City of Belmont: A History of Opportunity

A34Jane Eliza Currie, Panorama of the Swan River SettlemenGrove FarmLocation, location, locationFew colonists knew the risk they were taking.Dumped on Garden Island at the start of a greywinter in 1829, they discovered that land remainedunallocated, there were no buildings and nonegotiations with the Noongar people.The Belmont district was so popular, because ofits river frontage, Governor Stirling was forced tomake each block long and narrow so everyonehad access to the water.Location 34 was assigned to Francis Byrne, whichhe promptly called ‘Belmont Estate’. When Byrnesold up in 1835, he had built two cottages on hisland, and he noted that its many jarrah trees couldbe conveyed easily by river to Perth or Guildford.Mark Currie was appointed to survey and allocatethe parcels of land. He spent the first few weeksconducting a survey of the Swan River, managingto reserve ‘Swan Location 28’ for himself.The Curries’ called their property Red Cliff afterthe steep red clay banks of the Swan River, claywhich was later to be used to make bricks.James Drummond was the owner of Location32, moving to the colony with Jane and theirchildren. Drummond was a botanist and keenplant collector, whose pockets, bag and hatwere always stuffed with specimens.Understandably, he was appointed GovernmentNaturalist. A post for which he received no pay.LOCATION DATE NOTABLE OWNERS NAME OF ESTATELocation 28 1829 Mark John Currie1,000 ha 1834 George WilliamsRed CliffLocation 29 1830s George Williams400 ha1839 R. W. NashGolden Grove Farm1830 Joshua GregoryLocation 301832 James Drummond400 ha1878 Robert Davey Hardey1829 William GellibrandLocation 311830 Joshua Gregory400 ha1831 James Drummond1878 Robert Davey HardeyLocation 32400 ha18291878James DrummondRobert Davey HardeyLocation 33800 ha18291829James HentyPhilip DodGrove Farm1835 John Wall Hardey1830 Captain F. ByrneLocation 341835 J. P. Beete930 ha1854 John Wall HardeyBelmont FarmFIRE AT RED CLIFF (1833)On Saturday last, a valuable building, the property of Captain Currie, R.N.,was destroyed by a bush-fire. Lieut. McLeod was on the spot, but too late torender any further assistance than merely by clearing away the palings whichsurrounded the house. A large gum-tree overhung the premises; this caughtfire, the flames reaching the thatch, the whole was instantly in a blaze, leavingmerely the bare brick-walls.4

A35A thoroughlypractical manBrothers John and Joseph Hardey arrived in Western Australia aboardthe Tranby in 1830. Over the next few decades, John and his son,Robert Davey, were to acquire most of the land in the Belmont district.Soon after arriving, John and Joseph were each given 40 hectares of landon the Maylands Peninsula. The brothers both built homes on the Peninsulaand started the farms which soon made them celebrated in the colony.Joseph called his home Tranby House.John’s second acquisition was land situated opposite his farm on thePeninsula. Buying the block from Phillip Dod, John named it Grove Farmin 1835. However, he does not appear to have lived there until 1843, whenhe returned from time spent farming at York. To extend his holdings, Johnbought the adjoining Belmont Farm in 1854.All of this land was inherited by John’s only son, Robert Hardey, who kept uphis father’s practice by purchasing additional blocks. In all, Robert becamethe owner of five large locations covering an immense area.In 1880, Robert built his family a spacious home, Belmont House. This hadeleven rooms, along with a coach house, stable, large garden, orchard, andtwo small paddocks. After his father died in 1885, Robert was keen to returnto the family homestead at Grove Farm, so he offered Belmont House for rent.John Wall HardeyFrom J. W. Hardey’s obituaryAs a settler, he was a thoroughly practical man, and bestowedmuch attention upon stock-breeding, wheat-growing, andviticulture. For several years Mr Hardey occupied a seat inthe Legislative Council with much credit, while as writer inthe public journals, he displayed considerable power. Hebelonged to the Wesleyan Church, but for many years afterhis arrival he did not take any very active part.Hardey and family at home5

