Bayswater is a riverside
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 ...
north-east of the
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center 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 wit ...
(CBD) of
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
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 ...
. It is just north of the
Swan River, within the
City of Bayswater
The City of Bayswater is a local government area in the Western Australian capital city of Perth, about northeast of Perth's central business district. The city covers an area of and had a population of 69,283 as at the 2021 Census. The Cit ...
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 ...
. It is predominantly a low-density residential suburb consisting of
single-family detached homes
A single-family detached home, also called a single-detached dwelling, single-family residence (SFR) or separate house is a free-standing residential building. It is defined in opposition to a multi-family residential dwelling.
Definitions
...
. However, there are several clusters of commercial buildings, most notably in the suburb's town centre, around the intersection of Whatley Crescent and King William Street and a light industrial area in the suburb's east.
Prior to European settlement, the
Mooro
The Mooro are a Nyungar Aboriginal clan, a subgroup of the Whadjuk. Their territory stretches from the Swan River in Perth north to the Moore River beyond the northern limits of metropolitan Perth and east to Ellen Brook. Evidence of Aborig ...
group of the
Whadjuk
Whadjuk or Wadjak, alternatively Witjari, are Noongar (Aboriginal Australian) people of the Western Australian region of the Perth bioregion of the Swan Coastal Plain.
Name
The ethnonym appears to derive from , the Whadjuk word for "no".
Count ...
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 ...
people inhabited the area. In 1830, the year after the European settlement 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, an ...
, land along the river was divided between the colonists, who moved in soon after. Most either died or left in the months following, leaving the area undeveloped for most of the 19th century. In 1881, the
Fremantle–Guildford railway line was built, triggering the founding of the Bayswater Estate, the first development in the area, and in 1897, the
Bayswater Road Board
The City of Bayswater is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Western Australian capital city of Perth, about northeast of Perth central business district, Perth's central business district. The city cove ...
was founded, giving Bayswater its own local government. At first, development consisted of
nurseries,
market gardens and
dairies
A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...
, but as time went on, Bayswater became more and more suburban. Today, Bayswater is fully suburbanised, with the subdividing of older lots being commonplace. Plans for apartments around Bayswater and Meltham railway stations are a contentious issue.
Parks and wetlands in Bayswater include the Baigup Wetlands, the
Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary
The Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary is an artificial wetland in Bayswater, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth. The Bayswater Brook discharges into the wetlands, which in turn discharges into the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River. In 20 ...
and Riverside Gardens. There are other parks throughout the suburb, including
Bert Wright Park, Halliday Park (which includes a war memorial), Hillcrest Reserve and Houghton Park line Bayswater's Swan River foreshore. Major roads through the suburb include
Guildford Road
Guildford Road is a major road in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner-city suburb of Mount Lawley with Guildford in the north-east. The road runs mostly parallel to the Swan River, on its northern side, and is part of State Route 5 ...
, which connects to the Perth CBD and
Tonkin Highway
Tonkin Highway is an north–south highway and partial freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Perth Airport and Kewdale, Western Australia, Kewdale with the city's north-eastern and south-eastern suburbs. As of April 2020, the northern ...
.
History
Before European colonisation
Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the
Mooro
The Mooro are a Nyungar Aboriginal clan, a subgroup of the Whadjuk. Their territory stretches from the Swan River in Perth north to the Moore River beyond the northern limits of metropolitan Perth and east to Ellen Brook. Evidence of Aborig ...
group of the
Whadjuk
Whadjuk or Wadjak, alternatively Witjari, are Noongar (Aboriginal Australian) people of the Western Australian region of the Perth bioregion of the Swan Coastal Plain.
Name
The ethnonym appears to derive from , the Whadjuk word for "no".
Count ...
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 ...
people. They were led by
Yellagonga
Yellagonga (d. 1843) was a leader of the Whadjuk Noongar on the north side of the Swan River. Colonists saw Yellagonga as the owner of this area. However, land rights were also traced through women of the group. Yellagonga could hunt on wetla ...
and inhabited the area north of the
Swan River, as far east as
Ellen Brook
Ellen Brook is an ephemeral stream which runs from south of Gingin to the Swan River in Western Australia.
Overview
The headwaters of Ellen Brook start south of Gingin, in the Wheatbelt region. From there, Ellen Brook travels south, gener ...
and north to
Moore River
Moore River (Garban) is a river in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.
Geography
The headwaters of the Moore River lie in the Perenjori, Carnamah and Dalwallinu Shires. The river then drains southwards through Moora, flows westerly ...
. The Swan River provided fresh water and food, as well as being a place for trade. A camping ground, at least 4,500 years old, existed just north of the present-day junction of
Tonkin Highway
Tonkin Highway is an north–south highway and partial freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Perth Airport and Kewdale, Western Australia, Kewdale with the city's north-eastern and south-eastern suburbs. As of April 2020, the northern ...
and
Guildford Road
Guildford Road is a major road in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner-city suburb of Mount Lawley with Guildford in the north-east. The road runs mostly parallel to the Swan River, on its northern side, and is part of State Route 5 ...
. Another camping ground likely existed in the area now known as the Baigup Wetlands.
European colonisation
When Europeans founded 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 ...
in 1829, they did not recognise the indigenous ownership of the land.
John 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 legislative and executive councils for nearly 40 years, but also a participant in ...
, the colony's
Surveyor General, surveyed the land along the Swan River. His survey resulted in the land being divided into long, narrow rectangular strips extending from the river. As the river was the only method of transportation in the colony's early years, each piece of land had to have river frontage. The long, narrow strips were called "
ribbon grants". In 1830, the colonists travelled up the river to the land allotted to them. That year, the Swan River flooded several times, washing away crops and inundating shelters. The colonists were unlucky, as floods were not an annual occurrence. Most of these colonists either died or left the area soon after.
After it was abandoned, several other people bought the land, including
Peter Broun
Peter Nicholas Broun (17 August 1797 – 5 November 1846), known for most of his life as Peter Nicholas Brown, was the first Colonial Secretary of Western Australia, and a member of Western Australia's first Legislative Council.
Early life
Pet ...
(Location S) and
William Henry Drake (Location U). With numerous other land holdings around the colony, however, they never lived on or improved the land. The last colonists, the Drummond family, left the area in 1836.
