Willetton is a large southern

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

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. 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 Canning The City of Canning is a local government area in the southeastern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, about southeast of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of and had a population of approximately ...

History

Willetton's name derives from Henry Willett of Willett & Co, who was granted Canning Location 21 (roughly the location of modern Lynwood and Parkwood) and settled in the area in June 1832. In November 1964, the Shire of Canning proposed the names "Burtsdale" and "Willetton" for Willetton and Lynwood/Parkwood respectively, the name Burtsdale honouring

Septimus Burt The Hon Septimus Burt KC (25 October 1847 – 15 May 1919) was a Western Australian lawyer, politician and grazier, the son of Sir Archibald Burt. Burt was born on 25 October 1847 at St Kitts in the West Indies, and educated at a private schoo ...

, who purchased the land in 1882. In August 1965, developers at Lynwood requested the name "Clovercrest Estate", but finally agreed to "Lynwood". The name Willetton was shifted westwards and gazetted in December 1965 within its present boundaries. The original subdivision was opened in the early 1970s under the developer's name "Burrendah Heights". This name survives as Burrendah Boulevard and Burrendah Primary School. The section to the east of Vahland Avenue and north of Collins Road was developed in the 1980s under the unofficial name "Rostrata", from which Rostrata Primary School gets its name. Most housing and infrastructure was completed in the 1990s.

Geography

Willetton is located about south of 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 ...

. It is built on a section of flat sandy coastal plain that was originally covered with open Banksia woodland and stands of

paperbark ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles, bottlebrushes or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They ...

trees marking the edges of shallow seasonal swamps. Willetton is bounded by Karel Avenue to the west,

Leach Highway Leach Highway is a east-west arterial highway in the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, primarily linking Kewdale, Western Australia, Kewdale and Perth Airport with the city of Fremantle. It is allocated State Route 7 and is a dual ...

and High Road to the north, Willeri Drive to the east and

South Street South Street may refer to: Streets by that name * South Street (Durham), England * South Street, Mayfair, England *South Street (Manhattan), United States *South Street (Perth, Western Australia) * South Street (Perth, Scotland) *South Street (Ph ...

and

Roe Highway Roe Highway is a limited-access highway and partial freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Kewdale with the city's north-eastern and south-western suburbs. The northern terminus is at Reid Highway and Great Northern Highway in Midd ...

to the south. Vahland Avenue runs north-south through the suburb. At the

2001 Australian census The Census in Australia, officially the Census of Population and Housing, is the national census in Australia that occurs every five years. The census collects key demographic, social and economic data from all people in Australia on census nig ...

, Willetton had a mostly average-income population of 17,571 people living in 6,300 dwellings, nearly all of which are detached houses on single lots. The

Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...

reported that almost 20% of the suburb's population were of East, Southeast or South Asian origin. Retail trade (1,515), property and business services (1,118), manufacturing (944), education (911), and health and community services (904) were the key occupations of Willetton's residents.

Facilities

Willetton contains the Southlands Boulevarde shopping centre, with two levels and businesses including two

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

Hoyts The HOYTS Group of companies in Australia and New Zealand includes HOYTS Cinemas, a cinema chain, and Val Morgan, which sells advertising on cinema screens and digital billboards. The company was established by dentist Arthur Russell in Melbo ...

cinemas A movie theater (American English) or cinema (Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business that contains auditoriums for viewing fi ...

and a

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food Vendor, vendors and provides a common area for self-serve di ...

. Opposite the shopping centre across Burrendah Boulevard is the Willetton Sports and Community Centre. A light industrial area exists in the north of the suburb near Leach Highway and High Road, containing a

Bunnings Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian hardware and garden centre chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings was founded in Per ...

, pool shops and various trades. Three small neighbourhood shopping centres offer local services in the corners of the suburb. Adjacent to Willetton on High Road, the Riverton Leisureplex, a large facility with sporting, fitness and recreation facilities opened on 9 November 2001, is operated by the

, and includes the council's largest library. The Willetton Library is located near Southlands Boulevarde. Willetton contains the Castlereagh, Burrendah, Willetton, Rostrata and Orana Catholic primary schools, as well as Woodthorpe School and

Willetton Senior High School Willetton Senior High School (WSHS) is a public secondary school in Willetton, Western Australia, south of the Perth central business district and east of the port of Fremantle. The school opened in February 1977 with 77 students. It is one ...

, one of the largest public

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in Western Australia, with students as of .

Transport

Willetton is situated between two major east-west routes

(west to the

Bull Creek railway station Bull Creek railway station is a railway station on the Transperth Trains, Transperth network. It is located on the Mandurah railway line, Mandurah line, 11.7 kilometres from Perth railway station, Perth station inside the median strip of the Kw ...

