Midland, Western Australia

"Midland Junction" redirects here. For other uses, see Midland Junction (disambiguation).

Midland Perth,  Western Australia
The Old Midland Courthouse
Coordinates	31°53′17″S116°00′36″E / 31.888°S 116.010°E / -31.888; 116.010
Population	6,335 (SAL 2021) [1]
Established	1890s
Postcode(s)	6056
LGA(s)	City of Swan
State electorate(s)	Midland
Federal division(s)	Hasluck
Suburbs around Midland: Viveash Middle Swan Midvale Woodbridge Midland Midvale Hazelmere Hazelmere Bellevue

Midland is a suburb in the Perth metropolitan region, as well as the regional centre for the City of Swan local government area that covers the Swan Valley and parts of the Darling Scarp to the east. It is situated at the intersection of Great Eastern Highway and Great Northern Highway. Midland is almost always regarded as a suburb of Perth, being only 16 km (10 mi) away from the city centre.

History

Railway

Midland was the site of the Midland Railway Workshops - the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) for over 80 years. It was also a terminus for the Midland Railway Company. At the end of the Second World War it was the junction of the Midland Railway, the Upper Darling Range Railway, and the main Eastern Railway.

The Transperth suburban railway system currently has a terminus at Midland station.

Until 1966 the earlier railway station at Midland was the connecting location for trains to Bellevue and then onto Chidlow. Prior to 1954 it included the passenger service from the Mundaring Loop - or the original Eastern Railway (Western Australia), which went through Mundaring, Glen Forrest and Darlington. Until 1949 the passenger service to Kalamunda on the Upper Darling Range Railway was still operating via the 'Zig Zag' at Gooseberry Hill to Midland.

Commercial

Midland Junction developed around the Town Hall (1906) and Post Office (1913) sites and spread slowly east and north for over 70 years. The centrality of the main services, and the unusual presence of the Midland Railway Company sheds and yard directly adjacent to the Town Hall and Post Office, combined with the Government Railway Workshops, gave a focused sense of location to the commercial centre, and the local residences. The commercialisation of Great Eastern Highway roadfront residential properties to Bellevue was not complete before the 1990s.

In the 1970s the development of Midland Gate Shopping Centre completely changed the focus of the community, with businesses traditionally within walking distance of the Post Office and Railway Station closing down or shifting over the following decades. The re-development of the Midland Gate Shopping Centre has reasserted the car oriented nature of the regional centre, and the old centre of Midland is currently undergoing revitalisation and redevelopment with mixed use commercial and residential property providing the main focus.

Townsite

Midland's townsite is based around both Great Eastern Highway, which carries east bound traffic, and Victoria Street, which carries westbound traffic. It is possible to transfer from one to the other via the Padbury Terrace intersection to access Great Eastern Highway from Victoria Street, or use Helena Street to complete the reverse. Cale Street which forms the perimeter of the Midland Gate Shopping Centre also provides this access.

The townsite is lively and becoming increasingly busy attracting commuters from a wide surrounding area. Commercial and retail trade has been expanded further east on Great Eastern Highway. Continuing development in commercial and residential property within the original townsite means that despite the age of the townsite, it has taken on a modern character which blends seamlessly with the original and it is the main port of call for eastern travellers who do not bypass the historical area via Roe Highway.

Transport

Bus

•    277 and 278 Midland Station to High Wycombe Station – serve Great Eastern Highway, Victoria Street, Lloyd Street, Clayton Street and Military Road ^{[2] [3]}
•    290 Midland Station to Redcliffe Station – serves Victoria Street, Great Eastern Highway and Helena Street ^[4]
•    291 Midland Station to Redcliffe Station – only serves Midland Station ^[5]
•    300 Midland Station to Midland Station (free service) – Circular Route, serves Great Eastern Highway, The Crescent, Keane Street, Old Great Northern Highway and Helena Street ^[6]
•    301 Midland Station to Midland Station – Circular Route, serves Centennial Place ^[7]
•    307 Midland Station to Kalamunda Bus Station – serves Great Eastern Highway, Victoria Street, Lloyd Street, Clayton Street and Military Road ^[8]
•    310 Midland Station to Upper Swan – serves Helena Street, The Crescent, Hamersley Street, Margaret Street and Great Northern Highway ^[9]
•    311 Midland Station to Bullsbrook – serves Helena Street, The Crescent, Hamersley Street, Margaret Street and Great Northern Highway ^[10]
•    312 Midland Station to Midland Station – Circular Route, serves Helena Street, The Crescent, Hamersley Street, Margaret Street and Great Northern Highway ^[11]
•    313 Midland Station to Jane Brook – serves Helena Street, The Crescent and Morrison Road ^[12]
•    314 and 315 Midland Station to Midland Station – Clockwise Circular Routes, serve Helena Street, The Crescent, Lloyd Street and Morrison Road ^{[13] [14]}
•    320 Midland Station to Mundaring – serves Great Eastern Highway and Victoria Street ^[15]
•    321 Midland Station to Glen Forrest – serves Great Eastern Highway and Victoria Street ^[16]
•    322 Midland Station to Glen Forrest – serves Great Eastern Highway, Victoria Street, Lloyd Street and Clayton Street ^[17]
•    323 Midland Station to Swan View – serves Helena Street, The Crescent and Morrison Road ^[18]
•    324 and 325 Midland Station to Midland Station – Anti-Clockwise Circular Routes, serve Helena Street, The Crescent, Morrison Road and Lloyd Street ^{[19] [20]}
•    326 Midland Station to Midland Station – Circular Route, serves Great Eastern Highway, Morrison Road, The Crescent, Helena Street ^[21]
•    327 Midland Station to Swan View Shopping Centre – serves Helena Street, The Crescent and Morrison Road ^[22]
•    328 Midland Station to Chidlow – serves Great Eastern Highway and Victoria Street ^[23]
•    335 Midland Station to Ellenbrook Central – serves Helena Street, The Crescent, Keane Street and Great Northern Highway ^[24]