A381829 Beginning of the SwanRiver Colony with the arrival ofthe Parmelia, carrying GovernorJames Stirling and the first settlers.1860s Convict camp establishedat Depot Hill, Redcliffe, for buildinglocal roads. Slices of jarrah cut toconstruct the Great Eastern Highway.1870 W. H. Strickland becomeschair of Western Australian TurfClub (founded 1852), introducingprofessional trainers and jockeys.1880 Belmont House built forRobert Davy Hardey, later turnedinto Sandringham Hotel.1896 Sugar’s Brickworks founded.1830 Prominent in Belmont’sdevelopment, John Wall Hardeyarrives on the Tranby.Colonists divide up river frontage.Mark Currie and James Drummondbecome Belmont’s first landholders.Currie calls his place Red Cliff afterthe river’s clay banks.Growth in Belmont area slow, withmost farms just a house with littlecleared land.1833 Red Cliff destroyed by fire.Only bare brick walls remained.First calls for a causeway acrossthe mudflats, to better connectFremantle, Perth and Guildford.1834 Capt. Byrne markets BelmontFarm as having two cottages andbeing good for timber.1835 John Wall Hardey buysGrove Farm, but leases it totenants until 1843.1837 Conflict, but no injuries,between traditional owners andoccupants of Redcliff Farm.1843 John Wall Hardey movesfrom York to Grove Farm in Belmont.With the Causeway completed anda bridge across the Helena River,the track through Belmont becomesa key route.1847 The first murder of onecolonist by another takes placeat Rivervale.1848 First race meeting held atGrove Farm, followed by pickinga site on Hardey’s property for PerthRacecourse (now called Ascot).1887 First Prince wins the inauguralPerth Cup by two lengths, collecting£250.1892 Gold rush brings people,who need housing. Brickworks usethe clay by the river. Poultry farms,dairies and piggeries also spring up,along with Chinese market gardens.1893 Racecourse Hotel built byGeorge Towton (demolished 1933).1895 Subdivision of AscotGarden Estate.First Belmont Hall constructed.1897 Disappointing subdivisionsof Belmont and Redcliffe Estates.Construction of Ascot Inn, whichchanged its name to BelmontHotel in 1916.Opening of Belmont School in theold hall, which turns out to be anunsuitable venue.Opening of new grandstand at theRacecourse, which will be servicedby two railway bridges over the riverand a new station.1898 Construction of BelmontPrimary School.1899 First elections for the newBelmont Road Board.1800 – 1850 1850 – 1900

A391901 Belmont House convertedinto Sandringham Hotel.1902 New Belmont Hall constructed.1904 Invercloy (later known asNulsen Haven) built in Redcliffe forJohn Wilkie.Kirton’s Patent Pottery Co.,Belmont’s first such factory,opens on Grandstand Road.1905 Horse-drawn bus servicebetween Belmont and Perth,which was replaced with a motoromnibus by 1914.Congregational Church built onland given by Elizabeth Bechtel(demolished 1990s).1913 Founding of Braddock’sEssential Oils distillery, near Ascot Inn.1914 St Anne’s Catholic Church builton Hehir Street.Opening of South Belmont School.1914-18 World War I.1915 Racecourse used formilitary camp.Councillor J. C. Gerring opens thefirst motor garage in the Belmont area.1919 Opening of Riversdale Hall.1923 Cattle disease, rinderpest,forces destruction of pigs, sheep,goats and cattle.1925 Birth of legendary jockey,Frank ‘Tiger’ Moore1929 Founding of H. L. Brisbane &Co, which takes over WA Potteries.Dunreath Estate subdivided.High unemployment leads to theRoad Board running work schemes.1932 Belmont Soccer Club formed,with Tennis Club following the nextyear.1950 Cloverdale, Kewdaleand Newburn become suburbs.1950s Gradual developmentof Perth Airport.1951 Belmont Industrial Areazoned, with 200 acres north ofAlexander Road set aside.1956 Following a fire on thebridge, it is decided to closeBelmont Station.1960 Road Board changesits name to Shire of Belmont.1963 Bowling green and tenniscourts completed on GroveFarm Reserve.1964 New Council premisesbuilt alongside the old hall.1970 CommonwealthGovernment resumes Newburnsuburb for growth of airport.1971 Construction of RuthFaulkner Library.1979 Belmont becomes a City,and the Council moves to a newAdministration Centre.1980s Factory in GrandstandRoad ceases production afterplastic pipes replace clay.1988 Opening of purpose-builtBelmont Museum.1994 Ascot Waters subdivided.1906 Laying of foundation stonefor All Saints Anglican Church(demolished 1977).Opening of Burswood School.Kirton’s Patent Pottery Co. goesbankrupt. Factory taken by theWA Pottery Co.1907 Road Board changes nameto Belmont Park Road Board.1908 Opening of Redcliffe School.1910 Cloverdale Estate subdivided.1912 Subdivision of GroveFarm Estate.1935 Hill 60 converted into the firstSt John of God Hospital in the State.Guildford Road changes nameto Great Eastern Highway.1936 Extensions to Road Boardoffices celebrated with a socialevening, including dancing.1938 Land selected in Redcliffe/Newburn for site of Perth Airport.Brisbane & Co. merges withWunderlich Ltd.1939-45 World War II.1949 Wartime Air Forcecamp converted into DunreathMigrant Camp.1974 Belmont Forum begins tradingfollowed by Belmont Plaza in 1978.Combined in 1986.1977 Ascot Water Playground opens.1900 – 1950 1950s +2000 Extensions to Belmont Foruminclude a new supermarket andspeciality stores.1 Land grants in Belmont: Reproduced fromAppleyard, R. T., & Toby Manford, The Beginning:European Discovery and Early Settlement of SwanRiver Western Australia (UWA Press, 1979)2 Sarah Drummond: c.1860s, Battye 003025D3 First Causeway Bridge: 1860s, Alfred Hawes Stone,Battye 009286D4 Belmont House, later Sandringham Hotel: City ofBelmont, M0167-025 Unidentified men and horses: City of Belmont,M0030-026 Sugars Brickworks: City of Belmont M0073-027 Ascot Inn, also known as the Hotel Belmont: 1920,City of Belmont, M0083-018 Congregational Church: City of Belmont, M0049-149 Ruth Faulkner Library under construction: 1971, Cityof Belmont M0411-0110 Belmont Forum: 1970s, City of Belmont M0337-1511 Kiln and chimneys on Grandstand Road: 1999,City of Belmont M0074-01