Kwinana Freeway The Kwinana Freeway is a freeway in and beyond the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with Mandurah to the south. It is the central section of State Route 2, which continues north as Mitchell Freeway to A ...

to Perth's central business district 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 ...

; east to Cannington 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 ...

) and South Street (west to

Murdoch railway station Murdoch railway station is a railway and bus station on the Transperth Trains, Transperth network. It is located on the Mandurah railway line, Mandurah line, from Perth railway station, Perth station inside the median strip of the Kwinana Free ...

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

and

; east to

Canning Vale Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although unde ...

and Armadale).

is on the southeastern fringe of the suburb, while Karel Avenue (to

Jandakot Airport Jandakot Airport is a general aviation (GA) airport in Jandakot, Western Australia that opened in 1963, about south-southwest of Perth Airport. Originally built on unproductive farm lands, it is now among residential suburbs in the south of ...

), Vahland Avenue and Willeri Drive are major north-south routes. Willetton contains the Southlands bus station, where the

CircleRoute The CircleRoute is a pair of circular Transperth bus routes through Perth's suburbs. History The CircleRoute was introduced in two stages. On 16 February 1998, the first stage of the CircleRoute commenced operating between Fremantle and Oa ...

takes passengers to Murdoch railway station, Murdoch University and

Curtin University Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public university, public research university based in Bentley, Western Australia, Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. ...

, while other bus routes go to Cannington. All services are operated by the Public Transport Authority.

Bus

* 75

Elizabeth Quay Bus Station Elizabeth Quay bus station, formerly the Esplanade Busport, is a Transperth bus station, located at the southern edge of the Perth (suburb), Perth CBD in Western Australia, next to the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre and Elizabeth Quay rail ...

– serves Willeri Drive * 179 Bull Creek Station to

– serves

and High Road * 506 Bull Creek Station to Parkwood – serves Burrendah Boulevard, Vahland Avenue and Collins Road * 507 Bull Creek Station to Cannington Station – serves Burrendah Boulevard, Vahland Avenue, Collins Road, Rostrata Avenue and Killara Drive * 508 Bull Creek Station to Cannington Station – serves Karel Avenue, Apsley Road, Vahland Avenue and High Road * 509 Bull Creek Station to Cannington Station – serves

and High Road * 516 Southlands Boulevarde Shopping Centre to Murdoch Station – serves Burrendah Boulevard, Pinetree Gully Avenue and

* 998 Fremantle Station to Fremantle Station (limited stops) –

clockwise, serves Vahland Avenue, Burrendah Boulevard and Karel Avenue * 999 Fremantle Station to Fremantle Station (limited stops) –

anti-clockwise, serves Karel Avenue, Burrendah Boulevard and Vahland Avenue Bus routes serving

: * 204 and 205

Maddington Station Maddington railway station is on the Transperth network. It is located on the Armadale Line, 17.7 kilometres from Perth Station serving the suburb of Maddington. History From 26 December 1895 until February 1952, Maddington was the junction f ...

* 206

to Cannington Station * 207

Thornlie Station Thornlie railway station is a suburban railway station on the Transperth network. Located from Perth station, it serves the suburb of Thornlie, Western Australia. It was the original terminus of the Thornlie line, a spur of the Armadale line, ...

* 208 Murdoch Station to Cannington Station * 517 Murdoch TAFE to

* 518 Murdoch TAFE to

Cockburn Central Station Cockburn Central station ( ) is a bus and railway station on the Transperth network. It is located at the juncture of the Mandurah and Thornlie–Cockburn lines, from Perth station inside the median strip of the Kwinana Freeway serving the su ...

* 519 Murdoch TAFE to Armadale Station

Politics

Historically it has been fairly safe for 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, although three of the suburb's four booths delivered majorities to the Labor Party at state level in 2001 and 2005. In 2008 it returned a Liberal member to parliament by a very slim majority. By the 2017 state election, despite the Liberal Party winning only 13 of 59 seats, the Liberal Party won all four booths in Willetton. In the

2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 21 May 2022, to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Morrison government, Liberal–National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, soug ...

, Labor won First Preference in all six booths in Willetton and Two Candidate Preferred in five of the six booths, in line with an overall nationwide shift to Labor. The suburb is located within the federal

Division of Tangney The Division of Tangney is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the States and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. The Division was named after Dorothy Tangney, Dame Doroth ...

, the state seat of Riverton and the Beeliar ward of the

References

External links

Willetton Reserve PavilionWilletton Sports and Community Centre
* {{City of Canning suburbs Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia Suburbs in the City of Canning