Burswood is an inner southeastern

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 ...

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 ...

, located immediately across the Swan River from Perth's central business district (CBD). 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

Town of Victoria Park The Town of Victoria Park is a local government area of Western Australia. It covers an area of 17.62 km² in metropolitan Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It had a population of approximately 35,000 as at the 2016 census. It li ...

. Burswood is the location of the State Tennis Centre,

Perth Stadium Perth Stadium, commercially known as Optus Stadium due to sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the Burswood, Western Australia, Burswood suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It was completed during late 2017 and officially opened ...

, Belmont Park Racecourse, and the

Crown Perth Crown Perth (formerly Burswood Island Casino, Burswood Island Complex and Burswood Entertainment Complex) is a resort and casino located in Burswood, Western Australia, near the Swan River. The resort consists of a casino, a convention centre ...

casino and hotel complex.

History

Burswood developed as two separate entities Burswood Island, and a southernmost part within the suburb of Victoria Park until the 1990s. Henry Camfield, who emigrated from England to 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, with two

indentured An indenture is a legal contract that reflects an agreement between two parties. Although the term is most familiarly used to refer to a labor contract between an employer and a laborer with an indentured servant status, historically indentures we ...

servants and their families, was granted of land opposite Claisebrook. Camfield named the estate after his father's farm, Burrswood, near

Groombridge Groombridge is a village of about 1,600 people. It straddles the border between Kent and East Sussex, in England. The nearest large town is Royal Tunbridge Wells, about away by road. The main part of the village ("New Groombridge") lies in t ...

in Kent. The area was a low-lying

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

leading to a ridge and steep, sandy hill with

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

beyond. The peninsula became Burrswood Island in 1841 when Burswood canal was cut to offer a more direct route to Guildford, which had previously been encumbered by mud flats. By this time, the land was earning income and Camfield let it to tenants until he sold it in 1871 when he was living at Camfield House. A statue of Henry Camfield is located in Burswood Park surrounding the entertainment complex today. During the 1890s, the Bunbury Bridge and the Perth to Armadale railway line were built in the area. The current spelling of Burswood was a result of a misspelling on the station signage. Western Australia's first

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

(9-hole) was built at Burswood Island in 1895 the clubhouse was a mud hut and in 1899 a racecourse was also built. This was built by Albert Edmund Cockram and in 1902 it became the Belmont Park Racecourse. In 1906 Goodwood railway station, later renamed

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

, opened. From 1900 until 1943, there were two racecourses, Goodwood and Belmont Park. These were owned by Albert Edmund Cockram, as was Burswood Island. He developed the racecourses and became the largest importer of thoroughbreds into Australia. The Western Australian Turf Club took over both in 1945, purchasing it from the estate of Albert Edmund Cockram, and closed Goodwood. Efforts were made to establish a residential district at "Riversdale Estate", but the use of Burswood Island as part of a sewerage filtration system (1906–1934) and the existence of various light industries from the 1910s onward worked against development. Residents in the area requested a change of name and in 1921, the name Rivervale was adopted. In 1985, the development of the Burswood Island Resort, including a casino, rehabilitated the name and the suburb was gazetted as Burswood in 1993, also including the residential area of Victoria Park south of Burswood Road. The resort is now known as Crown Perth.

Population

In the 2021 Census, there were 2,779 people in Burswood. 47.0% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 6.1%. 63.0% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin at 6.2%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 41.2% and Catholic 18.8%. Notably 8.8% of Burswood's population has Chinese ancestry, well above the state or national averages.

Geography

Burswood is bounded by the Swan River to the west, north and north-east;

Graham Farmer Freeway The Graham Farmer Freeway is a inner-city freeway in Perth, Western Australia. It links the Mitchell Freeway in West Perth to Great Eastern Highway and Orrong Road in Burswood, providing an east–west bypass of the Perth central business d ...

Great Eastern Highway Great Eastern Highway is a road that links the Western Australian capital of Perth with the city of Kalgoorlie. A key route for road vehicles accessing the eastern Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt and the Goldfields-Esperance, Goldfie ...

and the Armadale railway to the east, and Shepperton Road and Harper Street to the south.

