Published on Tuesday, 11 February 2025 at 2:50:07 PM
Welcome to #TimeWarpTuesday! This week we bring to you the next part of our mini-series on heritage places from the Town’s Municipal Heritage Inventory published in June 2000.
Heritage Places - Part Five
Burswood Canal
PH00245-01 Burswood Canal, circa 1997.
Photographed by Heritage Today circa 1996-2000 for the Town of Victoria Park Municipal Heritage Inventory, published June 2000.
Local History Collection, Town of Victoria Park Library Service.
”Historical Notes
“The Burswood Hotel and Casino are situated on an area of land called Burswood Island. The name is based on one of the earliest, if not the first public works project for the Swan River Colony.
“Owing to the total absence of roads, the Swan River became the focus for much of the early land allocation in the new colony. One of the first land allocations in the Victoria Park Area was 1,000 acres granted to Henry Camfield. Camfield called his property ‘Burrswood’ after a large manor in Britain. (Originally spelt with two ‘r’s it is not known when the other r was dropped). After many failed crops Camfield leased his land while he continued his work in public service. His important contribution to local history was the name Burswood.
“Water transport using shallow bottomed boats, barges and ferries was of paramount importance for people dependent on bringing in supplies. For those settlers up river from Perth the marshy river flats near Heirisson Island made river navigation difficult and sometimes treacherous. To save the arduous task of carrying goods over marshy land from Perth Water to the deeper upper reaches of the Swan River, plans were made for an ambitious project to cut a channel through the narrow neck of land near where the Belmont Park race course is situated today. Tenders were called for in 1831 and the contact was awarded to John Crane. It took 7 men 107 days to complete the excavation which led to the removal of 4,255 cubic yards of clay and sand.
“The channel that was subsequently built became known as the Burswood Canal. Though only completed in August 1831, as early as May 1832 doubts were raised about the success of the canal, as siltage led to a constant blocking of the channel. This led to further work in 1834 to try and make the channel self scouring. The establishment of the East Perth Canal in 1839, the increase of river traffic in the 1840s and the building of larger craft spelt the end of the working life of the canal, though it was not officially closed until the Swan River foreshore development in 1925. However, according to a Main Roads report, even after this in 1927 the possibility of reactivating the canal was still raised. World War II and funding delays meant the project did not materialise. The southern approaches were progressively filled in during the period 1950-1965.
“The name Burswood Island has persisted for 165 years since its inception, despite a chequered history. Burswood Island has been connected to a variety of land uses. In 1896 WA’s first golf course was established until being relocated to become the Royal Perth Golf Club in 1908. The land has also been the home for two race courses – Goodwood and Belmont. Between 1906-1934 the name Burswood became synonymous with sewerage filtration beds which were established to treat sewage pipe over from East Perth. The nearby residents were so unhappy about the besmirched name that they elected to change the district’s name to Rivervale when given the opportunity in 1921.
“Low lying ground on Burswood Island became subject to landfill when the East Perth Power Station piped waste fly ash over to the swamps of Burswood. Another influence on the area around the canal was the establishment in 1921 of one of Australia’s largest cement producers, Portland Cement (now Swan-Portland Cement). The factory was situated near the river for the important base material used for cement production in those days – oyster shell. The factory is still situated approximately one kilometre from the canal and has a significant impact on the Burswood Canal.
“Seagulls were a constant reminder of the domestic rubbish tip that began on Burswood Island after WWII. People continued to supply landfill in this way until the 1970s.
“Today the ‘Island’ is a Mecca to thousands of people who travel daily to the Hotel, Casino, parkland, golf course and State Tennis Centre.
“The Burswood canal was brought to the attention of the Town of Victoria Park and the Heritage Council of Western Australia [HCWA] by Bruce James. He is an engineer with a passionate interest in the industrial heritage of WA. He is a member of the HCWA and is therefore aware of the processes needed to have a heritage place assessed for entry on to the State Register. The remnant of the Burswood Canal that can be seen today has been nominated for assessment for its cultural heritage value by the HCWA. Bruce James has indicated that this early piece of Western Australia’s history could be under threat. The Eastern Gateway project which required the relocation of the railways as well as the building of a major road system, is putting pressure on this sensitive area.
“The Town of Victoria Park has agreed in the 1997/1998 budget to consider funds to investigate the possible recognition of the Burswood Canal (27 May 1997.)
“Description
“Most of the original Burswood Canal has been filled in, but a small section still remains alongside the railway reserve, east of the Bunbury Bridge. The Canal forms the boundaries of two properties – one the WA Lawn Tennis Association and the other unknown (despite a title search).
“Viewed from the banks of the railway line, the Burswood Canal/Drain appears to extend back about 75m. It then decreases from a width of approximately 25m down to a narrow drain inlet. This appears to lead from the nearby Swan-Portland Cement factory. Evidence of more recent man-made retaining walls can be seen on the east side, close to where pipes draining into this section of water are visible. Natural vegetation borders the edge of the canal.“ (1).
Call To Action
Has this story inspired you? Did you know about the Burswood Canal before reading this post? What are your memories of this area of the Town? Would you like to help us capture the history of our Town? Then you might like to make a submission to the 2025 Local History Awards (https://www.victoriaparklibrary.wa.gov.au/local-history/local-history-awards). Even if you just have one old photograph of a place, event or thing in the Town’s long history, we’d love to see it. Please put your thinking cap on, get out your camera, talk to your relatives and neighbours and get documenting and researching. Your entry could win you a prize too, but you will be arguably winning the greater prize of knowing you have helped both present and future generations understand their community better.
#LoveVicPark
References:
- Heritage Today 2000, ‘Town of Victoria Park Local Heritage Inventory, Heritage Today, Mount Lawley.
1905 Census Map outlining canal on Burrswood Land.
Courtesy of John Bissett and appearing int the Town of Victoria Park Municipal Heritage Inventory, published June 2000.
Local History Collection, Town of Victoria Park Library Service.
1947 Map outlining the canal on the Burswood land.
Courtesy of John Bissett and appearing in the Town of Victoria Park Municipal Heritage Inventory, published June 2000.
Local History Collection, Town of Victoria Park Library Service.
Unnamed map showing the location of Burswood Canal circa 1997
Appears in the Town of Victoria Park Municipal Heritage Inventory, published June 2000.
Local History Collection, Town of Victoria Park Library Service.
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