Forrestfield Perth, Western Australia |
|||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roundabout at entrance to Hartfield Park
|
|||||||||||||
Coordinates | 31°58′48″S 115°59′37″E / 31.98°S 115.993611°ECoordinates: 31°58′48″S 115°59′37″E / 31.98°S 115.993611°E | ||||||||||||
Population | 11,811 (2011 census) | ||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 6058 | ||||||||||||
LGA(s) | Shire of Kalamunda | ||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Forrestfield | ||||||||||||
Federal Division(s) | Hasluck | ||||||||||||
|
Forrestfield is a suburb of the Shire of Kalamunda in Western Australia. It lies 15 km to the southeast of Perth at the base of the Darling Scarp and the southern border of the Perth International Airport.
The suburb is split by Roe Highway into a southern residential area and a northern industrial area.
The industrial area contains a major rail hub. It was originally Forrestfield marshalling yard operated by WAGR and then Westrail.
It is currently the Aurizon depot for Perth
Specialised Container Transport (SCT) have a large intermodal warehouse with connection to the railway line.
The $120 million Co-operative Bulk Handling Metro Grains Centre was built in 1998. In mid-2005 BlueScope Steel constructed a large warehouse on former Westrail land.
Kenworth DAF also relocated from Guildford to a new $10 million complex on Abernethy Road in 2005.
Settlement of the area dates from the late 1800s. Population was minimal until the early 1900s, with growth during the interwar period. Significant development did not occur until the post-war years, with rapid growth from the 1950s into the 1970s. The population has been relatively stable since the early 1990s, a result of some new dwellings being added to the area, but a decline in the average number of persons living in each dwelling.
There is authority to suggest it is named after Western Australia's first premier, John Forrest. However, local folklore suggests that the name comes from Charles Hale, who settled in the area in 1902 and planted crops amongst the native forest bushland, hence Forrestfield.