Facilities

Burswood includes Belmont Park Racecourse, Perth's winter thoroughbred racing track;

, a 60,000 seat multi-purpose venue for all football codes, cricket and entertainment events; the State Tennis Centre; and

(formerly the Burswood Entertainment Complex), with three hotels, a casino, a convention and function centre, a theatre and many restaurants and bars. Burswood was the site of Western Australia's first golf course established in 1895. The site was found to be unsuitable and the course was closed and the site abandoned. The golf club relocated to Belmont in 1901 and eventually became (after relocating again to South Perth), Royal Perth Golf Club. A new 18 hole course was opened in 1987 and closed in 2013 amid controversy, to make way for construction of Perth Stadium and a new hotel. The Burswood Superdome, a 13,600 seat multipurpose indoor arena used for sports and entertainment, operated from 1987 to 2012. It was demolished in 2013, to be replaced by a casino carpark.

Transport

The Perth-Armadale rail line runs through the area and is serviced by Burswood railway station. Buses from the Victoria Park transfer station along

and Craig Street service the area.

is serviced on event days by the Perth Stadium bus station and the Perth Stadium railway station, with some train services stopping on weekends. All services are operated by the Public Transport Authority. except the privately owned Little Ferry Co.

Bus

Bus Stations

Causeway Bus Station Causeway bus station is a Transperth bus station in Victoria Park, Western Australia. It is located at the eastern end of The Causeway under the bridge carrying the Great Eastern Highway and Canning Highway. It has six stands and is served by 2 ...

* Perth Stadium Bus Station (special events only)

Bus Routes

* 38

Perth Busport Perth Busport is an underground central bus station in Perth, Western Australia, located underneath Wellington Street. It was officially opened by then Premier of Western Australia Colin Barnett and then Minister for Transport Dean Nalder o ...

to Cloverdale – serves

and

Shepperton Road Shepperton Road is a single carriageway four lane road in Perth, Western Australia. Counterintuitively, the road provides a higher-capacity alternative for the northernmost section of Albany Highway due to the latter forming the high street ...

* 39

Elizabeth Quay Bus Station Elizabeth Quay bus station, formerly the Esplanade Busport, is a Transperth bus station, located at the southern edge of the Perth (suburb), Perth CBD in Western Australia, next to the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre and Elizabeth Quay rail ...

to Redcliffe Station – serves

, Craig Street and

* 270

to High Wycombe Station – serves

, Craig Street and

* 282 and 283

Kalamunda Bus Station Kalamunda bus station is a Transperth bus station located next to the Kalamunda Central shopping centre in Kalamunda, Western Australia. It has four stands and is served by eight Transperth routes operated by Path Transit and Swan Transit ...

– serve

and

* 930

to Thornlie Station (high frequency) – serves

and

* 935 Kings Park to Redcliffe Station (high frequency) – serves

, Craig Street and

* 940

to Redcliffe Station (high frequency) – serves

, Craig Street and

Bus routes serving

: * 32

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

* 33

Curtin Central Bus Station Curtin Central bus station is a Transperth bus station located at the Curtin University's Bentley campus. It has twelve stands, six bus layover bays and is served by six regular Transperth routes operated by Path Transit and Swan Transit as w ...

* 72 and 177

to Cannington Station * 75

Canning Vale Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although unde ...

* 178 and 179

to Bull Creek Station * 220

to Armadale Station * 221

to Armadale Station (limited stops) * 230

to Thornlie Station (limited stops) * 907

to Armadale Station (high frequency / limited stops) * 910

to Fremantle Station (high frequency) * 960

Mirrabooka Bus Station Mirrabooka bus station is a Transperth bus station in Mirrabooka, Western Australia, Mirrabooka approximately 12 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia. It has 12 stands and is served by 14 Transperth routes operated by Path Transit and S ...

Curtin University Bus Station Curtin University bus station is a Transperth bus station located at Curtin University's Bentley campus. It has eight stands and is served by 11 Transperth routes operated by Path Transit, Swan Transit and Transdev WA Transdev WA is an ...

(high frequency)

Rail

* Armadale/ Thornlie lines ** Perth Stadium railway station ** Burswood railway station

Ferry

* The Little Ferry Co. Burswood jetty to

Elizabeth Quay Elizabeth Quay is a mixed-use development project in the Perth#cbd, Perth central business district. Encompassing an area located on the north shore of Perth Water near the landmark Swan Bells, the precinct was named in honour of Elizabeth II, ...

via On The Point. Departs every Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun at 10:45am 12:45pm and 2:45pm

Politics

The nearest polling booth, Homestead Seniors Centre in Victoria Park, is marginal at federal level, and supports 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 ...

at state elections.

References

{{Town of Victoria Park suburbs Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia Suburbs in the Town of Victoria Park