Jandakot is a southern

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, located within the

City of Cockburn The City of Cockburn ( ) is a local government area in the southern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth about south of Fremantle and about south of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of and had a po ...

local government area. It is best known for

Jandakot Airport Jandakot Airport is a general aviation (GA) airport located in Jandakot, Western Australia, about south-southwest of the "general aviation area of the Airport West precinct" at Perth Airport. Jandakot airport opened in 1963. From 1 July 1998 ...

that is situated entirely within the suburb, the airport being "the busiest general aviation airport in Australia in terms of aircraft movements", the sixth-busiest civilian airport in Australia in the

fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...

ending 30 June 2018, and in the 2011 fiscal year even the busiest civilian airport in Australia.

History

Jandakot was originally named after Lake Jandakot, which was renamed lake Forrestdale in 1973. Maps of the

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 ...

produced in the early 1830s show a lake of vast extent situated south west of

Kelmscott Kelmscott is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, about east of Lechlade in neighbouring Gloucestershire. Since 2001 it has absorbed Little Faringdon, which had been a separate civil parish. The 2011 Census reco ...

. The name of the first European to find the lake remains unknown but, in February 1833,

Surveyor-General A surveyor general is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Historically, this would often have been a military appointment, but it is now more likely to be a civilian post. The following surveyor gen ...

Septimus Roe John Septimus Roe (8 May 1797 – 28 May 1878) was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, a member of Western Australia's Western Australian Legislative Council, legislative and executive councils for near ...

found the size of the lake had been greatly exaggerated. It became well known as a watering place on the original track between 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 and ...

and Pinjarra and in 1844 its Aboriginal name was recorded as ''Jandacot'' by surveyor Gregory, brother of

Augustus Gregory Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1 August 1819 – 25 June 1905) was an English-born Australian explorer and surveyor. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was the first Surveyor-General of Queensland. He was appointed a ...

. During subsequent years, the name was recorded variously as ''Jandicott'', ''Jandakoot'' and ''Jandakott'', but the spelling eventually adopted was ''Jandakot''. The Aboriginal meaning of the word is said to be "place of the Whistling Eagle".

Geography

It is bounded to the north by the

Roe Highway Roe Highway is a limited-access highway and partial freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Kewdale with the city's north-eastern and south-western suburbs. The northern terminus is at Reid Highway and Great Northern Highway in Middle S ...

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 ...

to the west, Johnston Road to the east and to the south by Fraser Road, Jandakot Road, Solomon Road and Armadale Road. The northeastern boundary of the suburb is also the municipal boundary of the

City of Melville The City of Melville is a local government area in the southern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, east of the port city of Fremantle and about south of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of ...

and the eastern boundary is the municipal boundary of 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 ...

Jandakot Airport

Jandakot is best known for

located within it. Jandakot Airport serves pilot testing and domestic plane flights. It is the busiest secondary airport in Australia. A popular feature is the cafe that overlooks the runway. The airport was opened in 1963. A land development company is keen to redevelop the land occupied by Jandakot Airport in exchange for a new airport more than from many airport customers. In contrast to the tens of thousands of people now living in its vicinity, there is stiff opposition from the aviation community. The aforementioned land development company received a further setback in 2006 when the Minister for Transport wrote advising them that the airport was to be operated in its current location and in accordance with their lease from the Federal Government. This will include major re-development of the

airside An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

facilities including a new parallel 12/30 runway.

Climate

Jandakot gets the comfortable climate of the Perth area with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Summer temperatures can get as high as , winter weather gets mild temperatures around . Jandakot holds the record for the lowest temperature in the Perth metro area, of , and regularly drops below freezing in winter.

References

External links

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