Rail

•    Midland Line
  • Midland Station

Redevelopment

It currently is being re-developed in part by the Midland Redevelopment Authority, which is organising redevelopment of the Railway Workshops site. Although some museum and storage facilities are being developed at the old workshops site, most of the massive railway superstructure and presence in Midland has gone. The Redevelopment Authority has under its act been vested with lands that do not fully encompass the whole 'old town' of Midland, but only parts of it.

The Midland Saleyards which are at the eastern end of the Railway Workshop site have been in the process of closing and all the related businesses and properties are in the process of being relocated and redeveloped. The Midland Military Markets at the northern edge of the Midland Saleyards - literally utilised an old Military site for a weekend market. The markets were destroyed by fire on 25 April 2007. ^[25] Not far west and adjacent to the Lloyd Street railway crossing - a large Harvey Norman store was opened in 2005 on the corner of Clayton and Lloyd Streets.

Parts of the Midland Railway Workshops site are home to a large Western Australian Police Operations Centre, Curtin University’s Midland Campus, ^[26] as well as other projects. The Coal Storage dam at the western side of the Workshops has become an ornamental lake adjacent to residential redevelopment called 'Woodbridge Lakes'.

In November 2005 the State Government announced plans to construct a 326-bed hospital on the site of the old railway workshops. The new hospital, to replace the aging Swan District Hospital, was predicted to be open by 2011 at a cost of A$182.7 million. The hospital was opened on 20 November 2015 by Premier Colin Barnett, with operations beginning on 24 November. ^[27]

Notable people from Midland

• James Knox: Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne- 1967 to 1974
• Ralph Sarich: engineer, inventor and entrepreneur
• Keith Slater: Australian cricketer and Australian rules footballer
• Ken Bagley: Australian rules footballer
• Jack Wong Sue: Chinese Australian soldier, mariner, author and entrepreneur
• Albert Facey: author of the auto-biography - A Fortunate Life
• Bruce Yardley: Australian cricketer
• Mike Richardson - Australian rules footballer
• Garry Sidebottom: Australian rules footballer
• Ian Williams - Australian rules footballer
• Allan Cuthbertson: actor
• Simon Katich: Australian cricketer
• Jessica Gomes: international model
• Cameron Meyer: Australian cyclist
• Travis Meyer: Australian cyclist
• Nic Naitanui: Australian rules footballer - West Coast Eagles
• Stephen Coniglio: Australian rules footballer - Greater Western Sydney Giants

See also

• Midland Junction Municipality
• Swan Express

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Midland (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
2. "Route 277". Bus Timetable 110 (PDF). Transperth. 12 January 2024 [effective from 4 February 2024].
3. "Route 278". Bus Timetable 110 (PDF). Transperth. 12 January 2024 [effective from 4 February 2024].
4. "Route 290". Bus Timetable 111 (PDF). Transperth. 28 August 2023 [effective from 20 November 2023].
5. "Route 291". Bus Timetable 111 (PDF). Transperth. 28 August 2023 [effective from 20 November 2023].
6. "Route 300". Bus Timetable 92 (PDF). Transperth. 22 January 2018 [effective from 31 January 2016].
7. "Route 301". Bus Timetable 95 (PDF). Transperth. 26 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
8. "Route 307". Bus Timetable 96 (PDF). Transperth. 16 January 2024 [effective from 4 February 2024].
9. "Route 310". Bus Timetable 91 (PDF). Transperth. 26 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
10. "Route 311". Bus Timetable 91 (PDF). Transperth. 26 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
11. "Route 312". Bus Timetable 91 (PDF). Transperth. 26 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
12. "Route 313". Bus Timetable 87 (PDF). Transperth. 27 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
13. "Route 314". Bus Timetable 87 (PDF). Transperth. 27 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
14. "Route 315". Bus Timetable 87 (PDF). Transperth. 27 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
15. "Route 320". Bus Timetable 97 (PDF). Transperth. 26 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
16. "Route 321". Bus Timetable 96 (PDF). Transperth. 16 January 2024 [effective from 4 February 2024].
17. "Route 322". Bus Timetable 96 (PDF). Transperth. 16 January 2024 [effective from 4 February 2024].
18. "Route 323". Bus Timetable 87 (PDF). Transperth. 27 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
19. "Route 324". Bus Timetable 87 (PDF). Transperth. 27 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
20. "Route 325". Bus Timetable 87 (PDF). Transperth. 27 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
21. "Route 326". Bus Timetable 86 (PDF). Transperth. 26 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
22. "Route 327". Bus Timetable 87 (PDF). Transperth. 27 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
23. "Route 328". Bus Timetable 97 (PDF). Transperth. 26 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
24. "Route 335". Bus Timetable 98 (PDF). Transperth. 26 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
25. ABC News, 25 April 2007, "Blaze Destroys Perth Markets", accessed 23 July 2007
26. Ext 4291), Properties Systems Support (Phone (10 January 2014). "Properties - Home". Curtin Properties. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
27. "Midland hospital open, Swan closed". www.health.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 27 February 2023.