By 1833, a track was cleared connecting Perth to Guildford. The track was useable by carriages, but the sandy soil made it difficult. When
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 ...
opened in 1836, a route south of the river became the main route from Perth to Guildford, making the track north of the river a minor route. Because of this, the track deteriorated to the point that some people "refused to allow their horses to go for hire on this track". That track is a precursor to what is now Guildford Road.
Between 1830 and 1880, only two houses are known to have been built in the area: one owned by Frederick Sherwood, the other by John Scrivener. Neither house is still standing.
The oldest remaining piece of physical evidence of European settlement in the area is an olive tree on Slade Street, supposedly planted in the 1840s and used as a place for religious services. That olive tree is now represented on the City of Bayswater's logo. A mulberry tree cut down in the 1970s had 130
growth rings
Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of chronological dating, dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, ...
.
Initial development in the 1880s
In 1881, the
Fremantle–Guildford railway line was built. There were many arguments over whether it should be laid north or south of the river. The northern option was the one eventually chosen. What was previously a several hours-long trip to get from what is now Bayswater to Perth or Guildford took twenty minutes by train. There was now opportunity to develop the isolated and underused land grants.
Patronage on the line exceeded everyone's expectations. Many racegoers got off the line at the part closest to the
Perth Race Course, hiked through the bush to the river, where men with boats were waiting to ferry people across the river to the race course. Around 1885 a footbridge was built across the river, near what is now the
Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary
The Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary is an artificial wetland in Bayswater, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth. The Bayswater Brook discharges into the wetlands, which in turn discharges into the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River. In 20 ...
, to serve racegoers.
In June 1885, increased interest in Perth's real estate market began, labelled a "land boom". William Henry Drake, the owner of Location U, died in
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area in the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, in 1884.
Stephen Henry Parker
Sir Stephen Henry Parker (7 November 1846 – 13 December 1927) was a lawyer and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia from 1906 to 1914.
Biography
Early life
Stephen Henry Parker was the second son of Stephen Stanley Park ...
, using his power of attorney for Drake, placed Location U on the property market. The advertisement for the land did little to recommend it, making no mention of the railway line or the possibilities for subdivision. Joseph Rogers, a property developer from
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
who saw the land's potential, unlike the locals who saw it as a backwater, bought the land.
In July 1885, Rogers, along with his associate Feinberg, placed the land, now named the Bayswater Estate, on the property market again, this time subdivided into lots. Whether the name had any connection to Drake is unknown. It was common practice for property developers to pick a pompous name for an estate at random, but it is possible that Rogers and Feinberg named it after Drake's place of death. Either way, the suburb of Bayswater is named after the Bayswater Estate. A road was surveyed running down the middle of the estate, named Coode Street north of the railway line and King William Street south of the railway line. In the 9 July 1885 edition of ''
The Daily News'', an advertisement appeared for the Bayswater Estate that was probably the largest ever real estate advertisement to run in any Western Australian newspaper at the time. The advertisement spanned the entire height of the page and covered over a quarter of its width.
People began buying the land. One person who purchased a lot was
Thomas Molloy, a
City of Perth
The City of Perth is a local government areas of Western Australia, local government area and body, within the Perth metropolitan area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government is commonly known as Perth City Council. T ...
councillor and land investor. He had been led to believe his land was close to the railway, but it was actually on the northern end of the Bayswater Estate, far from the present City of Bayswater and closer to
Wanneroo
Wanneroo is a northern suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Wanneroo.
Geography
As it is on the Swan Coastal Plain, the Wanneroo wetlands stretch parallel to the coastline and to the north and south of the suburb.
Ed ...
than the railway. When he discovered this, he made his annoyance clear to
Winthrop Hackett, the editor of ''
The West Australian
''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
''. On the day of the second auction, Hackett printed an attack on the auctioneers and the Bayswater Estate land in the newspaper. The second and third auctions were poorly attended. As a result, Rogers and Feinberg sued ''The West Australian'' for defamation, alleging it had caused them a financial loss because of the poorly attended auctions. They won the case, being awarded damages of one
farthing
Farthing or farthings may refer to:
Coinage
*Farthing (British coin), an old British coin valued one quarter of a penny
** Half farthing (British coin)
** Third farthing (British coin)
** Quarter farthing (British coin)
*Farthing (English c ...
, however they were never paid.
The decision to subdivide the land into lots rather than smaller lots typical in a town meant the estate remained rural. Landowners made use of the land for nurseries, dairies and other agricultural activities. As there was no supervision of building standards, houses were constructed out of corrugated iron and weatherboard, built by the landowners themselves. By January 1886,
a branch line was built through Location T over to the river near the Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary's current location. The intention was for it to be part of a railway to
Busselton
Busselton is a city in the South West (Western Australia), South West region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destin ...
, however this never happened. A footbridge was built later that year, so people no longer had to be ferried across the river.
During the late 1880s, Locations V, W and X changed hands several times. Locations X and W were eventually subdivided. Many of the lots were sold to speculators from
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
and New South Wales, but a few buyers actually lived on their lots. Unlike the other locations, Location V was not subdivided. The only other ribbon grant in the district was Location T, which remained with the original owner's family. However, part of Location T was leased to Henry Walkenden, who established a
brickworks
A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a clay pit, quar ...
there in 1887. This was the first industrial site in Bayswater. It employed up to 18 men, some of whom camped on the surrounding land. The railway was likely used to transport the bricks. Remnants of the site, like Gobba Lake, which was a clay pit, still exist to this day.
New services in the 1890s
The first attempt to get a school for Bayswater occurred in 1889, however, the campaign for that was quickly knocked back by the state Board of Education. A second, more thought-out campaign occurred in 1892. Residents managed to convince the Board of Education to take a tour of the area. Afterwards, the Board decided Bayswater deserved a school. A site was purchased, and a one room weatherboard building was constructed. Named Bayswater State School, with 29 pupils when it opened in 1894, its size was insufficient.
In the years that followed, the head teacher wrote several letters to the Education Department about overcrowding. By 1896, there were about 12 pupils who had to stand in the aisles, with the head teacher forecasting overcrowding would only worsen.
The first upgrade occurred in 1900.
