Helena Vale, Western Australia

Last updated

Helena Vale was the original name for Midland Junction (now Midland) in Western Australia between 1885 and 1901. It was also the earlier name of the Midland Junction Municipality between 1895 and 1901. The name has been long associated with the area between Midland and the Darling Scarp.

Contents

Rail branch

The location had a short railway siding from the Eastern Railway at Bellevue; it was opened on 1 July 1896 and closed on 13 February 1966. [1] [2] [3] The siding was utilised for the transport of troops during the First World War between Blackboy Hill and Fremantle. [4]

Racecourse

Despite the name changes of the locality and municipality, the name was kept by the Helena Vale Racecourse (founded in 1896/8) [5] until its closure in the 1970s. [6]

The former racecourse land was converted to an industrial area – known variously as the Farrall Road industrial area or business centre – which has the Eastern Railway as its eastern boundary, Great Eastern Highway as its southern boundary and Morrison Road at its north side. [7]

See also

Notes

  1. Quinlan, Howard & Newland, John R. (2000) Australian Railway Routes 1854-2000. ISBN   0-909650-49-7 – WN 58 p.67
  2. "HELENA VALE RAILWAY WORKS". The West Australian . Perth: National Library of Australia. 2 June 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  3. "Untitled". The West Australian . Perth: National Library of Australia. 9 September 1939. p. 6. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  4. http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/15821200?q=helena+vale+race+course&c=picture has a good view of the grandstand at Helena Vale, as well as the troops
  5. "A NEW RACECOURSE". The West Australian . Perth: National Library of Australia. 31 January 1898. p. 3. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  6. "HELENA VALE RACECOURSE". Western Mail . Perth: National Library of Australia. 8 April 1898. p. 40. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  7. Russell Taylor and William Burrell (Firm); Mundaring (W.A. : Shire). Council (1976), Midvale structure planning : preliminary investigations into the possible future use of Morrison Park, Helena Vale Racecourse and environs, West Perth (W.A.), retrieved 1 May 2012

Further reading

Related Research Articles

Mundaring, Western Australia Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Mundaring is a suburb located 34 km east of Perth on the Great Eastern Highway. The suburb is located within the Shire of Mundaring.

The Midland line is a suburban railway and service on the Transperth Train Operations network in Perth, Western Australia. It runs on the Eastern Railway through Perth's eastern suburbs and connects Midland with Perth. Travelling from Midland, the trains terminate at Fremantle on the Fremantle line.

Mount Helena is an urban suburb on the outskirts of Perth, in Western Australia, 35 km from the city, in the Shire of Mundaring. Its population in 2016 was 3,185 people.

Eastern Railway (Western Australia) Railway line in Western Australia

The Eastern Railway is the main railway route between Fremantle and Northam in Western Australia. It opened in stages between 1881 and 1893. The line continues east to Kalgoorlie as the Eastern Goldfields Railway.

Bellevue, Western Australia Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Bellevue is an eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia in the local government areas of the City of Swan and the Shire of Mundaring. It is at the foot of the slopes of Greenmount, a landmark on the Darling Scarp that is noted in the earliest of travel journals of the early Swan River Colony.

Helena River

The Helena River is a tributary of the Swan River in Western Australia. The river rises in country east of Mount Dale and flows north-west to Mundaring Weir, where it is dammed. It then flows west until it reaches the Darling Scarp.

Railway Reserves Heritage Trail Trail in Shire of Mundaring, Western Australia

The Railway Reserves Heritage Trail – also on some maps as Rail Reserve Heritage Trail or Rail Reserves Historical Trail, and frequently referred to locally as the Bridle Trail or Bridle Track – is within the Shire of Mundaring in Western Australia.

The Mundaring Branch Railway is an historical section of the original Eastern Railway main line across the Darling Scarp in the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) system.

Mundaring Weir

Mundaring Weir is a dam located 39 kilometres (24 mi) from Perth, Western Australia in the Darling Scarp. The dam and reservoir form the boundary between the suburbs of Reservoir and Sawyers Valley. The dam impounds the Helena River.

Blackboy Hill, Western Australia War memorial in Perth, Western Australia

Blackboy Hill was named after the Australian native "black boy" plants, Xanthorrhoea preissii, which dominated the site which is now absorbed into Greenmount, Western Australia.

Swan View, Western Australia Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Swan View is an eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its local government areas are the City of Swan and the Shire of Mundaring. It is 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Perth in the Perth Hills on the edge of the Darling Scarp, just to the west of the John Forrest National Park, east of Roe Highway and north of the Great Eastern Highway.

Midvale, Western Australia Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Midvale is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, which is split between the City of Swan and the Shire of Mundaring. Its postcode is 6056.

The Town of Midland was a local government area in the eastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, centred on the suburb of Midland.

Midland Junction railway station Former railway station in Perth, Western Australia

The Midland Junction railway station was an important junction station on the Eastern Railway of Western Australia until its closure in 1966.

Swan View railway station

Swan View railway station, Perth was a railway station of significance on the Eastern Railway in Western Australia. In all Working Timetables (WTT) during the operation of this line, the station was the point of control for the Swan View Tunnel.

Bellevue railway station, Perth Closed railway station in Perth, Western Australia

Bellevue railway station was a junction station on the Eastern Railway in the Perth suburb of Bellevue.

The Helena Vale Racecourse was a Thoroughbred horse racing track in the eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia now known as Midvale. The course operated from the 1890s until the late 1960s.

Darling Range Hotel

Darling Range Hotel was a hotel in Bellevue, Western Australia, on the end of the slope on the Great Eastern Highway at the 'bottom of' Greenmount Hill and just north of the former Bellevue railway station, and over the road from the Helena Vale Racecourse.

Mundaring Hotel

The Mundaring Hotel was opened in 1899 in Mundaring, a hills suburb of Perth, Western Australia.