A40Suburban pioneersThe effects of the gold rush were vast. Perthquickly became a city, and old wooden buildingswere torn down, replaced by new brick ones.The increases in population led to a demand forhousing. In the 1890s, speculators began buyingup Belmont land for subdivision. However, theseschemes did not meet with a great deal ofsuccess at first.One of the successful subdivisions was AscotGarden Estate from 1895. Designed as a‘garden suburb’, the river end of Location 32was advertised to middle-class buyers whowanted a brick bungalow on a quarter-acre block.Redcliffe Farm (Location 28) was sold to adeveloper in 1895, parts of Belmont Farm(Location 34) were bought, and the southernportion of Location 32 was marketed asCloverdale Estate. Unluckily, subdivisions inSouth Perth and Victoria Park proved morepopular than those further out in Belmont.Settlement did begin to extend further downBelmont Avenue. The new residents were pigfarmers attracted by low rates and cheap land.After pig keeping was banned in Perth, men suchas Paddy Faulkner, Ron Philips, Bert Rowe andArthur Blomfield set up in Belmont. The area alsohad poultry farms, including those of StephenCraig and Andy Aitken.John Faulkner’s pig farm ‘Mullingar’ in BelmontBy the end of the 1890s, Chinese marketgardeners were also prominent in the Belmontarea. Hop Wah leased land on the river front,gardens were located along Hardey Road andBelgravia Street, including one worked by YeeHop. These gardens were in swampy areas,and irrigated by hand with buckets strung ona pole carried across the shoulders in thetraditional Chinese manner.Newey Residence, 190610

A41Frank Larter moved to the Belmont district shortly before World War I:Hundreds of streets had been surveyed and named on plans but therewas very little actual sign of the streets. Everywhere off the most importantroads was unmarked bushland and sand. It was loose sand that filled socksand shoes and the cuffs of men’s trousers.Places like Kewdale were so quiet that we felt like pioneer explorers. Insome of our idle wandering we found great jarrah tree stumps and nearthem saw pits dug deep into the sand. Men had worked in and aroundthem sawing the logs into planks where the trees fell.For a while the bush in the suburbs was deserted except for wandererssuch as I. Then families began to arrive. They lived in tents or huts of polesand hessian, or in houses partly built.Some of these people farmed in a lowly kind of way, rearing pigs andpoultry and goats and growing vegetables. The pig farmers drove theircarts into the city during the very early hours of the morning and broughtback waste food from markets and hotels. They boiled this in tall tubs andmixed with it grain of all kinds for their pigs.The poultry farmers hatched chicks in homemade incubators, using kerosenelamps to supply the necessary heat. The summer weather was hot for thefull-grown birds; they stood in what shade they could find with their mouthsopen wide and their wings lifted away from their bodies.Many of these isolated families kept goats. Children milked them and madepets of them, feeding them with vegetable leaves and peelings, crusts, oranything at all. Some of the older billygoats, bearded and venerable, weretaught to pull tiny carriages and passengers around the little homesteads.Even the final houses in which these suburban pioneers lived had littlecomfort. Such comforts as water-supply, electric lighting, fly-screens,linoleum, curtains and lawns and flowers came much later.The Governor visiting Stephen Craig’s poultry farm: 191211