Another matter of importance for residents in the 1890s was for Bayswater to get its own road board. Bayswater was a small settlement, awkwardly straddling the boundaries of the
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 ...
and
Swan Road District
The Swan Road District was a local government area that covered much of the Swan Valley in Western Australia. It came into existence on 24 January 1871, as a result of the Districts Road Act of 1871. It ceased to exist when it was merged with the ...
s. In December 1894, residents held a meeting to petition for a road board. The government rejected the petition. A second attempt to get Bayswater's own road board in 1896 was successful. Both the Perth and Swan Road Boards were happy to relinquish responsibility for building roads there. The
Bayswater Road Board
The City of Bayswater is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Western Australian capital city of Perth, about northeast of Perth central business district, Perth's central business district. The city cove ...
was gazetted on 5 March 1897, becoming one of several new local government areas established in the 1890s along the railway. A wooden ratepayers' hall was constructed on Guildford Road.
Bayswater gained many other services in the 1890s. A post office was established on King William Street in 1895. The railway was duplicated. Shortly thereafter, in 1896, the
Bayswater railway station was constructed. The railway became a major employer in Bayswater, with the station needing many staff for passenger services and the goods yard. Some made the commute to Perth by train daily. After lobbying by the
Western Australian Turf Club
The Western Australian Turf Club (WATC), later known as Perth Racing, is a members club in Perth, Western Australia.
It was established in the 19th century during the colonial period, was modelled after Turf Clubs in England, and operated as ...
, the branch line was extended across the river to the Perth Race Course in 1897. Baptist, Anglican, Methodist and Catholic churches were established, Bayswater's Baptist church being the first one in Western Australia.
Further subdivision of the lots at Location U occurred between 1895 and 1899. Roads were surveyed in a grid pattern instead of following the terrain. Steep hills would make it a challenge for the roads board to construct them and for horse-drawn vehicles to traverse them afterwards. Location W was subdivided further, effectively creating two settlements in Bayswater.
Despite these subdivisions, Bayswater was not densely populated. Because the land was cheap, many people bought several adjoining lots for a garden. Houses were still shoddily built, and most are no longer standing.
Dairies, slaughterhouses and market gardens were interspersed between the houses, and more brickyards and an ironworks were established in the eastern part of Bayswater. In 1897, the population of Bayswater was estimated to be 400. At the end of the decade, Bayswater was no longer an isolated and poorly serviced district.
After Federation
After the
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Wester ...
in 1901, there were tensions between the agricultural and residential elements of Bayswater. William Williams, a member of the road board, complained about cattle being a nuisance. Dairyman and fellow board member Edward Browne fought back, saying "cattle had been the making of the place". The piggeries received many more complaints, however, with concerns about their odour and noise from the pigs being killed on site. In 1903, the Bayswater Local Board of Health, controlled by the same members as the road board, disallowed piggeries from being situated between the river and north of the railway line.
In 1903 the road board also began regulating subdivisions, putting an end to small blocks and streets close together.
The opening of the
Midland Railway Workshops
The Midland Railway Workshops in Midland, Western Australia, were the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) for over 80 years, (1904-1994).
History
The first railway workshops in Western Australia were located at ...
down the railway line in 1904 fuelled much growth, with workers migrating from the eastern states and overseas, particularly Britain. By 1908, many residents of Bayswater were from Victoria. Of thirty-three births in 1908, nineteen fathers and eighteen mothers were from Victoria.
Most of the structures built after 1904 were made of bricks and weatherboard, and those made of corrugated metal were no longer makeshift buildings. These buildings were designed to be more permanent, and many still stand today.
''The West Australian'' noted in March 1909 that "the days of the '
humpy
A humpy, also known as a gunyah, wurley, wurly, wurlie, mia-mia, or wiltija, is a small, temporary shelter, traditionally used by Australian Aboriginal people. These impermanent dwellings, made of branches and bark, are sometimes called a ...
' (temporary shelter) have passed away" and "very few houses in the town are now without a
metalled road
A road surface (British English) or pavement (North American English) is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, macadam, ho ...
to connect them with the railway station".
A group of commercial buildings formed along King William Street in the 1900s, some of which were actually designed by an architect. In 1904, Gold Estates of Australia, a gold prospecting company that had branched out to real estate, acquired Location V, the sole remaining intact ribbon grant. The company subdivided the land, marketing it as the ''Oakleigh Estate''.
This estate bridged the gap between the two developed areas of Bayswater, making it one contiguous settlement. By 1909, the population boom had ended, leaving the population of Bayswater to rise steadily after that.
In 1909, the
King William Street subway was constructed. Prior to that, people had to use either the footbridge at Bayswater station or cross the railway at grade. Soon enough, there were complaints about herds of cattle going through it in the morning.
The
1911 census
The United Kingdom Census 1911 of 2 April 1911 was the 12th nationwide census conducted in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The total population of the United Kingdom was approximately 45,221,000, with 36,070,000 recorded in England ...
recorded the population of Bayswater being 1,758. The outbreak of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
brought British migration to a standstill. Bayswater stagnated and land values plummeted. People who tried to sell their land failed and had to take it off the market. Part of the problem in selling was the water table rising across Perthareas that were once useable became inundated with water. Tram services were built to
Victoria Park and
Nedlands but not Bayswater, despite a campaign by the Oakleigh Park Progress Association.
After the war however, Bayswater's commercial centre expanded.
In 1921, the population of Bayswater was 2,365.
In the middle to late 1920s, the Roads Board began to put more care into Bayswater's amenities. One initiative they undertook was to acquire a market garden in the suburb's town centre to be converted to a park. It was considered undesirable for a market garden to be on the main street of Bayswater, and so the land was turned into Whatley Gardens. It would later be named
Bert Wright Park.
Several modern industrial complexes were built in the middle to late 1920s. These included a foundry in 1927 and a large Cresco fertiliser factory, which led to numerous complaints about air pollution.
This was a catalyst for the district's first town planning scheme, which reinforced locating industry in the eastern part of Bayswater and kept it out of the western part. There were several teething problems, with people unaccustomed to restrictions on where they could set up businesses, and several petitions and appeals to the town planning scheme resulted.
This was one of the first town planning schemes in Western Australia, and it preceded the
Stephenson–Hepburn Report by 22 years.

