HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Perth Wetlands, also known as the Perth Great Lakes or the Great Lakes District, was a collection of fresh-water wetlands,
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s and lakes located 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 geol ...
north of the city of Perth in Western Australia. Over a period of 80 years from the first British settlement in Western Australia in 1829 most of the wetlands were reclaimed for use as housing, parks and market gardens.


Location

The wetlands were spread from Claisebrook Cove, north of the present city on the Swan River, through to Herdsman Lake to the north-west of the city, approximately east of the coast. The lakes were located in the present-day suburbs of Perth, Highgate, West Perth, East Perth, Northbridge, North Perth, Leederville, West Leederville, Wembley, Glendalough, Mt. Hawthorn and Herdsman, and the local government areas 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 ...
, the
City of Vincent The City of Vincent is a local government area of Western Australia. It covers an area of approximately in metropolitan Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and lies about 3 km from the Perth CBD. The City of Vincent maintains 139&nbs ...
, the Town of Cambridge and the
City of Stirling The City of Stirling is a local government area in the northern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth about north of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of and has a population of over 223,000, makin ...
. Jualbup Lake, formerly known as Dyson's Swamp and Shenton Park Lake, is located in Shenton Park in the
City of Subiaco The City of Subiaco is a local government area in Western Australia. It covers an area of approximately 7 km² in inner western metropolitan Perth and lies about 3 km west of the Perth CBD. The City includes the historically working- ...
.


History


Aboriginal uses

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
tribes occupied the area around Perth for around years before European settlement, using the wetlands as a source of food (fish, waterfowl, crayfish and turtles) and fresh water. Local Nyungar tribes continued to use the lakes for resources and as a meeting place up until they were reclaimed for housing developments in the 1940s, with meetings of up to 400 people recorded in corroborees at Lakes Monger and Henderson as well at Hyde Park.


European settlement

Perth was founded by Captain James Stirling in June, 1829. The area on which Perth was built was described by George Seddon in ''Sense of Place'' (1972) as follows:
The site '' f Perth''was a well-timbered, low and narrow sand-ridge running east- south-east from Mt Eliza. ... To the north of this narrow ridge, there was a chain of freshwater lakes: Smith's Lake, Lake Henderson, Third Lake, Lake Sutherland, Lake Irwin, Lake Tompson, Lake Poulett, Stones Lake, and Tea Tree Lake, which was part of
Clause's Brook Claise Brook is a stream which empties into Claisebrook Cove before running into the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia. The area surrounding the stream is on the outskirts of the Perth CBD and is part of the suburb of East Perth. Claise ...
. These lakes were in a broad valley running south-east from Lake Monger to the Swan River...
Following the arrival of the first Europeans in 1829, the township of Perth was gradually expanded. The area to the north of the township, was not considered ideal for settlement due to the extensive wetlands that stretched for almost immediately north of the town site. Gradually, lakes closer to the city were drained, with the first drainage work commencing in 1832. Some wetlands were reclaimed by individual settlers on whose land the lakes encroached, others were reclaimed to be used for public works and housing. At the same time, the Swan River foreshore was reclaimed to ease transportation along the river. The last of the lakes were drained in the 1880s. However, some areas including Herdsman Lake, Lake Monger and Third Swamp (now Hyde Park) were unable to be drained due to their location, size or depth.


List of features


Remaining features


Former features

*Tea-tree Lake - a small lagoon that appeared seasonally to the west of Claise Brook during flooding. *Lake Kingsford - a lake located close to the inner-city of Perth that was drained in the 1830s. Most of the railways in Perth, and associated infrastructure, including Perth Railway Station, Perth Underground Station, the Horseshoe Bridge and the main section of Wellington Street, were built on reclaimed land from Lake Kingsford. *Stone’s Lake (''Yoorgoorading'') - Perth Oval is located on the site of Stone's Lake *Lake Poulett (“First Swamp”; known by Noongar Peoples as ''Chalyeding'') *Lake Thomson (“Mew’s Swamp”) - partial reclamation by Thomas Mews led to the name Mew’s Swamp being given *Lake Henderson (''Boojoormelup'') *Lake Georgianna - a small lake to the south of Lake Monger, near the present-day Mitchell Freeway Interchange. *Lake Irwin - a medium-size lake in between Lakes Sutherland and Kingsford. Perth Entertainment Centre and later Perth Arena were built on reclaimed land on the former site of the lake. *Lake Sutherland (“Padbury’s Lake”) *Second Swamp


Nature


Flora

Species that are or were prominent in the Perth wetlands include(d):


