipper's Leap. A plaque (which is not exactly easy to access) details how John Chipper leapt from the rock in 1832 to escape being attacked.

A major accident in 1993 saw an out of control truck coming down Great Eastern Highway roll and crash into six vehicles at the intersection of Roe Highway. Following this, a truck arrester bed was installed north of Stuart Park along the highway. Stuart Park was a former clay pit operated by the Hoffman Steam Pressed Brick Company that has been converted into public open space.

At Regis Greenmount on Coongan Street sits the heritage listed Undercliffe House, which provided hospital/nursing care for a substantial portion of its life. The house is believed to have been built by Percy Ford Robinson, nephew of Edward Robinson of nearby Belle View (Bellevue). Percy had an interest in Coongan Station, a pastoral station near Roebourne, to which the street name likely corresponds. A sign next to a defunct section of Coongan Road points toward Undercliffe, however it is not accessible from this side, as it's now completely within the confines of the Regis facility.

Some comments on social media regarding a Governor Stirling Senior High School post suggest that Boorabilla was a performance of some kind during the 1970s. We'd be interested in finding out more about this performance and how the name may relate to Boorabilla Way.

Please note: Whilst every effort is made to ensure that information here is correct, it is not guaranteed. This post will evolve as new information is received. If you have any additional information on Greenmount, corrections to information detailed above, or stories to share about Greenmount, please comment below.

Sources:
Mundaring and Hills Historical Society
Midland and Districts Historical Society
inHerit
Shire of Mundaring website and heritage listings/surveys
Midland Junction Railway Workshop Soldiers' Memorial
Virtual War Memorials
Trove
State Library of Western Australia
National Trust
National Archives Australia
Landgate MapViewer Plus

STRATTON

When learning about the history of Stratton, it's often the former suburb of Wexcombe that's talked about. But how much do you actually know about Stratton?

In the 1950s, Wexcombe was a military camp, home to new immigrants post-WWII. In the 70s, it was largely occupied by Western Australian Government Railways employees. By the end of the 70s, most of the suburb was demolished. The Midland and Districts Historical Society Inc. has a number of informative posts on Wexcombe.

In 1989, the suburb was renamed Stratton, after John Peter (J.P.) Stratton, president of the Western Australian Trotting Association (WATA) and local landowner/farmer.

In 1990, the area known as Stratton was rezoned from 'General Rural' to 'Residential' (Government Gazette 23-1990). HomesWest and the (then) Shire of Swan commenced construction on the southern section of Stratton, with the first residents moving in by 1991.

In 1992, the Shire approved the Stratton Estate Outline Development Plan, which illustrated the layout in which Stratton was to develop (pictured. Source: City of Swan website). The Council meeting minutes detail how the neighbourhood centre (which is where Stratton Park Shopping Centre now sits) was initially intended to be deleted from the plan, as the land where the Ampol service station is now was already zoned for commercial uses. Upon learning that the state's road authority had purchased this land for the future Perth-Adelaide National Highway, a decision was made to retain the neighbourhood centre, as it was unlikely that commercial uses would end being built along Toodyay Road.

The names of the streets are generally clustered in themes. Some named after horse breeds, noting J.P. Stratton's ties to the WATA, Gloucester Park and horse/harness racing (Altai, Sava, Campolino, Criollo, Percheron, Waler, Gelderland, Gotland Russ, Oldenburg, Skyros, Waler).

The north-east section is named after breeds of cows, likely paying homage to the farming history of the area (Guernsey, Simmental, Brahman).

A large number of streets are named after ships that either visited Western Australia or were operated by the State Shipping Service: Amcer, Bambra, HMS Bombay, Brilliant, Endora, Eucla, La Ferrolana, Hindoo, the Inquirer, the Kangaroo, MV Koolama, HMAS Kybra, the Dulverton, the Chung King (formerly the Aurora), the Yanderra, MV Koolinda, HMS Britomart, the schooner Auranzau, the Drummore, Moira, Rhoda, Timbo, Trusty, Vixon, Waterlily, the Wenstead and HMS Sulphur.

Some streets were named after members of the Swan Road Board/Swan Shire Council: John James Cockman, Alfred Youlden Garnsworthy, Thomas Jecks, Lewis Thomas Jones, Benjamin Robins, Thomas John (Jack) Williamson and Bernard William Yeates.

David Vincent Atkinson was owner of Jane Brook Estate Wines.

Canon Alfred Burton was a clergyman of the Swan Anglican Diocese and authored History of Swan District. Also of the Swan Anglican Diocese was Reverend Adam Likely. Francis Tree Tatlock was First Rector of the Swan Anglican Parish.

Richard Edwards was the original assignee of parts of Henley Park and St. Leonards. William Fussel and John Wade were assignees of Freedom's Retreat. Samuel Neil Talbot was assignee of Helena Location 20B.

Angus Roy Peterkin was the manager of the Swan Boys Orphanage and Swanleigh.

Ferdinand Charles Farrall was a prominent businessmam and mayor of Midland Junction in the early 1900s.

Charles Yelverton (C.Y.) O'Connor was the engineer responsible for the design and construction of the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme.

The park adjacent to Stratton Park Shopping Centre and Middle Swan Primary School was renamed in honour of the late John Stone, who was president of the Stratton Community Association and lived opposite the park.

The suburb has effectively been completely built out as per the Outline Development Plan, with some exception. Stratton Boulevard was supposed to be extended east to intersect with Talbot Road, and the remaining wedge of land adjacent to Talbot Road developed into more housing. It is believed that this did not go ahead due to ecological values associated with the bushland here.

The other undeveloped area is west of Farrall Road, opposite the Stratton Park Shopping Centre, which will be one of the last land releases as part of Peet's Movida Estate, which currently developing south of the freight railway line.

Many thanks to the Midland and Districts Historical Society Inc. for sharing additional information/clarifying street name origins, and to local residents Janet and Samantha for sharing information about John Stone.

Do you have any more information on Stratton? Let us know below.

This page is dedicated to researching the history of Perth suburbs and how they were developed, origins of street and park names, and general trivia about them.

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