__NOTOC__ Bassendean (once referred to as West Guildford) is a north-eastern suburb of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia. Its

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

is the

Town of Bassendean The Town of Bassendean is a local government area in the northeastern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, west of the industrial centre of Midland and about northeast of Perth's central business district. The Town cover ...

. It is also the name of the sand dune system on the

Swan Coastal Plain The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geo ...

known as the ''Bassendean Dune System''.

History

In 1829, the land along the Swan River was allotted to British settlers as they arrived in the newly created

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...

James Henty James Henty (24 September 1800 – 12 January 1882), was pioneer, merchant and politician in colonial Australia. Early life James Henty was the eldest son of Thomas Henty, a wealthy English land-owner and banker from Tarring, West Sussex. He w ...

and his brothers were granted 2,000 acres upon which they grazed their livestock and built a mud-brick homestead. They called their property ''Stoke Farm''. In 1832, the Henty brothers sold the farm to the Colonial Secretary, Peter Broun who re-named the homestead ''Bassendean''. Over the years the Bassendean property became incorporated into the suburb of West Guildford and in 1922, West Guildford was renamed Bassendean. Flooding in 1929 caused severe damage, especially to the primary school oval. In December 1934,

Bassendean Road Board The Town of Bassendean is a local government area in the northeastern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, west of the industrial centre of Midland and about northeast of Perth's central business district. The Town cover ...

held a referendum, seeking approval to borrow funds for the improvement of an area, known as Hays Swamp, on the edge of the townsite. The development would include a

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

with floodlights, a

croquet Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Its international governing body is the W ...

lawn,

Bassendean Oval Bassendean Oval currently known as Steel Blue Oval for sponsorship reasons, is a sports stadium, located in Bassendean, Western Australia. The capacity of the venue is 22,000 people. It usually hosts Australian rules football matches and is t ...

, tennis courts and provisions for other sports.

Rail heritage

Bassendean is home to the

Western Australian Rail Transport Museum The Railway Museum, also known as the Rail Transport Museum, is situated in Bassendean, Western Australia. It is run by the Western Australian division of the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), which is called Rail Heritage WA. In th ...

which opened in 1974. The display has a collection of steam and diesel locomotives, some of which have been restored to operating conditions. Also as part of the collection are a number of carriages and other equipment associated including the

Zanthus Zanthus is a remote and uninhabited outpost on the Trans-Australian Railway approximately east of the regional city of Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia. Transport A depot existed at Zanthus prior to 1915 ...

station and a signal box from

Perth station Perth Station was an ESTRACK Earth station in Australia, located at the Perth International Telecommunications Centre in the suburb of Cullacabardee. It has been retired from service in December, 2015 and has been replaced by the New Norcia S ...

. The West Australian Model Railway Club is also housed within the complex. The display's centrepiece is a working scale model featuring engine characters from the children's series '' Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends''.

Facilities

Cyril Jackson Senior High School was built in 1962, and was converted into Cyril Jackson Senior Campus in 1990 to provide specialised study for post high school students gaining entrance into university study.

Bassendean railway station Bassendean may refer to: *Bassendean, Western Australia, suburb of Perth, Western Australia *Town of Bassendean, local government district in Western Australia * Electoral district of Bassendean, Western Australia *Bassendean, Scottish Borders B ...

is served by

Transperth Transperth is the brand name of the public transport system serving the city and suburban areas of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation. Train o ...

Midland line services.

Industry

Bassendean has had an involvement in railway rolling stock construction and maintenance since

Commonwealth Engineering Commonwealth Engineering (often shortened to Com-Eng, later Comeng was an Australian engineering company that designed and built railway locomotives, rolling stock and trams. History Smith and Waddington, the predecessor to Commonwealth Engi ...

opened a plant in 1951. It closed in the 1980s, with Goninan later taking it over.

Notable people

* Peter Broun (1797–1846), first

Colonial Secretary of Western Australia The Colonial Secretary of Western Australia was one of the most important and powerful public offices in Western Australia, in the time when Western Australia was a British colony. The Colonial Secretary was the representative of the British Col ...

Margaret Forrest Margaret Elvire Forrest, Lady Forrest (née Hamersley; 22 October 1844 – 13 June 1929 in Picton, Bunbury, Western Australia, Bunbury) was the wife of Sir John Forrest. Personal life Born in Le Havre, France, she was a member of the promin ...

(1844–1929), wife of

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister ...

* Pat Giles (1928–2017), ALP Senator during the Hawke and Keating governments *

Deborah Vernon Hackett Deborah Vernon Buller Murphy (née Drake-Brockman, previously Hackett and Moulden; 18 June 1887 – 16 April 1965), best known as Lady Hackett or Lady Moulden, was an Australian community worker, philanthropist, and mining investor.Alexandra Hasl ...

(1887–1965), mining company director and philanthropist *

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...

(1930-) Australian-British entertainer who grew up in Bassendean and was known as "The Boy from Bassendean" *

(1800–1882), pioneer British colonist of the area *

May Holman Mary Alice "May" Holman (18 July 1893 – 20 March 1939) was an Australian politician. She was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1925 until her death in 1939. She was th ...

(1893–1939), politician, the first woman Australian Labor Party parliamentarian *

Adem K Adem K (born Adem Kerimovski; 10 January 1975) is an Australian independent rock musician and songwriter. As a founding member of the group Turnstyle, Kerimovski is credited with helping to revive Casio and toy keyboard integration in rock mus ...

, musician of the band

Turnstyle A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...

has lived in Bassendean since 2001

References

External links

Town of Bassendean Website

Cyril Jackson Senior Campus Website
{{Authority control Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia Town of Bassendean