Gooseberry Hill is a suburb 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 ...
, Western Australia, located within 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 ...
. It is the site of
Gooseberry Hill National Park.
It is located at the highest point south of the departure of the
Helena River
The Helena River is a tributary of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in Western Australia. The river rises in country east of Mount Dale and flows north-west to Mundaring Weir, Western Australia, Mundaring Weir, where it is dammed. ...
from the
Darling Scarp on to the
Swan Coastal Plain
The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...
. It is often associated with the
railway formation of the
Kalamunda Zig Zag and the northernmost high feature of
Statham's Quarry, which lie on the north west of the locality within national park land.
In 1861, Benjamin Robins purchased of land in the area. In 1878 surveyor Henry Samuel Ranford recorded the name of the eponymous hill as ''Gooseberry Hill''; that name, derived from the presence of
cape gooseberries in the area, referred to the Kalamunda area generally in the late 19th century.
The townsite was officially gazetted on 8 June 1959.
Gooseberry Hill was the location of a war-time tragedy when a
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...
(
DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...
) plane crashed in heavy fog on 19 April 1945 after taking off from Guildford Airport (which became
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 ...
).
All of the US servicemen, the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
officer, and three
US Red Cross women on board were killed. The plane crashed between Gooseberry Hill Road and Lansdown Road, from the end of the take-off runway, having travelled in an almost straight course to the point of impact.
The suburb contains two schools, Gooseberry Hill Primary School, a government school established in 1972, and Mary's Mount Primary School, a Catholic school established in 1921.
Transport
Bus
* 274
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
...
to Gooseberry Hill – serves Railway Road, Parke Road, Davies Crescent, Lenori Road, Ledger Road, Peoples Avenue, Arthur Road, John Street and Jessie Road
* 275
Walliston to
High Wycombe Station – serves
Kalamunda Road
* 276
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
...
to
High Wycombe Station – serves Railway Road and Gooseberry Hill Road
* 307
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
...
to
Midland Station – serves Railway Road, Gooseberry Hill Road and Watsonia Road
References
{{City of Kalamunda suburbs
Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia
Suburbs in the City of Kalamunda