Lake Leschenaultia

Last updated

Lake Leschenaultia
Lake Leschenaultia Chidlow Western Australia.jpg
Australia Western Australia relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Lake Leschenaultia
Location Western Australia
Coordinates 31°51′15″S116°15′2″E / 31.85417°S 116.25056°E / -31.85417; 116.25056
Type reservoir
Basin  countriesAustralia
Water volume520 million litres (420 acre⋅ft)
Lake Leschenaultia
Designated3 June 2005
Reference no. 8568

Lake Leschenaultia, Western Australia is a former railway dam that is now a recreational lake in the Shire of Mundaring just north of the location of an important railway stopping place on the original Eastern Railway. The dam holds approximately 520 million litres of water.

Contents

Location

It is located off Rosedale Road in Chidlow, about 45 minutes from Perth by car in the Perth Hills.

History

Lake Leschenaultia is a man-made lake constructed c.1897 as key infrastructure for the Western Australian Government Railways. It is the largest reservoir constructed on the Eastern Railway line and supplied water to steam trains for almost 50 years. Since 1949 it has been used as a recreation area for both locals, interstate and overseas visitors. Many locals learned to swim at the Lake, especially before the 1960s when there were no public swimming pools available locally. In 2005, Lake Leschenaultia gained a heritage listing based on the railway history, recreational significance and other factors.[ citation needed ] In 2006, the 40m timber jetty (constructed in 1971) was removed due to safety issues and has since been replaced with a pontoon. Since early in 2007, Lake Leschenaultia has been the venue for the monthly local market.[ citation needed ]

The name "Leschenaultia" comes from the lake colour's resemblance to the Blue Leschenaultia flower. [1]

Attractions and facilities

The beach and pontoon at the north-eastern end of the lake LakeLeschenaultia.jpg
The beach and pontoon at the north-eastern end of the lake

The recreational area adjoining the lake is managed by the Shire of Mundaring, which, as of January 2013, does not charge an entry fee. However, costs apply for camping, canoe hire and picnic area hire. The lake is advertised as offering a number of attractions, including picnics and camping; physical activities such as bushwalking, canoeing and swimming; and views of native flora and fauna, such as birdwatching. Facilities provided include a café, kiosk, toilets, playground, barbecues, picnic areas, grassed areas, camp ground with camp kitchen and walking and cycling trails. No dogs or fishing are allowed.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Forrest National Park</span> Protected area in Western Australia

John Forrest National Park is a national park in the Darling Scarp, 24 km (15 mi) east of Perth, Western Australia. Proclaimed as a national park in November 1900, it was the first national park in Western Australia.

Mount Helena is a 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellevue, Western Australia</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helena River</span> River in Western Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railway Reserves Heritage Trail</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glen Forrest, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Glen Forrest is a suburb within the Shire of Mundaring, south of John Forrest National Park, west of Mahogany Creek, east of Darlington, and north of the Helena River. Its northern boundary is determined by the Great Eastern Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mundaring Weir Branch Railway</span> Former railway line in Mundaring, Western Australia

The Mundaring Weir Branch Railway was constructed from Mundaring, Western Australia to the site of the Mundaring Weir, and opened on 1 June 1898.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chidlow, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Chidlow is a small community in the Shire of Mundaring approximately 45 kilometres east of Perth, Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mundaring Weir</span> Reservoir in Mundaring, Western Australia

Mundaring Weir is a concrete gravity 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swan View, Western Australia</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boya, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Boya is a locality on the Darling Scarp, in the Shire of Mundaring, Western Australia; it is on the south side of Greenmount Hill, and just west of Darlington.

Wooroloo is a town on the outer fringe of the Perth metropolitan region, located off Great Eastern Highway in the eastern part of the Shire of Mundaring. At the 2021 census, Wooroloo had a population of 2,613.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahogany Creek, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Mahogany Creek is a suburb of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. It is part of the Shire of Mundaring local government area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sawyers Valley, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Sawyers Valley is sited on the Great Eastern Highway about 40 kilometres from Perth, Western Australia in the Shire of Mundaring. The community began as a sawmill and railway siding to process timber from the forest surrounding the Helena River to the south. Local employment included forest and Goldfields Water Supply Scheme maintenance, small orchards, and the Midland Railway Workshops. The suburb's name comes from the occupation of many of the first European settlers to the area in the 1860s, who were sawyers working at the local saw-pits. The Sawyers Valley Tavern, which sits on the Highway opposite the Railway Reserve Heritage Trail, was first established in 1882 and the Sawyers Valley railway station was built in 1884.

The Lakes is an outer northeastern locality of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, located within the Shire of Mundaring. It is located 51 kilometres (32 mi) east of the Perth CBD, at the junction of the Great Eastern Highway and the Great Southern Highway, and is the easternmost suburb within the Metropolitan Region Scheme. At the 2021 census, The Lakes had a population of 20.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hovea, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia, Western Australia

Hovea is a suburb in the Shire of Mundaring in Perth, Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nyaania Creek</span> Seasonal creek in Western Australia

Nyaania Creek is a creek in Western Australia. It is a seasonal tributary that flows into the Helena River with a catchment that moves through a number of hills suburbs just east of the Darling Scarp. Its source is in Mahogany Creek, and it flows through Glen Forrest, Darlington, and Boya before meeting the Helena River at Helena Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shire of Mundaring</span> Local government area in Perth, Western Australia

The Shire of Mundaring is a local government area in eastern metropolitan Perth, the capital of Western Australia. The Shire covers an area of 645 square kilometres (249 sq mi) and had a population of approximately 38,000 as at the 2016 Census.

The Kep Track is a bicycle, walking and horse track in the Darling Range and further east in Western Australia.

References

  1. "Lake Leschenaultia". inHerit. Retrieved 12 January 2020.

Further reading