| Peppermint Grove Perth, Western Australia |
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Grove of Peppermint trees overlooking Freshwater Bay on the Swan River |
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Peppermint Grove
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| Population: | 1,580 (2006 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Established: | 1830s | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 6011 | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 1.1 km² (0.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Location: | 12 km (7 mi) from Perth | ||||||||||||
| LGA: | Shire of Peppermint Grove | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Cottesloe | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Curtin | ||||||||||||
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Peppermint Grove is an affluent western suburb of Perth, Western Australia on the north bank of the Swan River at Freshwater Bay. Its Local Government Area, the smallest in the country, is the Shire of Peppermint Grove. The suburb was named after its trademark "Peppermint trees" (Agonis flexuosa) lining many streets. The suburb has long been associated with Western Australia's wealthiest and oldest families: see Robert Pascoe's "Peppermint Grove: Western Australia's Capital Suburb". Their prosperity is reflected in historic houses in the area, such as 'St Just' and The Cliffe. Peppermint Grove remains, to this day, the suburb with the highest average weekly income in Western Australia.[2] Its Sydney and Melbourne equivalents, as Pascoe points out, would be Vaucluse and Toorak. Colin Barnett, Premier of Western Australia, has dubbed the suburb "Australia's Monaco" due to its small size and concentration of wealth.
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At the time of European settlement and for some years after, the area was thickly wooded with tuart, jarrah, red gum, banksia as well as the peppermint trees which gave the suburb its name.
In 1830, John Butler, an innkeeper, was given a grant of 250 acres (1 km²) on Freshwater Bay, after unsuccessfully attempting to secure land at Claremont. From this location, he operated "The Bush Inn", a stone house he had built and rigged out with native mahogany, commonly known as jarrah. After a series of arguments with the colonial authorities of the day, Butler left for Sydney in October 1835, but did not dispose of the property.
After the death of Butler's wife, Ann, in 1886, a syndicate of businessmen, including Alexander Forrest and George Leake, persuaded Butler's children to sell the land.[3] In 1891, it was subdivided and lots were sold for £7 to £12 each. Two of the earliest residents were Edward Keane, Lord Mayor of Perth, and John Forrest, Premier of Western Australia. Just four years later, residents got a road board, later to become the Peppermint Grove Shire Council - to this day, the smallest in Australia at just 1.1 km².
Peppermint Grove is situated between Stirling Highway on the west and the Swan River at Freshwater Bay to the east. It spans six blocks, with its main streets named after the first post-subdivision residents of the suburb - McNeil, Forrest, Leake, Irvine, Keane, Johnston and Venn.
At the ABS 2001 census, Peppermint Grove had a high-income, mostly white population of 1,379 people living in 590 dwellings. The ABS noted that 69% of the suburb's workforce were managers or professionals.[1]
Cottesloe Primary School and Presbyterian Ladies' College are located within the suburb, as is the council office and library on Stirling Highway, a small shopping centre opposite the Cottesloe shopping area, and reserves along the riverfront, most notably Manners Hill Park and Keanes Point Reserve, which offer recreational facilities and jetties.
The western edge of the suburb is serviced by the CircleRoute along Stirling Highway, and the Cottesloe train station on the Fremantle line.[4] All services are operated by the Public Transport Authority.
Peppermint Grove is part of the federal division of Curtin. The federal seat is held by the centre right Liberal Party. It is regarded as a safe seat as it has been continually retained by the Liberal Party with the exception of former Liberal member Allan Rocher as an Independent politician between 1996 and 1998. For the parliament of Western Australia, the state electoral district of Cottesloe is also held by the Liberal Party.
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