Trees and shrubs

*''
Melaleuca rhaphiophylla ''Melaleuca rhaphiophylla'', commonly known as swamp paperbark is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south west of Western Australia. It has narrow, needle-like leaves and profuse spikes of white or yellowish flowers at ...
'' (swamp paperbark) - found especially in Lakes Herdsman, Monger and formerly Lake Henderson. *'' Banksia littoralis'' (swamp banksia) - *'' Eucalyptus rudis'' (flooded gum) - *''
Eucalyptus camaldulensis ''Eucalyptus camaldulensis'', commonly known as the river red gum, is a tree that is endemic to Australia. It has smooth white or cream-coloured bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers an ...
'' (river red gum) - *Various species of '' Xanthorrhoea'' (grass trees) *'' Melaleuca preissiana'' (modong) *'' Banksia littoralis'' (swamp banksia) *'' Kunzea ericifolia'' (spearwood) - woody, evergreen shrub usually metres tall. *'' Banksia ilicifolia'' (holly-leaf banksia)


Sedges

*'' Baumea articulata'' *'' Typha orientalis'' (broadleaf cumbungi) - generally considered a weed; also a fire hazard in summer.Herdsman Lake Regional Park Conservation Plan (PDF)
prepared for the Conservation Commission of Western Australia by ERM Mitchell Cotter. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
*'' Schoenoplectus validus'' (great bulrush) -


Herbaceous and aquatic plants

*'' Potomogeton pectinatus'' (fennel pondweed) *'' Najas marina'' (prickly waternymph) *'' Cotula coronopifolia'' (buttonweed) - an introduced species originally from Africa that appears on dried-up lakebeds during summer, especially in Claisebrook Cove.


Fungi

*'' Phytophthora cinnamomi'' - a soil-borne water mould causing dieback, a major plant fungus affecting trees at Herdsman Lake and Lake Monger.


Fauna

Species that are or were prominent in the Perth wetlands include(d):


Birds and waterfowl

Surveys have recorded over 30 different species of birds at Point Fraser,CBCG Perth Biodiversity Study
, section 2.3.1 Birds
and over 100 different species of native and non-native birds that inhabit Lakes Herdsman and Monger for some period of the year, around two-thirds of which breed there. The most notable species include: *''
Cygnus atratus The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon cl ...
'' (black swan) - Western Australia's state emblem, found on both the
flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
and coat-of-arms of Western Australia, as well as in Australian popular culture as a symbol of Western Australia. *Several varieties of duck, including: **'' Tadorna tadornoides'' (mountain duck) **'' Chenonetta jubata'' (wood duck) *Several varieties of cormorant, including: **'' Phalacrocorax varius'' (pied cormorant) **''
Microcarbo melanoleucos The little pied cormorant, little shag or kawaupaka (''Microcarbo melanoleucos'') is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or mor ...
'' (little pied cormorant) **''
Phalacrocorax fuscescens The black-faced cormorant (''Phalacrocorax fuscescens''), also known as the black-faced shag, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. Upperparts, including facial skin and bill, are black, with white underparts. It is endemic to coas ...
'' (black cormorant) **'' Phalacrocorax sulcirostris'' (little black cormorant)


Reptiles and amphibians

*''
Cherax quinquecarinatus ''Cherax quinquecarinatus'' is a small freshwater crayfish endemic to the south-west corner of Australia. It is one of two species known as gilgie, or jilgi, which is a seasonal food source for people of the region. Gilgies are found throughout a ...
'' (common gilgie) - a small freshwater variety of crayfish that was especially present in lakes Herdsman and Monger. They were used as a source of food by Aborigines up until the 1940s. *'' Cherax destructor'' (common yabby) - an introduced species of crayfish posing a threat to the gilgy. It was first documented in Western Australia in the 1930s. *''
Chelodina colliei The oblong turtle (''Chelodina oblonga''), also known commonly as the narrow-breasted snake-necked turtle and the southwestern snake-necked turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to the southwestern pa ...
'' (long-necked turtle) - a small freshwater turtle endemic to
Southwest Australia Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna. The region is also known as the Southwest Aus ...
, growing up to in length.''Chelodina oblonga'', the Narrow-Breasted Snake-Necked Turtle
/ref>


Fish

*''
Pseudogobius olorum ''Pseudogobius'' is a genus of fish in the goby family, Gobiidae. It is widely distributed in tropical and temperate regions of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Species occur in freshwater and estuarine habitat types, such as mangrov ...
'' (Swan River goby) - a small, native fish commonly found in Herdsman Lake.


See also

*
Perth City Link Perth City Link is an urban renewal and redevelopment project in Perth, Western Australia. The projectbounded by the Mitchell Freeway, Wellington Street, the Horseshoe Bridge and Roe Street is on land that was once the Perth/City railway yard ...
*
Islands of Perth, Western Australia Perth, Western Australia hosts a variety of unique and biologically diverse habitats found nowhere else on Earth. Many of these habitats include islands. Islands provide habitat and safe refuge for endangered native fauna as they are free of ...


References

{{Reflist, 2


External links


History of Wetlands in PerthPerth Waterfront
Swan Coastal Plain Wetlands of Western Australia