During the 1930s, dairies around Bayswater slowly started to disappear. The Whole Milk Act of 1933 made setting up new dairies substantially difficult. The established dairies were a source of numerous complaints about noise, dust and the traffic caused by them, among other things.
In 1934, a railway station between Bayswater and Maylands was first suggested. The first
Garratt Road Bridge
Garratt Road Bridge consists of two adjacent bridges over the Swan River, linking the suburbs of Bayswater and Ascot in Perth, Western Australia. The upstream bridge was built in 1935, while the matching downstream bridge was built in 1972.
The ...
was built across the Swan River in 1934, linking Bayswater and
Ascot
Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to:
Places Australia
* Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane
* Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality
* Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide
* Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...
when it opened on 1 January 1935.
In the late 1930s, the townsites of Bayswater and Meltham Heights were gazetted, Meltham Heights consisting of the area around Hotham Street. Transport for Meltham Heights was an issue. With the area being working class, car ownership was uncommon. People agitated for a railway station at Meltham, however, that was a while off.
From April 1942 to the middle of 1943, Bayswater became the centre of army signalling operations in Perth. They were stationed there in anticipation of a Japanese invasion of Western Australia. Many homes and buildings were taken over for the purposes of signalling. The town hall was used by the military, and the road board had to pack its operations into the small parts of the building that were available. A large aerial was put up at the present-day site of Hillcrest Primary School. New factories were constructed and existing factories were converted to supplying military equipment. The federal government constructed a factory in between Garratt Road and Milne Street, in the middle of a residential area instead of the large industrial area just to the east, irritating residents and the road board.
Post World War II
Bayswater and its surrounding suburbs' population surged following the end of World War II. Housing construction, which was non-existent during the war, proceeded at a rapid rate post-war.
Development occurred in Meltham Heights, and construction of
Meltham station finally began in 1947. Shortages of labour and materials prevented the station's completion until 1949.
A police station opened in Bayswater in 1954.
The Belmont spur line closed in 1956 after fire damaged the bridge crossing the Swan River.
Because of the considerable growth, a new primary school was necessary. The Department of Education foresaw a large protest if a new school was not open by 1950. A site atop a hill on Coode Street was selected in March 1949, however its steep nature delayed construction. With an urgent need for the new school to open, three classrooms were transported from
East Fremantle
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...
to the site. The school opened in 1950 to 120 pupils and criticisms of its basic facilities. The school's buildings were expanded over the course of the decade, and in 1958, its population was approximately 700.
The population of Bayswater Primary School was also burgeoning, with 700 students in 1954. Its facilities were far too small, but the Department of Education did little about it. In August 1957, the school caught fire, destroying the original 1894 building, as well as several classrooms and the administration section. This forced the government to construct new and better facilities.
A proposal by the railway department for the East Perth railway marshalling yards to be relocated to Bayswater attracted protesters. They pointed out that the Midland line would be electrified eventually and Bayswater would be on the outskirts of Perth. The railway department ignored the protesters,
resuming the land of 33 houses. The 1955 Stephenson–Hepburn report recommended the marshalling yards be built in the
Kewdale–
Belmont area instead, ending the plan for marshalling yards in Bayswater.
The Stephenson–Hepburn report also had a negative impact on Bayswater, proposing that two highways be built through the suburb. One would run along the river, named Swan River Drive, and the other from north to south, named the
Beechboro-Gosnells Highway.
The
Metropolitan Region Scheme
The Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS) provides the legal basis for land use planning within the Perth metropolitan region. It classifies land into broad zones and reservations and is administered by the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAP ...
, adopted in 1963, accepted most of the recommendations of the Stephenson–Hepburn report, including the two proposed highways. The scheme had zoned large chunks of land through Bayswater as reserves for controlled access highways. Those who owned land zoned for the highways could not build on it, causing much frustration. Swan River Drive was particularly controversial, as its route followed the Swan River foreshore.
Starting in 1961, the Swan River foreshore in Bayswater was used as a
landfill
A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...
. Unusable for much else because of seasonal flooding and wetlands not being valued, the aim was to fill in any low-lying parts along the river and cover the area with grass to create a reserve. The Shires of
Bassendean, Bayswater and
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 ...
made use of the landfill for 17 years.
Between the 1960s and 1980s, the names for the communities of Meltham, Oakleigh Park and Whatley disappeared as these suburbs were absorbed into Bayswater. This began in 1967, when they were allocated the same
postcodes
A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal ...
as Bayswater. Whatley, in particular, put up an unsuccessful fight to retain its identity.
In 1971–72, the second Garratt Road Bridge was built parallel to the 1934 bridge, resulting in two lanes in each direction across the river. The newer bridge was the last wooden bridge constructed in Perth, and both are now heritage listed.
In 1973, the shire opened Mertome Village, the first aged care complex to be built by a local government in Australia.
The name is a shortening of
Merv Toms
John Mervin Toms (23 January 1909 – 8 October 1971) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1956 to 1971. He was appointed Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in July 1 ...
, who was chairman of the road board in the 1950s, and a local member of parliament who played a significant role in managing the Mertome Village project. The village signifies the changing role of local government in Australia, from building roads to providing social services.
Around the early 1970s, Bayswater was almost developed to its current extent. The last areas to be developed being the residential area in the suburb's north-east.
Coming into the late 1970s, it was realised that having a waste landfill by the river was an environmental hazard, and so the landfill was closed in 1980. A waste transfer station was established on
Collier Road, and a new landfill was established at
Red Hill.
In the 1980s, the plans for Swan River Drive were scrapped, much to the relief of residents. The Beechboro-Gosnells Highway went ahead, with the first section between Railway Parade and
Morley Drive in Morley opening in 1984. However, upon opening its name was
Tonkin Highway
Tonkin Highway is an north–south highway and partial freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Perth Airport and Kewdale, Western Australia, Kewdale with the city's north-eastern and south-eastern suburbs. As of April 2020, the northern ...
. Various roads, including
Beechboro Road
Beechboro Road is a north–south arterial road located in the northeastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting Morley and Bayswater with areas further north. Until the construction of the nearby section of Tonkin Highway between 1 ...
, were split apart by the highway.
Tonkin Highway was extended southwards to connect over the river in 1988, creating a new interchange at Guildford Road and fully severing the two sides of Bayswater.
