Willagee, Western Australia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Willagee
Perth, Western Australia

Established:

1950s

Postcode:

6156

Property Value:

AUD $298,000 (2005)

Location:

12 km from Perth

LGA:

City of Melville

State District:

Willagee

Federal Division:

Fremantle

Suburbs around Willagee
Palmyra	Melville	Myaree
O'Connor	Willagee	Winthrop
O'Connor	Kardinya	Winthrop

Willagee is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Melville. Its postcode is 6156.

The suburb is bounded by Leach Highway to the north, Garling Street to the south, Stock Road to the west and North Lake Road to the east. Suburbs that border Willagee include Winthrop to the west, Kardinya and Samson to the south and southeast, O'Connor to the west, and Melville to the north.

[edit] History

The suburb of Willagee takes its name from Willagee Swamp, the Aboriginal name of a feature now reclaimed. The area was developed in the early 1950s, and the name approved in 1954.

Willagee was originally created as a public housing estate for local and immigrant (mainly from the United Kingdom) workers. It is characterised by demountable, wooden cottages with stilts, although it is in the midst of a sweeping redevelopment plan, which is supposed to improve the quality of the housing. The original streets of Willagee were named after those who arrived on the HMS Success which arrived in 1827, lead by Captain Stirling.

[edit] Infrastructure

Willagee had two primary schools; Willagee Primary School and Carawatha Primary School (which also housed Carawatha Language Development Centre). Both schools merged to create Caralee Community School, which is located where the former Willagee Primary School was previously located. Carawatha Language Development Centre was Western Australia's first Language development centre and began in 1982, tailoring lessons for children up to year 7 both at the Carawatha PS/LDC site and at satellite schools. Students at both Carawatha Primary and Carawatha Language Development Centre shared school facilities, schedules and functions, encouraging all students to interact between the 2 schools (often seen as one). Upon the amalgamation of Carawatha Primary and Willagee Primary Carawatha Language Development Centre became the Fremantle Language Devlopment Centre.

Willagee includes a Community Hall and a branch of the City of City of Melville Library Service in the main community precinct on Archibald Street. There are several shops, including a small supermarket, a service station, and a doctor's surgery.

Willagee also housed the oldest Little Athletics club in the Melville District - Carawatha Willagee. This club combined the children from all three primary schools and fostered a friendly competition within the small club. Training was held regularly at the Willagee Primary school site.

Willagee even once had a kind of morbid tourist attraction - No. 3 Moorhouse Street, Australia's own 'house of horrors.' It was here that infamous serial-killers David and Catherine Burnie tortured and murdered their victims. In the past, the many curious passers-by became a problem, but now it seems (thankfully for the residents) quite empty. The streets of Willagee are frequented by 'goths', and the house has been used as a shrine to Satan.

Gang warfare is frequent with clashes over territory between the visiting 'goths' and traditional owners, the Yugul family.

[edit] References

Western Australian Electroal Commission. Western Australian Government. Retrieved on April 23, 2007.
Australian Electroal Commission. Australian Government. Retrieved on April 23, 2007.
Real Estate Institute of Western Australia. Retrieved on April 23, 2007.
WhereiS.com. Retrieved on April 23, 2007.
Google Earth

Suburbs of the City of Melville
Alfred Cove \| Applecross \| Ardross \| Attadale \| Bateman \| Bicton \| Booragoon \| Brentwood \| Bull Creek \| Kardinya \| Leeming \| Melville \| Mount Pleasant \| Murdoch \| Myaree \| Palmyra \| Willagee \| Winthrop