Herdsman Lake, Western Australia
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Herdsman Lake () is a
freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...
lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
located on 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 ...
in 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 ...
suburb of Herdsman in Western Australia. It is situated north-west 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 ...
central business district. The main shared-use path around the lake is approximately in length, whilst the wetland perimeter of the lake is approximately .


Description

The lake is encompassed by Herdsman Lake Regional Park. It measures in length and in width, covering an area of . The perimeter of the lake is dredged to provide permanent open water, 15% of the area, during the dry summer months. The lake is a wildlife sanctuary, with birdwatching a popular activity. Almost 80% of the lake is covered with Typha rush ('' Typha orientalis''), an introduced weed. In summer, most of the lake is dry. 15% of the lake is permanent deep water. The Herdsman Main Drain is a underground pipe drain with a diameter of carrying excess water from the lake to its outflow at City Beach.


History


Pre-colonial use

The
Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...
name for Herdsman Lake is (with various other spellings). The lake was used as a food source and meeting point. The Noongar people primarily camped on the higher ground around the lake's northern and western edges, in order to avoid flooding and minimise exposure to midges and mosquitoes. The roots and stems of bullrushes supplied carbohydrates and the lake was also "an important source of protein in the form of frogs, tortoises, crustaceans and water fowl".


Colonial period

Following the creation 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 ...
in 1829, British settlers originally named it the ''Great Lake'', being the largest of the series of lakes and wetlands to the north of the Perth townsite. By the mid-1830s it had become known as ''Herdsman's Lake''. In 1837, Surveyor-General John Septimus Roe investigated the possibility of draining Lake Monger into Herdsman Lake, setting aside a reserve for a drain which was later cancelled. Unlike the lakes closer to the townsite, Herdsman and Monger were "left relatively undisturbed" in the early years of the colony as they were considered too far away to develop into residential land. However, the fertile land around them was subdivided and used for agricultural purposes. The lake itself was a "favourite resort for duck shooters". In 1854, Benedictine monks were granted a large portion of land near the lake and established orchards and vineyards. The Catholic Church came to own most of the land and used it to graze cattle, while a number of market gardens were also established. The
Western Australian gold rushes In the latter part of the nineteenth century, discoveries of gold at a number of locations in Western Australia caused large influxes of prospectors from overseas and interstate, and classic gold rushes. Significant finds included: * Halls C ...
brought a population influx and saw the lake used for raising pigs and poultry as well as growing crops.


Drainage scheme

In 1912, most of the swamps in Osborne Park were drained into Herdsman Lake in order to improve growing conditions for the market gardens in that suburb. The
Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...
subsequently began a scheme to drain the entirety of Herdsman Lake and reclaim the land for market gardens. The land formed part of a soldier settlement scheme for World War I veterans with around acquired by the state government from the Catholic Church. Construction on the drainage scheme began in 1921 and was completed in 1925, with the drain including a tunnel of leading to an ocean outlet in Floreat. The drainage scheme "was never successful; blocks sold slowly, there was continual flooding in winter, and soils were largely unsuitable for horticulture". The scheme, which cost £A116,362 (equivalent to in ), lowered the water level in Herdsman Lake from a peak seasonal depth of to a depth of only . The soils proved too peaty and acidic for crops to be grown successfully, and the decrease in water level contributed to a replacement of native bulrushes with introduced species. The lake was instead used for cattle grazing into the 1970s, while at various points Herdsman Lake was also considered for metropolitan water supply purposes, as the site of an airport, for peat harvesting, and as a rubbish dump.


Preservation

In 1955, the ''
Plan for the Metropolitan Region, Perth and Fremantle The 1955 ''Plan for the Metropolitan Region, Perth and Fremantle'' (also known as the ''Stephenson,'' or ''Stephenson-Hepburn Report'') was prepared for the Government of Western Australia by Gordon Stephenson and Alistair Hepburn. The plan ...
'' recommended that Herdsman Lake be set aside for "parks and recreation" purposes, which was endorsed by the Metropolitan Region Scheme formally approved by the state government in 1963. In 1976, the Metropolitan Regional Planning Authority produced the ''Plan for Herdsman Lake'', which was subsequently adopted with amendments by the state government as the ''Herdsman Lake Concept Plan''. The concept plan called for the central area of the lake to be preserved by creating a "moat" of deep channels around the periphery, resulting in the creation of four areas of deep water: Floreat Waters, Floreat Lakes, Popeye Lake and Powis Lake. The plan also allowed for the development of residential areas on the north-west and south-west fringes of the lake, and expanded the industrial area to the north-east. The Herdsman Lake Wildlife Centre was opened in 1984, following a fundraising effort by the Gould League of Western Australia, the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, and the
World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...
. Herdsman Lake was made a regional park in 1997, to be co-managed by the Department of Conservation and Land Management and the City of Stirling.


Attractions

Attractions within the park include the Olive Seymour Boardwalk, Herdsman Lake Discovery Centre and Settler's Cottage. It also contains a statue created by Pietro Porcelli, which formerly sat atop the now-demolished AMP Chambers building, which was rescued and placed on one of the islands. Walking, cycling, picnicking, birdwatching and wildflower spotting are popular activities in the park. Disabled access is provided.


Wildlife


Mammals

Herdsman Lake supported a population of kangaroos until the early 1950s. Quendas,
brushtail possum The brushtail possums are the members of the genus ''Trichosurus'' in the Phalangeridae, a family of marsupials. They are native to Australia (including Tasmania) and some small nearby islands. Unique among marsupials, they have shifted the hyp ...
s and western brush wallabies were present until the 1960s.


Reptiles

Herdsman Lake is known for inhabiting hundreds of
tiger snake The tiger snake (''Notechis scutatus'') is a large and highly venomous snake of southern Australia, including its coastal islands and Tasmania. These snakes are often observed and locally well known by their banding, black and yellow like a ti ...
s.


Birds

More than 160 species of bird have been recorded at Herdsman Lake, including some notable sightings and endemic species to the region. Notable sightings include: * Purple Heron in February 2013, a vagrant to Australia * Striated Heron in July 2013, vagrant this far south in Western Australia * Collared Pratincole in January 2019, first found at Point Walter and later relocated at Herdsman Lake, a first record for Australia * Wandering Whistling-Duck in May 2019, vagrant this far south in Western Australia * Eastern Yellow Wagtail in January 2020, vagrant this far south in Western Australia


See also

* List of lakes of Western Australia


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Herdsman Lake Wildlife Photographs

Herdsman Lake Wildlife Centre
* Parks and Wildlife Service
Herdsman Lake Regional Park

Herdsman Lake Regional Park management plan
{{Authority control Lakes of Perth, Western Australia Remnant urban bushland