The highway relieved heavy congestion through Bayswater, particularly at the Bayswater Subway and Garratt Road Bridge.
21st century
As of the 2010s and 2020s, development in the Bayswater town centre and around Meltham station is a contentious issue. The City of Bayswater started work on a structure plan for the Bayswater town centre in November 2015. This plan would cover building heights, land uses and connections for cars, pedestrians and cyclists. A draft was released in July 2017, and public comments on it were invited in August 2017.
In June 2019,
DevelopmentWA
DevelopmentWA is a land development agency of the Western Australian government. It was formed in September 2019 as a merger of the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority and the Western Australian Land Authority, then known as Landcorp. Develo ...
(previously the
Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority
The Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (MRA) was a statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia. It was established on 1 January 2012 pursuant to the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority Act 2011 and reported to the Minister f ...
) began the process of expanding the
Midland Redevelopment Area to include the areas around Bayswater station and
High Wycombe station, renaming it the Metronet East Redevelopment Area. DevelopmentWA said the purpose of the redevelopment area was to "maximise development opportunities arising from the station upgrades and help create a well-designed and connected community hub." Its purpose would be to take development planning control away from the local government and the
Western Australian Planning Commission
The Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) is an independent statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia that exists to coordinate strategic and statutory planning for future urban, rural, and regional land use. The WAPC f ...
(WAPC), and give it to DevelopmentWA. The boundaries of the area were formally established in May 2020. A draft redevelopment scheme for Metronet East was released in August 2020. The redevelopment scheme was formally adopted in May 2021, transferring planning authority from the City of Bayswater and the WAPC to DevelopmentWA. The redevelopment scheme provides the legal process for applying for development in the redevelopment area.
In July 2021, draft design guidelines for the Bayswater section of the Metronet East Redevelopment Area were released to public comment. The design guidelines are intended to guide the redevelopment of land within the redevelopment area, including guides for building heights, setbacks, and provision of car parking spaces. The draft guidelines allow for buildings as tall as 15 stories in the central part of the town centre. The development scheme allows for buildings to break the design guidelines if DevelopmentWA approves the development application for that building.
In 2019 and 2020, the
City of Bayswater
The City of Bayswater is a local government area in the Western Australian capital city of Perth, about northeast of Perth's central business district. The city covers an area of and had a population of 69,283 as at the 2021 Census. The Cit ...
proposed to turn part of eastern Bayswater into a new suburb called Meltham, reminiscent of the old townsite of Meltham Heights. The new suburb would have centred on Meltham station within an area of . Responses from the residents indicated that 54% were opposed to the renaming for various reasons, including criticism of the name, worries that property values would decrease and the association of Meltham with anti-social behaviour. City of Bayswater councillors decided in May 2020 not to proceed with the new suburb.
In February 2020, City of Bayswater councillors voted to heritage-protect the entire town centre. This resulted in a backlash from some residents and the community group Future Bayswater, who say that it may hamper development and protect buildings with little-to-no heritage value. However, other residents and the community group Bayswater Deserves Better praised the move to protect heritage. The structure plan was finalised in June 2020.
Geography
Bayswater is located north-east of the central business district (CBD) of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, east of the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
, and covers an area of . The elevation ranges from on the banks of the Swan River to at Hillcrest Primary School. The suburb is bounded on the south by the Swan River, with Ascot on the opposite side of the river, bounded to the west by
Maylands, to the north by
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district.
Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
,
Embleton and
Morley, and to the east by
Bassendean and
Ashfield, which are in the Town of Bassendean. Bayswater also shares corners with
Inglewood Inglewood may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Inglewood, Queensland
* Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area
*Inglewood, South Australia
*Inglewood, Victoria
*Inglewood, Western Australia
Canada
* Inglewood, Ontario
*Inglewoo ...
and
Eden Hill.
Bayswater consists predominantly of low-density
single-family detached home
A single-family detached home, also called a single-detached dwelling, single-family residence (SFR) or separate house is a free-standing residential building. It is defined in opposition to a multi-family residential dwelling.
Definitions ...
s, zoned as "urban" in the Metropolitan Region Scheme. There is an industrial area in the eastern parts of the suburb and a small town centre around King William Street and Whatley Crescent.
The Tonkin Highway and the
Midland railway line divide the suburb.
The streets throughout the suburb mostly follow a grid pattern. The roads perpendicular to the Swan River are remnants from the rectangular ribbon grants which extended from the river; the roads roughly parallel to the river are remnants of the later subdivision of Bayswater into lots. Streets named after Bayswater's early residents and landowners include Whatley Crescent named after Anne and John Whatley, Hamilton Street named after John Hamilton, Copley Street named after Benjamin Copley, and Drake Street named after Henry Drake. Another origin of many street names in Bayswater is towns and streets in England, such as Almondbury Street, Arundel Street, Clavering Street or Shaftesbury Avenue.
Bayswater lies on the Bassendean Dunes, which formed 800,000 to 125,000 years ago during the middle
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
. The dunes form low-lying hills made of heavily leached white to grey sands, which are poor at retaining nutrients. Groundwater is about below the surface. The Bassendean Dunes are a part of the greater
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 ...
.
Bayswater Brook was a natural brook that ran through Bayswater and nearby suburbs, linking various swamps and creeks in the area. In the 1920s, it was modified because of development into a network of drainage channels, with some covered and some open sections. The brook discharges into the Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary, which discharges into the Swan River. The Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary is an artificial wetland, created after the surrounding area was used as a landfill between 1972 and 1981. The wetland had significant environmental problems until it was rehabilitated in 2015. Nearby is Gobba Lake, an artificial deepwater lake named after Gino Gobba, a former City of Bayswater councillor. It was made from a clay pit used by Walkenden's Brickworks. Gobba Lake also underwent rehabilitation to make it more attractive to flora and fauna, and better for human recreational use.
Erosion of the Swan River foreshore due to boat traffic is a problem in Bayswater. At least of erosion occurred between 1995 and 2020. The City of Bayswater is currently funding works to prevent and fix erosion that has occurred.
