East Cannington, Western Australia

East Cannington, previously part of Queens Park Road Board District, and once incorporating present day Beckenham was largely a semi-rural area, with only the area near the railway used for housing. In 1959, the suburb was gazetted as a Postal District. Many farms and horse adgistment properties once populated East Cannington until developers realised it's potential in the 1990s and thus almost all available land is now given way to suburban housing.

In Fred Carden's book "Along the Canning" East Cannington had a few notable industries including a Jam Factory near the site of the old Cannington Train Station and a Garment manufacturer in Lacey Street.^[3]

Evidence of the early retail trade can still be gleaned from the weatherboard shops now making up the East Cannington General Store opposite the old Cannington Railway Station Site

[edit] Geography

East Cannington is bounded by the Armadale railway line to the southwest, Thomas and Gibbs Streets to the northwest, Welshpool Road to the north and Lacey Street to the southeast. It is at the eastern fringe of urban settlement in the City of Canning, with only semi-rural parts of Kenwick and Wattle Grove between the suburb and the Lesmurdie section of the Darling Scarp.^[4]

At the ABS 2001 census, East Cannington had population of 3,025 people living in 1,171 dwellings, the majority of which are detached houses. Over 10% of the population are Italian Australians.

[edit] Facilities

East Cannington is a residential suburb, with a small neighbourhood shopping centre in Gerard Street and relying on the nearby Westfield Carousel shopping centre in Cannington boundary for other commercial services. The suburb contains a primary school (Gibbs Street), and Saint Francis Catholic Primary School in Renou Street. Sevenoaks Senior College is nearby. The eastern end of the Welshpool industrial area borders the suburb to the north. A large park along the Welshpool Road border includes a nature reserve of indigenous species and a Boy Scout Hall. A few other small parks throughout the suburb provide recreational facilities.

[edit] Transport

East Cannington is served by the new Cannington train station at its western corner, linking the area to the Perth CBD. The suburb is also served by buses from Cannington, including a circular route. All services are operated by the Public Transport Authority.

[edit] References

^ 2001 Census, Australian Bureau of Statistics
^ REIWA Suburb Profile
^ Carden, F.G. Along the Canning: A History of the City of Canning Western Australia, Covering its progress from Roads Board to Shire, to Town, to City City of Canning, 1st Edition 1968, 2nd edition, 1991,
^ 2006 StreetSmart directory, Department of Lands and Surveys, Perth.