South Perth is an inner

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, the capital of the Australian state of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. 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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

is the

City of South Perth The City of South Perth is a local government area in the inner southern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth about south of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of , maintains of roads and a littl ...

. South Perth is separated from the

Perth central business district Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

(CBD) by Perth Water, a section of the Swan River. It is connected to the CBD via the Narrows Bridge which carries 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 A ...

and

Mandurah railway line The Mandurah line, also known as the Southern Suburbs Railway, is a suburban railway line and service in Western Australia, linking Perth's central business district (CBD) with Mandurah to the south. Operated by the Public Transport Authority ...

. Public ferries are also operated by

Transperth Transperth is the public transport system for Perth and surrounding areas in Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation, and consists of train, bus and ferry services. Bus operat ...

between the

Mends Street Jetty Mends Street Jetty is located in South Perth in Western Australia. Situated at the southern shore of the Swan River in the section known as Perth Water, the ferry service is primarily used for accessing the Perth Zoo from the Perth central bu ...

in South Perth and

Elizabeth Quay Jetty The Elizabeth Quay Jetty is located at the western side of Elizabeth Quay inlet on the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in Perth, Western Australia. Transperth services Transperth operates ferries between Elizabeth Quay and Mends Stree ...

in the CBD. South Perth is primarily residential, with commercial areas along major thoroughfares such as

Canning Highway Canning Highway is an arterial road in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner Perth suburb of Victoria Park, Western Australia, Victoria Park in the north-east, to the port city of Fremantle in the south-west. The road is mostly a four-l ...

, Mill Point Road and Angelo Street. It has extensive river frontage, including the South Perth Esplanade and Sir James Mitchell Park, with high-density areas around Mill Point and Point Belches facing the Perth skyline. The suburb also includes the

Perth Zoo Perth Zoo is a zoological park in South Perth, Western Australia, South Perth, Western Australia. The zoo first opened in 1898 and by 2011 housed 1258 animals of 164 species and an extensive botanical collection. It is a full institutional me ...

and Royal Perth Golf Club.

History

The history of the area now known as South Perth before permanent European settlement was broadly similar to that in other parts of what became 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, an ...

. The area was probably inhabited by peoples of the

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...

tribes, and they had little contact with other peoples. Early Dutch and French explorers reported their presence, but no recorded contact was made. No contact is known to have been made with travellers from any other country. The Dutch expedition commanded by Willem de Vlaming in 1697 was the first to discover the major river and note the presence of

black swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, 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 ...

s on the river. They named it the Swan River.

Early European settlement

After the permanent settlement of the British and the establishment of the Swan River Colony, most development tended to take place north rather than south of the Swan River in the town of Perth and also in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

, the port suburb. The area was already unofficially known as "South Perth" but was relatively untouched. By 1831, the land along the river frontage had been allocated amongst seven people, and the land was being partially used for agriculture and dairy farms. A

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...

was built in 1833 and a ferry across the Swan river via the Narrows was established.

Established settlement

There was some conflict between the European settlers and

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

, in which one of the leaders was a chief known as Yagan. After his death, local leadership went to a chief variously known as Galute or Kalyute. He led further resistance, but this was countered by a

punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beha ...

, which resulted in the deaths of fifteen Aboriginal people and the end of organised resistance. By the 1850s, there was some further development of the area, with more ferry connections and the construction of

the Causeway The Causeway is an arterial traffic crossing in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner-city suburbs of East Perth, Western Australia, East Perth and Victoria Park, Western Australia, Victoria Park. It is carried over the Swan River (Weste ...

and the Canning Bridge. The area was further surveyed and lots allocated to pensioners. By 1858, the area was officially marked on maps as "South Perth" and some roads had been constructed. The 1860s saw the realisation that large-scale farming in the district had no future, although dairying, timber cutting and vegetable growing continued. By the 1880s, a number of Chinese gardeners had arrived and they set up

market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to s ...

s on land on the foreshore, between Suburban Road (now Mill Point Road) and the Swan River. After the discovery of gold in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

in 1893, a number of Chinese, who had been unable to take up Miner's Rights in the goldfields for racial reasons, joined them in South Perth. The Chinese worked very hard and grew good quality fruit and vegetables, which the local population were happy to buy. In the 1920s, the Chinese started to market their produce to the wider population of Perth via the James Street markets. The Chinese market gardens successfully operated for many years, despite many attempts by local authorities to serve them with notices alleging uncleanliness or health hazards. They lasted until the 1950s before they were dismantled. With the help of convict labour, the district received more settlement and better roads. Nevertheless, the South Perth area still had a small population.

The 1880s South Perth land boom

The real estate boom of the 1880s, which coincided with the discovery of gold in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

saw a slow but appreciable growth in the number of residents. Several of Perth's more substantial citizens saw South Perth as a peaceful and tranquil suburb, and by the end of the 1890s, the population was about 400, with many elegant homes. The Zoological Gardens and the Royal Perth Golf Club were opened in 1898, and the area became popular with tourists from the town of Perth across the river.

Attractions

Perth Zoo

The Perth Zoo is located in the suburb of South Perth. It is open every day of the year and its exhibits include Australian wildlife, as well as exotic and rare animal species. It opens from 9 am to 5 pm daily with additional hours during summer and special events.

Other attractions

The Old Mill is visible to people driving south over the Narrows Bridge. The Old Mill Theatre is a local amateur theatre company based on Mends Street. The Sir James Mitchell Park is a stretch of park lands along the foreshore. It is dotted with gazebos, family picnic areas and barbecue facilities. It is adjacent to the Swan River, stretching between the Narrows Bridge and the Causeway. It has dedicated and separate paths for bicycling and walking. The

connects South Perth to the central business district by a regular ferry service operated by

Heritage listings

Heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

buildings in South Perth include: * 833 Mill Point Road: Old Mill * 103 Mill Point Road: South Perth Post Office * 20 Coode Street: Wesley College Chapel & Memorial Rose Garden * 112 Mill Point Road: Windsor Hotel *Lot 429 Mends St, now Old Mill Theatre; originally

Mechanics' Institute Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult edu ...

(1899), also known as Mends St Mall, Miss Burnet's School, and Neeamara

Residential pattern

South Perth is an expensive area for land due to its location near the river and central business district. Consequently, there are a comparatively high number of high-rise apartment towers in the suburb, generally near the foreshore. The tallest building is Civic Heart, which is tall. There are also a number of large mansions. Significant numbers of townhouses and some older houses fill in the suburb.

Educational facilities

* Wesley College * South Perth Primary School * St Columba's Primary School

Notes

References

* The History of South Perth, by F K Crowley. Rigby Limited 1962 * Peninsula City, by Cecil Florey. City of South Perth 1995

External links

* http://www.stmarysperth.com – History of St Mary's Church, South Perth. {{Authority control Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia Suburbs in the City of South Perth