Ferndale is a southeastern

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

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

City of Canning The City of Canning is a local government area in the southeastern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, about southeast of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of and had a population of approximatel ...

. It is approximately from Perth's central business district.

History

The name Ferndale originated from developers who decided not to proceed with the

's choice of Shearnstead. In 1965, the name change was approved. The eastern section of Ferndale Crescent was once Menzies Road. Low scrub forest covered most of the suburb until developed in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Geography

Ferndale is bounded by Metcalfe Road to the south-east, the

Canning River The Canning River (Djarlgarra in Nyungar) is a major tributary of the Swan River in the South West Land Division of Western Australia. It is home to much wildlife including dolphins, pelicans, swans and many other bird species. Source a ...

to the north and north-west, and Bannister Creek to the south-west. Its main street is Ferndale Crescent, which runs like an inverted U-shape from Metcalfe Roadthe eastern leg of the street serves as a "centre line" to divide south-west and north-east Ferndale.

Facilities

Prominent features of the suburb also include Ferndale Reserve, a large sports ground; and the small Ferndale Shopping Centre. The

Canning River Regional Park The Canning River Regional Park is the largest of eight regional parks within the Perth metropolitan area. The park covers approximately on both sides of the Canning River between the bridges carrying Nicholson Road and Leach Highway over the ...

, located in Ferndale's north, is a popular route for cycling and walking as it is the parkland of the Canning River. There were two primary schools in the suburb for several decades: Ferndale Primary, located in west Ferndale; and Kinlock Primary in the east. However, Kinlock closed following the 2007 school year, along with Lynwood Primary in a neighbouring suburb. In 2008, students from those two schools moved to Ferndale Primary School. At the end of the 2009 school year, Ferndale Primary closed and was replaced by Bannister Creek Primary, which had been built on the former Lynwood Primary school site. Bannister derives its name from the creek that starts in Lynwood and passes through Ferndale, where it discharges into the Canning River. Each of the primary schools mentioned were and are feeder schools to Lynwood Senior High School, the main secondary school of the surrounding suburbs. There are

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

grounds along Metcalfe Road. The cricket grounds are shared with facilities of a club nicknamed ''Faries''. Similarly, the football grounds are shared with facilities of a club nicknamed ''Panthers''.

Transport

Ferndale's main road, Metcalfe Road, links two routes

Nicholson Road Nicholson Road is a major north-south road in the southeastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting Albany Highway in Cannington with the large residential areas of Thornlie and Canning Vale, before leaving the Perth urban area a ...

, which links Ferndale to Cannington and

Westfield Carousel Westfield Carousel is an Australian shopping centre in the Perth suburb of Cannington. It is located approximately from Perth's central business district on the Albany Highway and approximately from Cannington railway station. Following a r ...

, and

High Road High Road or The High Road may refer to: Film and television * ''High Road'' (film), a 2012 comedy by Matt Walsh * The Lady of Scandal, a 1930 American pre-Code film, also known as The High Road * The High Road (1915 film), a lost silent film ...

, linking to Riverton and the

Bull Creek railway station Bull Creek railway station is a railway station on the Transperth network. It is located on the Mandurah line, 11.7 kilometres from Perth station inside the median strip of the Kwinana Freeway serving the suburb of Bull Creek. History Th ...

. Ferndale is served by the

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 op ...

bus service 508 linking the area to Bull Creek and to Cannington. It is operated by

Swan Transit Swan Transit is an Australian bus company operating Transperth services under contract to the Public Transport Authority. It is a subsidiary of Transit Systems. History On 21 January 1996, Swan Transit commenced operating services in the Midl ...

. Prior to the commencement of the

Mandurah railway line The Mandurah line is a commuter railway and service on the Transperth network in Western Australia that runs from Perth south to the state's second largest city Mandurah. The service is operated by Transperth Train Operations, a division of the ...

, Transperth operated two routes through Ferndale (877 and 878), which had linked the suburb to Perth via Willetton and the

Kwinana Freeway The Kwinana Freeway is a freeway in and beyond the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with Mandurah to the south. It is the central section of State Route 2, which continues north as Mitchell Freeway to Cl ...

References

External links

{{City of Canning suburbs Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia Suburbs in the City of Canning