Demographics

Bayswater's population, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics'
2021 census, was 15,288,
an increase for each census since the
2001 census, which recorded a population of 11,303. At the 2021 census, 48.9% of residents were male and 51.1% were female. The median age was 39, above the state and national average of 38. 1.5% of residents identified as
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
, below the state and national averages of 3.3% and 3.2% respectively.
At the 2021 census, Bayswater had a median weekly personal income of $1,015, a median weekly family income of $2,679, and a median weekly household income of $2,037, above the state averages of $848, $2,214, and $1,815 respectively. The most common occupations were professionals (31.4%), managers (14.3%), clerical and administrative workers (12.9%), technicians and trades workers (11.8%), community and personal service workers (11.0%), labourers (6.3%), sales workers (6.3%), and machinery operators and drivers (4.7%). Major industries that residents worked in were hospitals (except psychiatric hospitals) (4.8%), state government administration (3.1%), iron ore mining (2.7%), primary education (2.4%), and cafes and restaurants (2.3%).
The most common ancestries that Bayswater residents identified with at the 2021 census were English (38.1%), Australian (30.5%), Irish (11.7%), Scottish (9.5%), and Italian (7.0%). 64.8% of residents were born in Australia. The next most common birthplaces were England (6.4%), New Zealand (2.6%), India (2.4%), Vietnam (1.3%), and Ireland (1.2%). 36.5% of residents had both parents born in Australia and 41.6% of residents had both parents born in Australia. The most common religious affiliations were no religion (47.4%), Catholic (23.0%), Anglican (7.8%), not stated (5.3%), and Buddhism (2.3%).
Churches in Bayswater include Saint Columba's Catholic Church, an Apostolic Church, and a Russian Orthodox Church, which is the only one in Perth.
Parks and amenities
Bayswater has a small town centre around the intersection of Whatley Crescent and King William Street. Amenities there include the Bayswater Library and Community Centre, a
Bendigo Bank community branch, a
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
, a
WA Police
The Western Australia Police Force, colloquially WAPOL, provides police services throughout the state of Western Australia to a population of 2.66 million people, of which 2.11 million reside in the Perth Metropolitan Region. Western Australia h ...
station, a hotel and various small businesses. Businesses along Guildford Road include
Muzz Buzz,
Red Rooster
Red Rooster is an Australian fast food chain. It sells roast chicken alongside common fast food items, such as burgers, chips, salads, and beverages. Since 2021, it has offered fried chicken.
In 1972, Peter and Theo Kailis opened the first R ...
, a
Mazda
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. ...
dealer and a car rental. Businesses and services in the industrial area in Bayswater's east include a
Bunnings Warehouse
Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian Hardware store, hardware and garden centre chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Bunnings was ...
and the Baywaste Transfer Station, run by
Cleanaway
Cleanaway Waste Management Limited is an Australian waste management company. Founded in 1979 by Brambles Limited, Brambles, it has extensive operations in Australia.
History
Brambles Limited, Brambles entered the waste management and dispos ...
. The nearest shopping centre to Bayswater is the
Galleria
Galleria may refer to
Shopping centres named ''Galleria'' Australia
*Galleria Shopping Centre (Perth), Morley, Western Australia
* Galleria Shopping Centre (Melbourne), Melbourne, Victoria
Canada
* Allen Lambert Galleria, Toronto, Ontario
*G ...
in Morley. Other shopping precincts are in Bassendean, Inglewood and Maylands, all have major supermarkets.
Lining the Swan River in Bayswater are various parks and reserves. Starting from the west, the Baigup Wetlands are one of the last remaining areas of natural bushland along the Swan River's estuary and an important habitat for birds.
Hinds Reserve is home to ANA Rowing Club, Bayswater Paddlesports Club and Bayswater Sea Scouts. Riverside Gardens is a popular park for dogs and picnics, and has a playground, boat ramp, café and a large open grassed area. Annual events held here include the Autumn River Festival and the finish line of the
Avon Descent
The Avon Descent is an annual, two-day, white water event along the Avon and Swan Rivers in Western Australia. It includes both paddle craft (kayaks, surf skis) and small motor boats, and runs from Northam to the Perth suburb of Bayswater. I ...
, both of which involve food stalls and entertainment. Nearby is the heritage listed Ellis House, restored by the City of Bayswater, and now a community art centre. Next to Riverside Gardens is the Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary, an artificial wetland and bird habitat, and on the other side of Tonkin Highway is Claughton Reserve, a large park with a boat ramp and playground.
On the corner of Whatley Crescent and Garratt Road is the
Frank Drago Reserve
Frank Drago Reserve is a sports reserve in Bayswater, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is home to the Bayswater City Soccer Club, Bayswater Bowls and Recreation Club, Bayswater Croquet Club and Bayswater Tennis Club.
Clubs and facilit ...
, home to the
Bayswater City Soccer Club
Bayswater City Soccer Club is a soccer club based in Bayswater, Western Australia. They currently compete in the National Premier Leagues Western Australia.
History
The club in its current form was formed as a result of a merger in 1980 betwee ...
, Bayswater Bowls and Recreation Club, Bayswater Croquet Club and Bayswater Tennis Club. In the suburb's town centre, there is Bert Wright Park, which hosts the Bayswater Growers' Market every Saturday, and Halliday Park, which is home to the Bayswater Lacrosse Club and AIM Over 50 Archery Club, and has a war memorial where an annual
Anzac Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...
dawn service is held. Between Coode Street and Drake Street, near Hillcrest Primary School, is Hillcrest Reserve, which has three ovals for
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
and
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
, floodlights, cricket nets and clubrooms. The reserve is split into Upper Hillcrest Reserve and Lower Hillcrest Reserve, and is home to several amateur and junior football and cricket clubs.
Education

The first school to open in Bayswater was Bayswater Primary School, established in 1894 as the Bayswater State School on Murray Street, near the Bayswater town centre. It caters to 60 Kindergarten students and 370 students between Pre-Primary and Year 6 as of 2020. The school received a bell from a railway locomotive in 1904. Used to call the children into class, it remains to this day, despite calls for modernisation and is the reason behind the school's motto "Ringing True".
