Maylands
The suburb of Maylands occupies a peninsula 4 km to the east of the Perth city centre, formed by the river winding its way across the Swan River floodplain on its way to the indian Ocean. Bordered by the suburbs of Mount Lawley, East Perth and Bayswater. Eighth Avenue has been transformed into a bustling and thriving cafe strip, populated by a mix of specialised retail shops, trendy cafes and restuarants presenting a mix of cuisines from all over the world.
Across the railway line near the station, on Railway Parade, is the iconic Penilsula Hotel. It was built in 1906 by well known building contractor, Friederich Wilhelm Gustave Liebe, his choice site no doubt influenced by the fact that the Mephan Ferguson's foundry just down the road. At the time of the hotel's opening, the foundry was a hive of activitym, employing and army of men who main task was to make the pipes for the Eastern Goldfields Water Scheme. Today the grand old hotel seems oddly out of place along the busy street but in the early 1900's the area would have been a buzz, with the Maylands Railway Station opposite and the I am sure it was frequented by many the workers from the factory who were making pipes for the Goldfields Water Scheme.
From 1830 until about 1900, the Maylands Peninsula area was known as Peninsula Farm as it was famous for its agricultural products, which were grown to support the developing city of nearby Perth. It was known as the Peninsula area from 1830 when it was settled by a group of devout Wesleyan Methodists, led by Joseph Hardey and other members of his family who arrived in Western Australia on the ship Tranby in February 1830.
Hardey and family were soon well established, not only as farmers, but also as devout and active leaders of the Methodist Church. They eventually owned all of the land on the Peninsula. The suburb was developed during the 1890s, its growth spurred on by the opening of the railway line to Midland in the 1880s.
Tranby House
The Tranby homestead was constructed by Joseph Hardey in 1839. Home today to the Peninsula Tea Gardens, it is the site of one of the first farms in the colony and the earliest residence still standing in the Perth metropolitan area. Tranby (Peninsula Farm) tells the stories of the family and servants who ran the farm, of farming here and how families and the young colony sustained themselves. It offers a unique opportunity to explore the first years of European settlement in Western Australia.
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Maylands was once a source of clay for brick and tile making, and the pits from these activities are now part of a golf course and residential area. Parts of the old brickworks still stand. The claypit used by the brickworkd has been converted into an ornamental lake.
Maylands Aerodrome (Photo: Airways Museum)
On 2nd November 1923, the Commonwealth Government acquired s 130 acre site on the Maylands peninsula on a bend of the Swan River for Perth's first airport. Maylands aerodrome opened in 1924 and West Australian Airways immediately moved their hangar from the Esplanade on the city foreshore to the new site and commenced building another larger hangar. Other tenants on the aerodrome included MacRobertson Miller Aviation Co. (MMA) and, from 1935, Airlines (WA) Ltd. The Royal Aero Club of Western Australia was also based at Maylands.
The Swan was prone to flooding and, although a levee and pumping station were later installed, Maylands remained boggy in winter throughout its life. Maylands Aerodrome was for many years home to Perth's main airport which serviced all kinds of aircraft and even flying boats until the early 1960s, when the airport moved to Redcliffe. The facilities were then converted to a training area for the Western Australian Police Service.
Maylands Aerodrome was where Charles Kingsford-Smith made his landing to complete the first non-stop flight across Australia. On 8 August 1928, the "Southern Cross" took off from Point Cook near Melbourne and set course for Perth, a distance of over 3,200 kilometres. The first part of the flight Kingsford-Smith described as rather dull, while the second part was made thoroughly unpleasant by a cloud cover their heavy machine couldn't rise out of.
For hours they endured the bitter cold and when daylight finally came, they discovered that they had drifted off course to Bunbury, 180 kilometres to the south. After their arrival at Maylands airport they found that summer rains had turned the field into a swamp.
During World War II, Maylands Airfield was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). From February 1942, it was also used by the United States Army Air Forces for refuelling and aircraft ferrying purposes. Between 6 April 1942 and 5 August 1943, No. 35 Squadron, flying Avro Ansons, was based at Maylands to transport supplies and passengers to Allied units throughout Western Australia, as well as supporting the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army.
Maylands Aerodrome Commemorative Park
Perth Airport was initially used as a military airfield during the Second World War, but soon afterward it became the main airport for Perth. Maylands continued as a base for general aviation operations, but the aerodrome was too small and the circuit conflicted with nearby Perth/Guildford. By the end of the 1950s, Department of Civil Aviation decided that Maylands should be closed and ordered all the tenants to move. The Royal Aero Club of Western Australia left Maylands on 23 April 1959 and set up operations at Perth/Guildford pending the opening of the new general aviation airport at Jandakot. The opening of Jandakot Airport in 1963 allowed Maylands to be finally closed to all operations on 30 June 1963.
A golf fairway ... once the main runway
The remaining corrugated iron and weatherboard buildings now lie within the bounds of the Western Australian Police Academy and Police Department Transport Section. Several of the surviving hangars from the aerodrome are included on the State's Register of Heritage Places. The runway areas of the aerodrome have been developed as a public golf course, with the main runway now used as a fairway on the golf course. Many of the streets developed in and around the airport site after its closure carry names relating to aircraft and the aviation industry.
Speaking of names, exact how Maylands got its name is something of a mystery. One theory is that Mephan Ferguson (owner of the local foundry) was responsible for naming the area, in honour of his aunt and daughter whom were both named May. Another theory is the area was named by Edgar. W. Hamer (Golds Estates of Australia) after he inspected land in the locality sometime in the month of May.
The street names near where the Falkirk Foundry were greatly influenced by Mephan. Mephan and Ferguson Streets were named after himself, Falkirk Street after his hometown, Foundry Street after his business and Rowland Street after the Works Manager in Perth. The Maylands Station was built as a result of the success of the Ferguson Foundry but was originally going to be called Falkirk Station after the Falkirk Siding situated near the foundry.
