Wattle Grove, Western Australia

Wattle Grove is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Kalamunda.

Wattle Grove
Perth, Western Australia
Crystal Brook Road, Wattle Grove
Wattle Grove
Coordinates32.008°S 116.014°E / -32.008; 116.014
Population5,968 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)6107
Location13 km (8 mi) E of Perth, Western Australia
LGA(s)City of Kalamunda
State electorate(s)
Federal Division(s)Hasluck
Suburbs around Wattle Grove:
East Cannington Welshpool Perth Airport
Beckenham Wattle Grove Forrestfield
Orange Grove Kenwick Lesmurdie

Description

Wattle Grove is approximately 2/3 semi-rural, and 1/3 suburban development. It contains some of Hartfield Park, and extends from Crystal Brook Road to Roe Highway. Major transport routes through the suburb are Welshpool Road, Hale Road, Tonkin Highway and Roe Highway.

Public transport

Bus routes are:

  •   294 to Midland Train Station or to Cannington Train Station via Hale Road
  •   282 to and from Lesmurdie and the city via Welshpool Road
  •   283 to and from Kalamunda and the city via Crystal Brook Road

The nearest train stations are:

Facilities

Playgrounds are located throughout the new subdivisions in the suburb, as well as walking and bike paths leading to newly created artificial lakes.

Wattle Grove is served by Wattle Grove Primary School, and a Community TAFE Centre in Lewis Road and the Bible College of Western Australia (private).[2] The primary school built on the area bordered by St John Road, Tomah Road, and Acastus Road opened to students in 2011. The previous primary school on Welshpool Road was mothballed with no alternative usage envisioned.

Hartfield Recreation Centre, located nearby, provides gymnasium facilities[3] as well as opportunities for playing rugby league, soccer, baseball, cricket and tennis. Hartfield Park also contains the Darling Range Horse and Pony Club,[4] the Hartfield Country Club (golf course),[5] boy scouts, and car club rooms.

Wattle Grove is well connected to other regions of Perth due to its proximity to the Roe Highway and Tonkin Highway. The most direct route to the Perth central business district is via Welshpool and Shepperton Roads (12 km all in 60 km/h zones), however alternative routes are available via Orrong Road / Graham Farmer Freeway (14 km in 70 & 80 km/h zones), Tonkin Highway / Great Eastern Highway (18 km in 100 & 60 km/h zones), and Roe Highway / Kwinana Freeway (23 km all in 100 km/h zone and the only route without traffic lights).

Wattle Grove has one major retail facility within its boundaries, containing Aldi, 7-Eleven and various other stores e.g. a bakery, a sushi shop and a gym. It has two vets, a motel, a number of nurseries, landscape suppliers, agistment paddocks, boarding kennels and a bird, fish and reptile shop.[6][7][8][9][10][11]

The nearest police station is at Forrestfield, and public hospitals are available at Bentley and Kalamunda.[12][13]

History

Prior to European settlement the Beeloo Whadjuk people occupied much of Wattle Grove. In 1827 the colonial botanist Charles Fraser and Captain James Stirling explored the region to evaluate its suitability for farming. Initially the area was used for forestry and orchards; fruit growing continues to be one of the major industries in Wattle Grove, Bickley and Orange Grove today. This suburb name may have come from a property that was in the area around 1920, or the name may have come about in the early 1900s from wattle trees that lined Welshpool Road; the district was described by the European settlers as "where the groves of wattle are".[14] Much of Wattle Grove has developed into other agricultural uses such as poultry farms, equestrian studs, agistment paddocks, horticultural nurseries, pet kennels, hobby farms and cattle breeders. 20 residents of Wattle Grove were killed in action during World War One (1914–1918), 5 of whom were from the one family.[15]

Notable people

Recent events
"Keep Wattle Grove rural" protest sign

After a concerted campaign was lost during the 1980s by the Save our Foothills action group a quarter of the suburb bounded by Welshpool Road, Tonkin Highway and Roe Highway has been rezoned as "urban development" by what was then the Shire of Kalamunda and is known as "cell 9" in the Kalamunda Shire Plans.[16][17] This area of Wattle Grove is now a hive of activity as land is subdivided and houses built. The price of land in cell 9 has subsequently risen exponentially since the first subdivision in 1999.[18]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Wattle Grove (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  2. "Bible College of Western Australia". Bcwa.wa.edu.au. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  3. "Hartfield Park Rec Centre". Kalamunda.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  4. Darling Range Horse and Pony Club Archived 8 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Hartfield Country Club". Hartfieldgolf.com.au. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  6. "Camp Wattle Grove". Camp Wattle Grove. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  7. "Wattle Grove Motel". Wattle Grove Motel. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  8. "Grasstrees at Wattle Grove". Grasstrees.com.au. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  9. "Lovegrove Turf Farm at Wattle Grove". Lovegroveturf.com. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  10. Soiland HQ at Wattle Grove
  11. "Trees a green at Wattle Grove". Treesagreen.com. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  12. WA Police
  13. List of hospitals in Western Australia
  14. Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of metropolitan suburb names – W". Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  15. ANZAC - A grateful state website Archived 13 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  16. http://www.kalamunda.wa.gov.au/Services/Planning/Structure-Plans
  17. "Powering ahead on master plans". Perth Now. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  18. "REIWA Suburb profile of Wattle Grove". REIWA.com. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
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