In 1936, St Columba's School, a private Catholic primary school on Roberts Street, opened to students. It caters to almost 500 students from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 6. The third school and second public school to open in Bayswater is Hillcrest Primary School, which opened in 1950. On Bay View Street, atop the crest of a large hill, it caters to 61 Kindergarten students and 364 Pre-Primary to Year 6 students as of 2020. In 1985, Durham Road School opened in Bayswater. This school caters to students with intellectual and physical disabilities from Kindergarten to Year 12, serving students from all over Perth. The school had 200 students as of 2020.
There are no secondary schools in Bayswater, but parts of the suburb are in the local intake areas for
John Forrest Secondary College and
Hampton Senior High School
Hampton Senior High School is an Independent public co-educational high day school, located in the Perth suburb of Morley, Western Australia.
History
In August 1965, the Department of Education announced that a school would open in Hampton i ...
, public high schools in Morley. In Bedford is
Chisholm Catholic College, a private Catholic high school.
Governance
Local
Bayswater is in the City of Bayswater local government area. It lies mostly within the City's west ward, although there is a small portion of the suburb within its central ward. Elections are held on the third Saturday of October in every odd year, and councillors are elected to four-year terms. The councillor for the west ward is Giorgia Johnson, whose term expires in 2025. Councillors for the central ward are Assunta Meleca, whose term expires in 2025, and Steven Ostaszewskyj, whose term expires in 2027. Between 1897 and 1983, the suburb of Bayswater was the council seat of the City of Bayswater, which was known then as the Bayswater Road Board and later as the Shire of Bayswater.
Among the buildings that have been used as offices for the Roads Board are
Halliday House in 1897, the Bayswater Drill Hall on Murray Street from 1907 to 1914, and an office on Leake Street from 1914 to 1983.
State
In the
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...
, Bayswater is within the
electoral district of Maylands
Maylands is a Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly Electoral districts of Western Australia, electorate in the state of Western Australia. Maylands is named for the inner northeastern Perth suburb of Maylands, Western A ...
, excluding the north-eastern corner, which is within the
electoral district of Bassendean
Bassendean is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia.
The district is based in the eastern suburbs of Perth. It is a safe Labor seat.
Geography
Bassendean is a compact electorate situate ...
. Both districts are strong seats for the centre-left
Labor Party. Labor has held Maylands since 1968 and Bassendean since it was created in 1996. Maylands' current member is
Dan Bull
Daniel George L. Bull (born 27 March 1986) is a British rapper and songwriter known best for his songs about video games, which he publishes on his YouTube channel.
He used to collaborate with fellow artist Dave Brown ("Boyinaband"). Howeve ...
, and Bassendean's current member is
Dave Kelly.
Bayswater has two polling locations: The Senior Citizens Centre / Bayswater Primary School and Hillcrest Primary School. The results below combine the results of these two polling places.
Federal
Bayswater is within the
Division of Perth
The Division of Perth is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is named after Perth, the capital city of Western Austral ...
in the
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia.
...
. It is a safe seat for the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
, and has been held by a Labor member since 1983. Its current member is
Patrick Gorman. The results below combine the results of Bayswater's two polling places, Hillcrest Primary School and the Senior Citizens Centre.
Transport
Cars are the most popular mode of transport in Bayswater. The 2011 Census revealed that 62.9% of residents travelled to work in a car. However, bicycle and public transport usage is significantly above the state averages. 15.6% of Bayswater residents said they take public transport to work; the state average is 9.4%, and 2.7% ride a bicycle to work; the state average is 1.1%.
Road
The arterial roads which service Bayswater are Tonkin Highway, Guildford Road,
Beechboro Road North
Beechboro Road is a north–south arterial road located in the northeastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting Morley and Bayswater with areas further north. Until the construction of the nearby section of Tonkin Highway between 1 ...
, Garratt Road and
Grand Promenade
The Grand Promenade () is a high-rise residential development located at 38 Tai Hong Street, Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is developed by Henderson Land Development and its subsidiary, The Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Co Ltd. in ...
. Tonkin Highway is a north–south
controlled access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
. Heading north on Tonkin Highway leads to
Ellenbrook () and
Joondalup
Joondalup () is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, approximately north of Perth central business district, Perth's central business district. It contains the central business district of the regional City of Joondalup and acts as the primar ...
() via
Reid Highway
Reid Highway is a east-west highway and partial freeway in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking North Beach with Middle Swan. As part of State Route 3, it forms half of Perth's outer ring road along with Roe Highway, w ...
. Heading south, the
Mooro-Beeloo Bridge
Mooro-Beeloo Bridge, formerly Redcliffe Bridge, is a traffic bridge which carries Tonkin Highway across the Swan River between the Perth suburbs of Ascot and Bayswater. It was originally named after the nearby suburb of Redcliffe; it was rena ...
carries Tonkin Highway over the Swan River, which leads to
Perth Airport
Perth Airport is an international airport, international, domestic airport, domestic and general aviation airport serving Perth, Western Australia.
It is the List of the busiest airports in Australia, fourth busiest airport in Australia meas ...
,
Armadale () and
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 Midd ...
. The only other bridge over the Swan River in Bayswater is Garratt Road Bridge, which leads to Ascot and Belmont (). Heading south west on Guildford Road leads to
Maylands and the Perth CBD (). Heading north-west on Guildford Road leads to Bassendean (),
Guildford
Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...
() and
Midland (). Grand Promenade heads north-west of Bayswater and connects to
Alexander Drive
Alexander Drive is a major north–south arterial road in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting Perth's central business district (CBD) with Edith Cowan University's Mount Lawley campus and the Malaga industrial area, a ...
, Morley Drive and
Dianella Dianella may refer to:
* ''Dianella'' (beetle), a species and genus of beetle in the family Carabidae now known as ''Diamella''
* ''Dianella'' (gastropod), a genus of freshwater snails in the family Hydrobiidae
* ''Dianella'' (plant), a genus of ...
. Beechboro Road North heads north of Bayswater, leading to
Beechboro and
Malaga.
Local distributor roads in Bayswater include Beechboro Road South, Collier Road, Coode Street, King William Street, Walter Road East and Whatley Crescent. Whatley Crescent goes through the town centre and connects to Guildford Road west of Bayswater as another connection to the Perth CBD. Collier Road connects the Bayswater industrial area to Tonkin Highway and Guildford Road, as well as linking Bayswater to the Morley commercial precinct. Beechboro Road South connects the town centre and the industrial area to Broun Avenue, north of Bayswater.
