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North Beach is a northern coastal 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 ...
, the capital city 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 ...
from Perth's central business district via
Mitchell Freeway The Mitchell Freeway is a controlled-access highway, freeway in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking Perth (suburb), central Perth with the city of Joondalup. It is the northern section of List of road routes in Western ...
and
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 ...
. 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
City of Stirling The City of Stirling is a local government area in the northern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth about north of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of and has a population of over 223,000, making ...
.


History

The name North Beach began as a descriptive name, derived from the suburb being at the time the most northerly of Perth's beaches. It was assigned in 1888 when surveyor Charles Crossland referred to the pastoral leases of Samuel Richard Hamersley as his "north beach coastal run". The area originally formed part of the Hamersley Estate, which also included the suburbs now known as
Carine CARINE (Computer Aided Reasoning Engine) is a first-order classical logic automated theorem prover. It was initially built for the study of the enhancement effects of the strategies delayed clause-construction (DCC) and attribute sequences (ATS) ...
, North Beach and Hamersley. These areas were owned by the
Hamersley family The Hamersley family were a wealthy and well-connected family of early settlers in the colony of Western Australia. Members of the Hamersley family emigrated to Western Australia from England in 1837. Prominent members and connections of the fa ...
, who arrived from Europe to settle in 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 1837 and built a summer home, called "The Castle" in 1865, where their large family as well as the Perth elite congregated for summer holidays. "The Castle" was later converted into the Castle Hotel, but after 75 years was demolished and subdivided in 1998. Originally set aside as a timber reserve, the area was first settled by pastoralists in the 1860s. It served as a stopping point and watering hole along the Coastal Stock Route between Dongara (near Geraldton) and
Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
. Cattle drovers frequented the area and Afghan camel drivers were a common sight after the opening of the goldfields in the 1890s - the area also served as a quarantine area for camels entering the colony. A number of orchards operated in the area - the only evidence that remains today is an old olive tree on Hope Street. The only way into the area at this time was via a wooden block road built by convicts (later
Wanneroo Road Wanneroo Road is a arterial highway in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia linking Joondanna and Yokine in the south with Wanneroo and Yanchep in the north. As part of State Route 60, it begins from Charles Street in the inner ...
) and then along a limestone track to North Beach, although numerous tracks through the bushland were developed as time progressed. During
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 ...
, the Australian 10th Light Horse Regiment was stationed at Mount Flora on coast-watch duties, and kept their horses at a yard at the corner of modern-day Hope and Hale Streets. During the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, the area around the intersection of West Coast Drive and North Beach Road was a "
tent city A tent city is a temporary housing facility made using tents or other temporary structures. State governments or military organizations set up tent cities to house evacuees, refugees, or soldiers. UNICEF's Supply Division supplies expandable te ...
" that housed "many unfortunate people 'on hard times'". After World War II, the area developed rapidly, and in 1954, the Postal District of North Beach was approved. By 1961, nearly all of the existing suburb had been built and settled.


Star Swamp

Star Swamp Bushland Reserve is a bushland reserve occupying about half of the land area of the suburbs of Watermans Bay and North Beach. The precise origin of the name is unknown, but the earliest known use of the name was on a lease application by J.H.Okely of Wanneroo in 1868. In 1987, the State Government set aside 96 hectares as an A-class reserve, and funding from the
Bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...
Commemorative Program and assistance from local organisations facilitated the establishment of the Star Swamp Heritage Trail within the reserve.


Geography

North Beach is bounded by Hale Street to the north,
Marmion Avenue Marmion Avenue is a arterial road in the northern coastal suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking Trigg, Western Australia, Trigg in the south with Yanchep in the north. It forms part of List of road routes in Perth, Western Australia#71, ...
to the east, an imprecise line near Lynn Street to the south and West Coast Drive and the ocean to the west. Star Swamp represents one-third of the suburb's area. Reid Highway empties into North Beach's eastern border, and is the suburb's outlet to the Mitchell Freeway and the city.Map 310, 2007 StreetSmart directory, Department of Lands and Surveys, Perth. At the 2001 Australian census, North Beach had a population of 2,949 people living in 1,270 dwellings, with a median age of 42 years (among the oldest in the northern suburbs). Residential styles in North Beach include a mix of holiday dwellings from before and after World War II, some former workers' houses, and modern dwellings.


Facilities

North Beach is a residential suburb, with small shopping areas on the coast and at Flora Terrace and Castle Street which offer basic commercial services. Nearby Karrinyup Shopping Centre provides other services. North Beach features a tennis club (synthetic and hard surfaces) near Our Lady of Grace. The suburb contains North Beach Primary School and the private Our Lady of Grace school - Carine Senior High School is nearby. Star Swamp Bushland Reserve is accessible from the eastern edge of the suburb (Hope Street and Groat Street). On the northern boundary is the Mount Flora Regional Museum, built in 1936 as a water tower at the highest point of the suburb to provide scheme water to surrounding areas. It was phased out of service in the 1970s, and converted to a museum and lookout in May 1986. It now details the region's history, and is home to the North Suburban Historical Society.


Transport

North Beach is served by the
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 ...
423 bus route between
Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...
and
Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
, operated by
Swan Transit Swan Transit is an Australian bus company operating Buses in Perth, Transperth bus services under contract to the Public Transport Authority (Western Australia), Public Transport Authority. It is a subsidiary of Transit Systems. History On 21 ...
. In 1925, the North Beach Bus Company was started by Alf Lehman with crimson
charabanc A charabanc or "char-à-banc" (often pronounced "sharra-bang" in colloquial British English) is a type of horse-drawn vehicle or early coach (vehicle), motor coach, usually open-topped, common in UK, Britain during the early part of the 20th ...
s. It was taken over by the James family in 1928, in an era when REO buses drove over
plank road A plank road is a road composed of Plank (wood), wooden planks or wikt:puncheon#Noun, puncheon logs, as an efficient technology for traversing soft, marshy, or otherwise difficult ground. Plank roads have been built since antiquity, and were comm ...
s through the wetlands between modern-day
Tuart Hill ''Eucalyptus gomphocephala'', known as tuart, is a species of tree and is one of the six forest giants of Southwest Australia. The trees usually grow to a height of and mostly have a single stem, but can have multiple stems under some condit ...
and North Beach. The company was taken over by the
Metropolitan Transport Trust The Metropolitan (Perth) Passenger Transport Trust was a statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia from 1958 to 2003. From 1958 to the mid-1990s, it operated Buses in Perth, bus and ferry services within the Perth metropolitan ...
on 30 September 1961."North Suburban Supplement" (p.10), ''The West Australian'', 31 Aug 1961. Also see p.10, ibid., 21 October 1961 article by Mr H. Willoughby-Lance. Accessed at Battye Library, Perth.


Politics

North Beach is an affluent suburb with a large elderly population. It consistently supports the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
at both federal and state elections. However, voters in this suburb lean more towards progressive parties than in similar-demographic Watermans Bay and Marmion.


References


External links


City of Stirling - Star Swamp Nature Reserve

Heritage Council - Star Swamp Heritage Trail

City of Stirling - Mount Flora Regional Museum
{{City of Stirling suburbs Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia Beaches of Western Australia Suburbs in the City of Stirling