Coogee, Western Australia

Coogee Perth, Western Australia
Jetty and shark net at coogee beach
Coogee
Coordinates	32°07′08″S 115°45′58″E / 32.119°S 115.766°E / -32.119; 115.766Coordinates: 32°07′08″S 115°45′58″E / 32.119°S 115.766°E / -32.119; 115.766
Population	4,310 (2006 census)
• Density	1,390/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
Established	1980s
Postcode(s)	6166
Area	3.1 km2 (1.2 sq mi)
Location	23 km (14 mi) from Perth City
LGA(s)	City of Cockburn
State electorate(s)	Cockburn
Federal Division(s)	Fremantle
Suburbs around Coogee: North Coogee Spearwood Spearwood Cockburn Sound Coogee Spearwood Munster Munster Munster

Coogee is a southern coastal suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Cockburn.

The suburb takes its name from the lake, Lake Coogee, in the area, which translates to "Body of water" in the native Aboriginal Nyoongar language. Originally this lake was named Lake Munster after Prince William, the Earl of Munster, and later King William IV. The aboriginal name Kou-gee was recorded in 1841 by Thomas Watson and has been variously spelt Koojee, Coojee and Coogee.

The first European settlement in the region occurred with the ill-fated settlement by Thomas Peel at the Clarence townsite behind Woodman Point in 1829. The townsite being abandoned in 1831. Settlement of the area commenced in the 1870s around Lake Coogee on Rockingham Road (the first road between Fremantle and Rockingham).

The current residential area of Coogee commenced development in the 1980s. Previously it was an area of limestone ridge, small rural lots and market gardens in the west and south portions of the current suburb. Denser residential devevelopment was limited to a small area in the northwest of the current suburb about Beach Road and King Street. That area was better known as the locality of Coogee Beach. Some buildings still standing in that area date back to the nineteenth century.

In 1898, Walter Powell applied for a publican's licence in Four-mile Well, Coogee. He extended and renovated the existing building, turning it into the Coogee Hotel. He traded for twenty years, until his death in 1923, fostering local sports, particularly horse racing, and giving the local community of meat workers and market gardeners a place to socialise and relax. The hotel was de-licensed in 1927, and became a holiday home for orphans under the Swan Anglican Children's Homes in 1930. In 1946 the orphans were housed there full-time. In 1968, threatened with demolition by Main Roads to build a high-capacity road through the area, the orphanage sold the hotel and moved out. It was not demolished, and was used intermittently as private offices. An extension was added in the early 1990s, and the building was heritage listed in 2001.