King William Street is the main street through the town centre and the most direct connection between it and Guildford Road. Coode Street connects the town centre to Morley in the north. King William Street and Coode Street connect by an underpass under the railway line. A rail bridge at the underpass known as the
Bayswater Subway or Bayswater Bridge was notorious for being hit by tall vehicles until replaced by a
viaduct
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...
in 2023. There are three other railway line crossings in Bayswater. They are, from east to west, a level crossing connecting Railway Parade and Guildford Road, a bridge carrying Tonkin Highway over the railway line and a bridge connecting Railway Parade and Whatley Crescent near Meltham station. There are four crossings of Tonkin Highway in Bayswater, two of which have an interchange with Tonkin Highway. They are, from north to south, Collier Road, which bridges over the highway and connects as a
single-point urban interchange
A single-point urban interchange (SPUI, or ), also called a single-point interchange (SPI) or single-point diamond interchange (SPDI), is a type of highway interchange. The design was created in order to help move large volumes of traffic th ...
, Railway Parade, which passes under a bridge, Guildford Road, which passes under a bridge and connects as a
folded diamond interchange
A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange.
The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...
, and Dunstone Road, a minor road which passes under a bridge.
Train

Bayswater and Meltham stations are located in Bayswater. These stations are served 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 ...
's
Airport line and
Midland line services. In addition, the
Ellenbrook line
The Ellenbrook line, known as the Morley–Ellenbrook line during construction, is a suburban railway line in Perth, Western Australia, which is operated by the Public Transport Authority (Western Australia), Public Transport Authority as part ...
branches off east of Bayswater station and enters the median of Tonkin Highway. It officially opened on the 8th of December, 2024, creating a public transport connection between Bayswater and Perth's outer north-eastern suburbs. As part of the Ellenbrook line,
Morley station is just north of Bayswater, which improved public transport coverage to north-eastern parts of the suburb when it opened.
Bus
Transperth bus services in Bayswater include routes 40, 41, 45, 46, 341, 342, 955, 998 and 999. They are operated by
Path Transit
Path Transit is an Australian bus company operating Transperth bus services under contract to the Public Transport Authority. It is a subsidiary of Keolis Downer.
History
On 29 September 1996, Path Transit commenced operating services in the ...
under contract from Transperth. Path Transit also operates a bus depot in Bayswater. Routes 40 and 41 heading south-west lead to the Perth CBD. Route 40 travels along Guildford Road and King William Street, connecting to Bayswater railway station. North of there, route 40 links to
Galleria bus station
Galleria bus station, formerly Morley bus station, is a Transperth bus station located next to the Galleria Shopping Centre in Morley, Western Australia. It has 17 stands and is served by 17 Transperth routes operated by Path Transit, Swan Tra ...
, traversing minor roads along the way. In Bayswater, route 41 travels along local streets south of Guildford Road, eventually connecting to Bayswater railway station. Route 45 travels down King William Street from Bayswater railway station and links to
Bassendean railway station
Bassendean railway station is a Transperth station located in Bassendean, north-east of Perth railway station, on the Midland Line.
History
In August 1906 a deputation from the West Guildford Roads Board spoke with the Minister for Railwa ...
. Route 46 travels northwards from Bayswater railway station along Beechboro Road to a terminus in Embleton.
Routes 341 and 342 traverse the northern boundary of Bayswater at Walter Road. To the west, they connect to Galleria bus station. To the east, they connect to Bassendean railway station and several north-eastern suburbs, including Beechboro.
Route 955 travels along Collier Road. To the west, it connects to Galleria bus station. To the east, it connects to Bassendean railway station, before heading north to Ellenbrook.
Routes 998 and 999, also known as the
CircleRoute
The CircleRoute is a pair of circular Transperth bus routes through Perth's suburbs.
History
The CircleRoute was introduced in two stages. On 16 February 1998, the first stage of the CircleRoute commenced operating between Fremantle and Oa ...
are a pair of high frequency bus routes which travel in a circuit around Perth. Their route through Bayswater consists of Garratt Road, Guildford Road, King William Street and Coode Street. They have a connection at Bayswater railway station. 998 travels south through Bayswater, and 999 travels north through Bayswater. The CircleRoute provides a connection to Galleria bus station, Dianella Plaza and
Stirling railway station to the north, and
Ascot Racecourse
Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Grade ...
, Belmont Forum and
Oats Street railway station
Oats Street railway station is a Transperth suburban railway station in Western Australia, located in the Perth suburbs of Carlisle, Western Australia, Carlisle and East Victoria Park, Western Australia, East Victoria Park. The station was ser ...
to the south.
Cycling

Bayswater is well connected by
shared paths. The railway line has a
Principal Shared Path (PSP) along it, which leads to the Perth CBD to the west and Midland to the east.
Tonkin Highway has a PSP alongside it north of Railway Parade, constructed in 2017 as part of
NorthLink WA
NorthLink WA was a road construction project in Perth, Western Australia, that saw both the northern section of Tonkin Highway upgraded, and the road extended northwards as the Swan Valley Bypass, to bypass Great Northern Highway. These two compon ...
. There is also a shared path along the river.
In 2015, Leake and May Streets were selected to become a "bike boulevard", which meant slowing the speed limit to and installing
traffic calming
Traffic calming uses physical design and other measures to improve safety for motorists, car drivers, pedestrians and bicycle-friendly, cyclists. It has become a tool to combat speeding and other unsafe behaviours of drivers. It aims to encour ...
measures. The boulevard links to the river, Bayswater Primary School and the Perth–Midland PSP. The first stage opened in March 2017, but in April 2018, the City of Bayswater decided not to go ahead with the second stage, which would have seen the bike boulevard extended north through Bedford and Morley.
Notable people from Bayswater
*
James Knox
James Robert Knox GCC (2 March 1914 – 26 June 1983) was an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church. After years as a Vatican diplomat, he served as Archbishop of Melbourne from 1967 to 1974, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worshi ...
:
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
- 1967 to 1974
See also
*
Electoral district of Bayswater (Western Australia)
An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated s ...
, a state electoral district that existed from 1962 to 1968.
References
{{City of Bayswater suburbs
Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia
Suburbs in the City of Bayswater