Victoria Park (nicknamed Vic Park) is an inner 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 of the Australian state 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 ...

. It is located on the Swan River south-east of

East Perth East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

, and is linked to East Perth and the

Perth central business district 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 ...

via

The Causeway The Causeway is an arterial traffic crossing in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner-city suburbs of East Perth, Western Australia, East Perth and Victoria Park, Western Australia, Victoria Park. It is carried over the Swan River (Weste ...

, which crosses Heirisson Island. Victoria Park is mostly residential, with parkland on the Swan River and a commercial strip around Albany Highway. The suburb contains the intersection of three major arterial roads:

Albany Highway Albany Highway links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its oldest settlement, Albany, Western Australia, Albany, on the state's South coast of Western Australia, south coast. The highway travels through the southern Wheatbelt (Weste ...

Canning Highway Canning Highway is an arterial road in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner Perth suburb of Victoria Park, Western Australia, Victoria Park in the north-east, to the port city of Fremantle in the south-west. The road is mostly a four-l ...

, and

Great Eastern Highway Great Eastern Highway is a road that links the Western Australian capital of Perth with the city of Kalgoorlie. A key route for road vehicles accessing the eastern Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt and the Goldfields-Esperance, Goldfie ...

. 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 Town of Victoria Park.

History

The suburb of Victoria Park derives its name from "Victoria Park Estate", a development that took place there in the 1890s. It is believed the name was given to the estate because

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

was still on the throne, although it may be connected with Victoria Park in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. The area was originally the largest portion of a grant of to John Butler in 1831. Progress and development was initially very slow, but a few houses were built around coach stops on the Albany Road, initially constructed from hand-sawn wooden logs. The road was rebuilt in the early 1860s by

convicts A convict is "a person found Guilt (law), guilty of a crime and Sentence (law), sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a commo ...

. At this time the entire area from Canning Bridge to Belmont was simply known as "Canning". During the colonial period, the Victoria Park end of The Causeway was used as an occasional venue for

public execution A public execution is a form of capital punishment which "members of the general public may voluntarily attend." This definition excludes the presence of only a small number of witnesses called upon to assure executive accountability. The purpose ...

s. Four men were executed in that manner in 1855, including two Indigenous men convicted of murder whose bodies were taken to

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

to be gibbeted (publicly displayed) as a warning to other Indigenous people. In 1886, a settlement started at "2 Mile Spring", opposite the present location of the Broken Hill Hotel, with residential subdivision beginning in 1887. 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 ...

linking Perth to Pinjarra was finished in 1893 and a population influx from 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 ...

saw extensive development commence. The Victoria Park Road District was gazetted in 1894 and granted municipality status in 1897, at which point it had a population of 1,197 residents and 350 dwellings. The Victoria Park railway station opened in 1898 following lobbying from the municipal council. The following year, Broken Hill Hotel and the Town Hall were constructed, serving as both a community centre and as the council office for the municipal council until amalgamation with the

City of Perth The City of Perth is a local government areas of Western Australia, local government area and body, within the Perth metropolitan area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government is commonly known as Perth City Council. T ...

in 1917. The Town Hall was later demolished, while the Broken Hill Hotel is listed by the National Trust. A tram service commenced in 1905, and by 1917 the population had reached 5,000 residents, and had at their disposal electric lighting, a public library (1903), police station (1906), Victoria Park Post Office (1912), bowling club (1913) and two hotels, as well as several banks and numerous commercial enterprises and factories. After

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 ...

, Albany Highway was

bitumen Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...

ised, and the commercial centre on either side of the road grew to rival centres in more established areas. While by 1937 considered a "working man's district", by the mid-1970s the area had a higher-than-average elderly population according to ABS statistics, and the development of townhouses in place of some of the original dwellings saw increasing gentrification as city workers settled in areas closer to the

The Causeway

The Causeway bridge was the first major

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

engineering project in or about Perth, and involved augmenting the Heirisson mudflats into a proper

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

. The mudflats were at that time an important resource for 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 ...

people. The current bridge is the third in that location. It was originally opened in 1843, then largely rebuilt after disastrous floods in 1862, and reopened in 1867. It was improved several times in 1899, 1903, 1933 and 1943, then completely rebuilt from 1947 and reopened in 1952.

Geography

Victoria Park is bounded by the Swan River to the northwest, Shepperton Road, Harper Street and the Armadale railway line to the northeast, Miller and Kent Streets to the southeast and a line southwest of Berwick Street to the southwest. The suburb is mostly residential, although Albany Highway is a commercial "high street" and a number of parks can be found – most notably McCallum Park on the river, Raphael Park and the smaller Read Park and Hawthorne Park.

Demographics

At the 2001 Australian census, Victoria Park had a population of 6,980 people living in 3,998 dwellings. Over a quarter of Victoria Park's residents live in unit or apartment blocks. The ABS identified property and business services and retail as the primary occupations, followed by health, manufacturing, hospitality and education. 15.2% of those surveyed were from East or South-East Asia, while sizable

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and South Asian minorities were reported.

Transport

Victoria Park is a major transit route, being the intersection point of

to South Perth,

Applecross Applecross ( , 'The Sanctuary', historically anglicized as 'Combrich') is a peninsula in Wester Ross, in the Scottish Highlands. It is bounded by Loch Kishorn to the south, Loch Torridon to the north, and Glen Shieldaig to the east. On its wes ...

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 ...

;

to Belmont and

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 ...

;

to Cannington and Armadale; and the Causeway to Perth's CBD. Albany Highway runs through the suburb as a main shopping street. Victoria Park is home to Victoria Park railway station and is served by both the Armadale and Thornlie–Cockburn lines. The station is located about 6km from the CBD. The current Victoria Park Station was rebuilt in 2008 and the old station has since been demolished. During the Shutdown in 2023 as part of Metronet works along the line, Victoria Park railway station will be the terminus of the line between November 23rd 2023 and mid 2025. The construction of new turnback siding will make this possible and that trains won't have to run bidirectional during the shutdown. The turnback sidings will be built between November 20th and November 22nd 2023. The station is served by bus route 907 which acts as a Rail replacement bus service. In December 2024, the Boorloo Bridge is planned to open, providing a pedestrian and cycling link to the Perth CBD that bypasses the Causeway. Construction began in March 2023.

Sport

Victoria Park's Leisurelife Centre hosts the club administration office of the Perth Basketball Association. The venue contains three basketball courts.

Politics

Victoria Park's only booth, Homestead Seniors Centre, is marginal at federal level, and supports the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

at state elections. Nearby booths in

East Victoria Park East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

consistently support the

at both levels of government.

Notable people

* Pat Hawkins – world-record breaking cyclist

References

{{Town of Victoria Park suburbs Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia Suburbs in the Town of Victoria Park