A42Advancing the districtUntil the late 1890s, there was practically noplanning control in Belmont. Agricultural andtimber businesses were unregulated, and theincreasing population needed roads.After a community campaign, Belmont RoadBoard was formed in 1898. But however hardthe Board worked, it lacked resources in itsfirst decade, which meant progress was slow.In 1902, Belmont Hall was constructed on theroad to Guildford. When the Hall was extendedin 1936, the Road Board celebrated with anevening of dancing and music.The late 1920s found the State in the grip ofthe Depression. Facing high unemployment,the Board ran a number of job creation schemes,including constructing footpaths along the GreatEastern Highway.Belmont Won’t Stand Bathing in the NudeFollowing the receipt of a police report to the effect that persons had beenbathing in the nude in the Swan River at Belmont, the last meeting of BelmontPark Road Board decided to take action to ensure that there is no repetition ofthe occurrence.As the persons who bathed in the nude last Sunday were boys, the board is tocommunicate with the parents, and to point out the seriousness of the offence.Signboards are also to be renewed, and will indicate in unmistakable fashion thatpeople cannot bathe in the nude at Belmont.(Daily News, 22 December 1936)In 1960, the Road Board became the Shireof Belmont, and new council premises wereerected alongside the old Hall.The Ruth Faulkner Library, named after Belmont’sfirst female councillor, was originally intended tobe built in Knutsford Avenue. Following discussionwith the community, it was eventually erected inFaulkner Park in 1971.In 1979, Belmont became a city and the councilconstructed a new Administration Centre on landonce owned by poultry farmer, Stephen Craig.Belmont Hall, with Road Board’s first truck c. 192512

