Forrestfield is a

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 ...

of the

City of Kalamunda The City of Kalamunda is a local government area in the eastern metropolitan region of the Western Australian capital city of Perth about east of Perth's central business district. The area covers , much of which is state forest rising into ...

in Western Australia. It lies 15 kilometres to the south-east 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 ...

at the base of the Darling Scarp and the southern border of

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 ...

. The suburb is split by

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 ...

into a southern residential area and a northern industrial area. The suburb is adjacent to Wattle Grove, Cloverdale and Kalamunda.

Industrial area

Rail

The industrial area contains a major rail hub. The 241 hectare Forrestfield Marshalling Yard was built adjacent to the Kwinana railway line opening in stages between 1968 and 1973 in conjunction with the nearby Kewdale Freight Terminal as a replacement for the Perth marshalling yard and two other inner Perth yards. Within the confines of the yard, separate depots were built for locomotive, carriage and wagon maintenance. It was previously used by the

Western Australian Government Railways Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the state owned operator of railways in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra respon ...

, Westrail and Australian Railroad Group. As at January 2018,

Aurizon Aurizon Holdings Limited ( ) is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National Limited and branded QR National. In 2015, it was the world's largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland G ...

SCT Logistics SCT Logistics is an Australian interstate transport company operating rail and road haulage, with facilities in Brisbane, Sydney, Parkes, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. History SCT Logistics was founded in 1974 as Specialised Container T ...

and Watco Australia use the yard. Aurizon closed its terminal in late-2017 as part of the closure of its intermodal business. Gemco Rail also has a facility. Bounded by Dundas Road to the east, the Tonkin Highway to the south and

to the west, some of the land was no longer required for railway by in the late 1990s and rezoned for industrial use. A combined 102 hectares was sold to the CBH Group, LandCorp and Specialised Container Transport. CBH Group's Metro Grains Centre was completed in 1998. In mid-2005

BlueScope BlueScope Steel Limited is an Australian flat product steel producer that was spun-off from BHP Billiton in 2002. History BlueScope was formed when BHP Billiton spun-off its steel assets on 15 July 2002 as BHP Steel. It was renamed BlueS ...

constructed a large warehouse on former Westrail land.

Kenworth Kenworth Truck Company is an List of American truck manufacturers, American truck manufacturer. Founded in 1923 as the successor to Gersix Motor Company, Kenworth specializes in production of heavy-duty (Truck classification#Class 8, Class 8) ...

DAF Trucks DAF Trucks is a Dutch truck manufacturing company and a division of Paccar. DAF originally stood for ''van Doorne's Aanhangwagen Fabriek''. Its headquarters and main plant are in Eindhoven. Cabin (lorry), Cabs and axle assembly line, assemblies ...

also relocated from

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 ...

to a new complex on Abernethy Road in 2005.

Infrastructure

On November 3, 2016, construction commenced on the Airport line, which opened on October 9, 2022. The line has three stations: Redcliffe, Airport Central, and

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

. The Western Australian Government has prompted the

to investigate the possibility of business and infrastructure opportunities arising from the completion of the new link for Forrestfield and its surrounding areas. The completion of the Airport Link is expected to facilitate the continuing growth of

as a nationally integral part of employment, commerce and international trade. Forrestfield's northern and eastern outskirts are home to the majority of the areas industrial enterprise. The area is host to a wide range of commercial business-to-business industries. Some of the most notable occupants include Grace Removals, Improvid and the Super Retail Group.

History

Settlement of the area dates from the late 1800s. Population was minimal until the early 1900s, with growth during the interwar period. Significant development did not occur until the post-war years, with rapid growth from the 1950s into the 1970s. The population has been relatively stable since the early 1990s, a result of some new dwellings being added to the area, but a decline in the average number of persons living in each dwelling. There is authority to suggest it is named after

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister in ...

, Western Australia's first

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

, or his brother

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

. However, local folklore suggests that the name comes from Charles Hale, who settled in the area in 1902 and planted crops amongst the native forest bushland, hence Forrestfield. In 1921 a Forrestfield Progress Association was formed, and the name was shown on plans in 1944.

Shopping

Located on the corner of Hale Road and Strelitzia Avenue, the Forrestfield Forum and Marketplace comprises 52 shops including Coles and Woolworths supermarkets. It is owned by the Hawaiian Group. Cumberland Road has a FoodWorks supermarket, a newsagency, a hairdresser, some dining and fast-food venues. There are a range of other retail establishments scattered throughout Forrestfield, including taverns, liqueur shops, a nursery, and various delis.

Educational facilities

Forrestfield contains the following educational institutions: * Darling Range Sports College, formerly Forrestfield Senior High School *Dawson Park Primary *Forrestfield Primary *HillSide Christian College, formerly Forrestfield Christian School *Woodlupine Primary *Tabor College

Demographics

In the , Forrestfield recorded a population of 13,181 people: 50.0% male and 50.0% female. The median/average age of the Forrestfield population is 38 years.

Politics

Amenities

Hartfield Park Recreation Centre: This complex includes an indoor stadium as well as playing fields for cricket, rugby, Australian rules football, hockey, soccer (football), an 18-hole golf course, an equestrian centre plus support facilities for each. There is also a nature conservation park and a lake. Discovery Park - Perth Airport Caravan and Holiday Park on Hale Road just off of Tonkin Highway.

Public transport

Bus

* 270 High Wycombe Station to Elizabeth Quay Bus Station – serves Hawtin Road and Hale Road * 271 High Wycombe Station to Forrestfield – serves Berkshire Road, Bougainvillea Avenue, Dawson Avenue, Hicks Street, Cypress Road, Hale Road, Anderson Road, Lewis Road, Jubilee Road, Cumberland Road and Edinburgh Road * 280 High Wycombe Station to Westfield Carousel – serves Berkshire Road and Hale Road * 281 Darling Range Sports College to Lesmurdie Senior High School – serves Berkshire Road and Hale Road * 293 High Wycombe Station to Redcliffe Station – serves Abernethy Road

References

External links

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