Dianella, Western Australia

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Dianella is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling and the Federal Parliamentary electorate of Stirling.

Dianella was named after the botanical title of a small blue lily, Dianella revoluta, which is a narrow-leafed plant which was plentiful in the area prior to residential development. Dianella is home to all of Perth's commercial television studios. Its post code is 6059.

Early development of the area was slow, as the sandy soil, part of the Banksia sandplain, was considered unsuitable for agriculture. Much of Dianella was subdivided in the 1880's by the Intercolonial Investment Company of Sydney, but growth was still slow and by 1919, the only development was along Walter Road, a track leading to dairy farms in the Morley area. Dianella comprised localities known as North Inglewood, East Yokine, Morley Park and Bedford Park. They were amalgamated into Dianella in 1958, which generated some growth.

Development progressed during the 1960's and housing construction first occurred north from Walter Road and Grand Promenade, with St Andrews and Dress Circle Estates being the last major areas to be developed. The character of housing ranges from modest post-war homes to large, modern two storey dwellings.

There are a number of small parks in Dianella and a large regional open space. Centro Dianella is the major shopping centre in the suburb, with several smaller local stores. Education is provided by a number of primary schools and Mirrabooka Senior High School.

Dianella Regional Open Space is at the junction of Alexander Drive and Morley Drive and provides a landscape feature for the suburb as well as sporting facilities. The area is home to a number of sporting codes, including lacrosse, football, little athletics, soccer and cricket as well as many more indoor sports.

Dianella lies at the heart of Perth's small Jewish community. Although this is the third largest Jewish community in Australia, numbers have never reached more than 6000 members. Dianella itself is home to a number of community institutions such as a Jewish day school (Carmel), a sports club, an old age home and a small Synagogue known as "Dianella Shule." In fact, a number of streets in the region are named after Jewish icons such as Menora, Maccabean and Golda Meir. Despite a small but steady stream of Jewish immigration from South Africa, the community in Dianella and surrounding suburbs is shrinking as many young people leave Perth, mainly heading to the larger Australian Jewish communities in Melbourne and Sydney.

A portion of Dianella has been dubbed the "Golden Triangle" by real estate agents, probably on account of the high priced housing within the area.