A45ReferencesNganya kalleep: ‘Vocabulary of the AboriginalLanguage of Western Australia’, Perth Gazette,7 September 1839Noongar: This spelling is the one used by the SouthWest Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (SWALSC) torefer to the Aboriginal people of the South West region.Ngattaba: ‘Fanny Balbuk-Yooreel’, Western Mail,1 June 1907Munday’s land: Perth Gazette, 20 April 1833; Laurie,Maxine, Ever Flowing Forward (Belmont 1999); Gifford,Peter, ‘Aborigines and Settlers around Great EasternHighway at Belmont’, The Journal (June 2010); Green,Neville, Broken Spears (Perth 1984); Carter, Bevan,Nyungah Land (Swan Valley, c.2005)Outlaw status: ‘[Proclamation]’, Perth Gazette,4 May 1833; Perth Gazette, 27 July 1833; Green,Broken SpearsArrival of colonists: Bolton, Geoffrey, Land of Visionand Mirage (UWA Press, 2008)Allocating Belmont’s blocks: Laurie,Ever Flowing ForwardDrummond: ‘James Drummond’, West Australian,19 July 1930; Laurie, Ever Flowing ForwardBelmont Estate: ‘Classified Advertising’,Perth Gazette, 3 May 1834Fire at Red Cliff: ‘Fire at Red-Cliff’, Perth Gazette,21 December 1833Table of Locations: Adapted from Downey,John Hartley, ‘A history of the Belmont District’(Thesis, 1973)Hardeys: Johnston, Ruth, The Tranby Hardeys(Serpentine, 1988); Laurie, Ever Flowing ForwardBelmont House advertisement: West Australian,7 February 1889J. W. Hardey’s obituary: West Australian, 19 May 1885Perth Racecourse: ‘Perth Racecourse’,West Australian, 28 March 1928King George: O’Mara, William, ‘My Life in Belmont’,Looking Back (City of Belmont, 1988)Subdivisions: Laurie, Ever Flowing ForwardLarter: Larter, Frank, ‘A Migrant of 1912: Recollectionsof England and Australia’, Early Days 6.6 (1967)Poultry farming: ‘Up-to-Date Poultry Farming’,Sunday Times, 12 July 1908Little control: ‘Proposed Belmont Roads Board’,West Australian, 12 November 1898Community campaigning: Laurie, Ever FlowingForward1936 extensions: ‘Advertising’, West Australian, 5 May1902; ‘The Belmont District’, Western Mail, 23 August1902; ‘Real Estate’, West Australian, 29 August 1936;‘Belmont Board’s Hall Additions Opened’, Daily News,24 December 1936; ‘In The Suburbs’, Daily News,16 December 1936Depression schemes: Laurie, Ever Flowing ForwardBecoming a Shire and City: Laurie, Ever Flowing ForwardSugars’ Brickworks: Belmont Historical Society,Belmont Historic Sites (c.1988); Laurie, Ever FlowingForward; Spalding, Ann, ‘Belmont banked on clay’,Ascot Times, 7 October 1992Millard’s Brickworks: ‘Subdivision of the RedcliffeEstate’, Sunday Times, 3 December 1922Kirton: ‘A New Industry’, Sunday Times, 7 August 1904;‘Advertising’, West Australian, 6 February 1906Brisbane & Wunderlich: Laurie, Ever Flowing Forward;‘Belmont: Places and Faces, 1899-1999’ (City ofBelmont, 1999)New suburbs: ‘New Postal Areas’, West Australian,17 June 1950Dunreath: ‘Dunreath Estate’, Sunday Times, 14 June1931; ‘Hostel for DPs’, Sunday Times, 17 July 1949Belmont Industrial Area: ‘Millions Spent on New Factoriesin Suburban Area’, West Australian, 19 October 1954;‘New Perth Suburbs Grow as Population Increases’,West Australian, 23 November 1953ImagesJane Eliza Currie, Panorama of the Swan RiverSettlement: Digital Order No. a631001, SLNSWSarah Drummond: c.1860s, Battye 003025DGrove Farm: Illustration by D. L. Cummings, 1940,City of Belmont M0168-01John Wall Hardey: City of Stirling Local StudiesHardey and family: City of Stirling Local StudiesBelmont House, later Sandringham Hotel:City of Belmont M0167-021847 map showing the road to Guildford: StateRecords Office, cons. 3689, Roads 085First Causeway Bridge: Alfred Hawes Stone,Battye 009286DPerth Cup Day 1899: City of Belmont M0240-01Racecourse Hotel: City of Belmont, M0098-01Towton Family: c.1910, City of Belmont M0005-01Towton Lodge, Hardey Road: c.1900, City of BelmontM0005-02‘Snapshot’, winner of Perth Cup: 1897, BelmontM0012-01Ascot Inn, also known as the Hotel Belmont: 1920,City of Belmont M0083-01John Faulkner’s pig farm ‘Mullingar’ in Belmont:City of Belmont M0431-01The Governor visiting Stephen Craig’s poultry farm:1912, City of Belmont M0090-03Newey Residence, 1906, City of Belmont M0144-02Richard Gervase Kirton, Belmont councillor andpottery works owner: City of Belmont M0084-01Belmont Hall, with Road Board’s first truck c.1925: City of Belmont M0424-01Belmont Hall: City of Belmont M0322-01Sugars Brickworks, founded 1896: City of BelmontM0073-02Hill 60, extensive alterations were made in 1911using Sugars bricks: City of Belmont M0173-01Kiln and chimneys on Grandstand Road: 1999,City of Belmont M0074-01Brisbane & Wunderlich, 1948: City of BelmontM0053-01Advertisement for Bristiles: West Australian,14 May 1932Map of new suburbs: West Australian,23 November 1953Bellis House, Belmont Avenue, 1944:City of Belmont M0185-07Ruth Faulkner Library under construction, 1971:City of Belmont M0411-01Belmont Forum, 1970s: City of Belmont M0337-15Publication correct at date of printing, May 2013. Writer Eddie Marcus, History Now. Designer Marketforce.Copyright - City of Belmont15

A46Each part of the coat of arms symbolises an aspect of the City of Belmont.The kiln and stack represent brick making and the cog is a symbol forindustry. The wings symbolise flight and the airport, while the horse is theracing industry. The green stands for public space; silver, the sky; and blue isthe Swan River. The black swan is the State emblem, and the ducal coronetaround its neck symbolises Belmont’s relationship to WA.For further information on the details in this publication, please contact the Belmont Museum on 9277 7387or email museum@belmont.wa.gov.au or visit 61 Elizabeth Street, Belmont WA 6104