Floreat is a residential suburb west-northwest of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

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 ...

, the capital of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It is bordered on Underwood Avenue, Selby Street, Cromarty Road and Durston Road. It is the head of the

Town of Cambridge The Town of Cambridge is a local government area in the inner western suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, about west of Perth's central business district and extending to the Indian Ocean at City Beach. The Town covers ...

, which has its municipal offices and library in the suburb. The name of the suburb stems from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word for "flourish" or "prosper", which is also the motto of the

City of Perth A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, of which Floreat was a part when it was first built.

Demographics

Floreat had a population of 7,230 at the 2011 census, an increase of 205 from the 2006 census, and 277 from the 2001 census.

History

Amenities and facilities

The Floreat Forum shopping centre is located in the suburb. The varied shops include The Floreat Market, Coles, Woolworths, Best & Less, Sussan, Katies,

Lorna Jane Lorna Jane is an athletic apparel retailer with headquarters in Brisbane, Australia and regional offices in the US, Singapore, China, and New Zealand. It was founded in 1990 by Lorna Jane Clarkson and her husband Bill Clarkson. The women’s a ...

, Red Dot, Gazman, Blue Illusion, Subway, V Burger Bar and multiple cafes such as Flourish, fave and The Coffee Club. It sits adjacent to the

municipal offices and library. The centre also boasts a new Medical Centre, dining precinct and tavern. The suburb also sits adjacent to the popular Cambridge Street dining and commercial strip in neighbouring

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

. Floreat contains a range of sporting facilities, most notably the WA Athletics Stadium (opened May 2009) and

Bendat Basketball Centre The WA Basketball Centre (also known by its sponsored name, the Bendat Basketball Centre) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium features eight courts, including two basketball show courts with 1,100 perman ...

(opened January 2020). Both were developed following the closure and subsequent demolition of

Perry Lakes Stadium Perry Lakes Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium adjacent to Perry Lakes Reserve, Perry Lakes in Floreat, Western Australia. It was built and funded by the State Government and the City of Perth in 1962 for the 1962 British Empire and Commonw ...

and

Perry Lakes Basketball Stadium Perry Lakes Basketball Stadium was a purpose-built basketball stadium located in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium was built for the Australian Basketball Senior Men's Championships held in October 1962, and was Western Australia's home of ...

. The suburb also contains the WA Rugby Centre (home of

RugbyWA The Western Australia Rugby Union (RugbyWA) is the governing body of rugby union in Western Australia. It was founded in 1893 and the inaugural 4 team competition commenced in 1895. The highest competition run by the union is the RugbyWA FMG Pr ...

), Cambridge Bowling Club, and

Perry Lakes Reserve The Perry Lakes Reserve is a nature reserve located approximately west of , the capital city of Western Australia, in the suburb of . Within the reserve are two lakes, East Lake and West Lake, comprising approximately . In its current form, t ...

Education

Floreat contains a public primary school, a lower primary campus of a Catholic school, and a private training institution. It was previously in the catchment area for the now-closed City Beach High School; high school students now attend

Churchlands Senior High School Churchlands Senior High School is an independent public secondary school located in Churchlands, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, approximately northwest from the Perth central business district. It is the largest school in Western Aus ...

if they live north of Cambridge Street, or

Shenton College Shenton College is a public co-educational partially selective high school, located in Shenton Park, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. History Shenton College was established in January 2001 through the amalgamation of Swanbourne and Holly ...

if they live on the south side. Floreat Park Primary School, opened in 1951, is the only public school within the suburb's boundaries, and caters for students from kindergarten to Year 6. The Floreat campus of Newman College, a multi-campus Catholic K-12 school, is located on Peebles Road, and caters for students from kindergarten to Year 3, after which students must shift to the school's senior campuses in nearby Churchlands. The site was formerly occupied from 1962 to 1983 by Brigidine College, a Catholic girls' school, which had shifted from a prior campus in Subiaco. The current campus was formed after a merger between Brigidine College and two other local Catholic schools,

Marist College Marist College is a private university in Poughkeepsie, New York. Founded in 1905, Marist was formed by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious institute, to prepare brothers for their vocations as educators. In 2003, it became a secular in ...

and

Siena College Siena College is an American private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York. Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher. St ...

, taking effect from 1984.Brigidine College
, Catholic Education Circular, March 2007, pp10-11. The Perth campus of the

Australian Institute of Management The Australian Institute of Management Education and Training Pty Ltd, commonly known as AIM or AIMET, is an Australian education provider. Its courses include business, management and leadership. AIM offers short courses, nationally accredited qu ...

is also located within the suburb. The institute provides training and qualifications in management skills; the Perth campus opened in 1987, and is situated on Birkdale Street.

Politics

Floreat is located in the federal electorate of

Division of Curtin The Division of Curtin is an Australian electoral division in Western Australia. History The division was created in 1949 and is named for John Curtin, who was Prime Minister of Australia from 1941 to 1945. Prior to its creation, much of thi ...

, currently held by Independent MP

Kate Chaney Katherine Ella Chaney (born 21 January 1975) is an Australian independent politician, who was elected to the Australian House of Representatives at the 2022 Australian federal election, succeeding Liberal Party MP Celia Hammond in the divisi ...

, who unseated the former

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Celia Hammond Celia Hammond (born 25 July 1943) is an English former model who has since become known as a campaigner against fur and for neutering of cats to control the feral population. Early life Hammond was born to English parents and raised in Australia ...

in the

2022 Australian Federal Election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth conse ...

. The suburb is split between the state electorates of Churchlands, held by

Christine Tonkin Christine Maelisa Tonkin (born 15 March 1956) is an Australian politician, who was elected as a Labor member for Churchlands in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly at the 2021 state election. She defeated Sean L'Estrange, who had hel ...

, and Nedlands, held by

Katrina Stratton Katrina Stratton (born 6 January 1973) is a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the electoral district of Nedlands for the Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch), Australian Labor Party. She won her seat at t ...

. The suburb has favoured conservative candidates throughout its history, generally those of the centre-right

. Kate Chaney (1975–) Independent

References

{{Perth western suburbs Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia * *