Serpentine is a town located south-southeast 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 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 ...

, and 7 km south of Mundijong. Serpentine is located on the

South Western Railway South Western Railway Limited, trading as South Western Railway (SWR), is the British state-owned train operating company that took over the services of the South Western Railway (2017–2025), operator of the same name from FirstGroup and MTR ...

between Perth and Bunbury, and was one of the original stations when the line was opened in 1893. The population of the town was 128 (80 males and 48 females) in 1898. At the 2016 census, Serpentine had a population of 1,265. It is the locality to which the

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Government of Australia, Australian Government that is responsible for providing Weather forecasting, weather forecasts and Meteorology, meteorological services to Australia a ...

weather radar has been shifted following on from the original Perth location in West Perth. The Bodhinyana Buddhist Monastery is located near the town. Serpentine also serves as a stop on the ''

Australind Australind is a town in Western Australia, located 12 km north-east of Bunbury, Western Australia, Bunbury's central business district. Its Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area is the Shire of Harvey. At the 20 ...

'' passenger train from

to Bunbury.

History

Colonial history

The townsite derives its name from the nearby Serpentine River. The name is descriptive, derived from the "serpentine" nature of the river in its lower reaches where it was discovered and named in the early 1830s by Europeans. European colonialists began a settlement south of the river in the 1830s. Under colonial government-sponsored immigration schemes, more settlers arrived in the area from 1849 onwards to purchase farmland. In 1856, a cemetery was established to service the area, but wasn't gazetted until 28 March 1907. It originally had different sections for

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, and is the burial place for about 645 people. Mathew Hale, who was the first Anglican Bishop of WA, frequently resided in a cottage he built around 1864 in Serpentine. During the 1880s, Serpentine was an important stopping place for

Cobb & Co Cobb & Co was the name used by several independent Australian coach businesses. The first company to use 'Cobb & Co' was established in 1853 by American Freeman Cobb and his partners. The name grew to great prominence in the late 19th century, ...

stagecoaches. In 1891 the government had opened up land in the area by declaring the Serpentine Agricultural Area, and in 1893 decided there was sufficient demand for town lots by gazetting the Townsite of Serpentine in December 1893. However, with the opening of a new railway and

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

in Serpentine further west in 1893, the importance of the old town centre declined.

20th century

Up to the end of World War I in 1918, Serpentine consisted mostly of small mixed farms, which farmed livestock such as cattle, sheep and pigs. Under the

Group Settlement Scheme The Group Settlement Scheme was an assisted migration scheme which operated in Western Australia from the early 1920s. It was engineered by Premier James Mitchell and followed on from the Soldier Settlement Scheme immediately after World W ...

introduced in the early 1920s by the Western Australian government, around 150 farms about each in size were built in 8 groups in western Serpentine and Hopeland. They were mainly dairy farms inline with the scheme. By 2018, only 4 dairy farms still operated in Serpentine. The 1920s also saw the establishment of two

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

s, a

butcher shop A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishme ...

tearoom A teahouse or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel, especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment that only serve ...

, and a garage. 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 ...

, a cheese factory was constructed on what was originally a citrus orchard. Originally the idea of Arthur Middleton and his neighbours, it was officially opened by

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 ...

James Mitchell on 8 August 1932. At the time it was the only operating cheese factory in WA. It operated until 1951, and has since became a Shire of Serpentine–Jarrahdale heritage-listed place. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, local lives were impacted by the effects of rationing and shortages of labour and certain resources. In the summer of 1940/1941, the Serpentine river stopped flowing for the first time since 1914. But in the winter of 1945, Serpentine experienced flooding, with the Serpentine river flooding most farm lands north of it. The region also experienced plagues of rabbits until the introduction of the

Myxoma virus Myxoma virus is a poxvirus in the genus '' Leporipoxvirus''. The two broad geographic types of Myxoma virus are Californian and South American. Californian myxoma virus is found on the West Coast of the United States, the Baja Peninsula of Mexi ...

in 1951.

Cultural and natural sites

Religious sites

The Saint Stephen's Church in Serpentine is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church part of the Diocese of Perth's Parish of Serpentine-Jarrahdale. The church's foundation stone was laid by the Bishop of Perth,

Charles Riley Charles Owen Leaver Riley (26 May 1854 – 23 June 1929) was the first Anglican Archbishop of Perth, Western Australia. Early years Riley was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, the eldest child of the Reverend Lawrence William Riley, ...

on 10 May 1913, with the church being

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

on 6 December 1913. Plans for a stone church in Serpentine dated back to 1885. The Bodhinyana monastery is located on the rural outskirts of Serpentine. It was established in 1983 by western monks of the

Thai forest tradition The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from meaning Kammaṭṭhāna, "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a Parampara, lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism. The Thai Forest Traditi ...

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' ( anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or '' Dhamma'' in ...

at the invite of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia. Adjacent to the monastery is the Jhana Grove Meditation Centre. It was established by the Buddhist Society of WA in October 2009.

Education

Serpentine's first school and teacher's house was built in 1859 and called the Serpentine Bridge School. Due to the school's buildings being in poor condition, a new school room and teacher quarters was built in 1889. In 1954, the Bridge School was closed and replaced by a new primary school in the town centre. Almost all of the old school's buildings were relocated or demolished. The current primary school that was established in 1954 is called Serpentine Primary School. In 2024, it currently has 184 students.

Gallery

File:Serpentine vtm cat d2 gnangarra.jpg, Caterpillar D2 on display in the Serpentine Vintage Tractor Museum File:Serpentine Falls.jpg, Nearby Serpentine Falls

References

{{authority control Towns in Western Australia Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale