Neil Hawkins Park

Statement of Significance

Neil Hawkins Park, Joondalup has social significance for its long and continued connection to Country for Noongar people and may have scientific significance for its research value for the archaeological potential demonstrating evidence of use. It has aesthetic significance for its natural bushland and vegetation. The place has historic significance for its association with the period in which pastoralists travelled the Northwest Stock Route and made use of a watering point and well located on the site.

Physical Description

Neil Hawkins Park is a landscaped area of 5.5ha on the western shore of Lake Joondalup, set among a natural bushland reserve. Playground facilities, parking and barbeque facilities are provided in this recreational space. The park features a dual limestone staircase leading towards the lake, that provides an alcove for the bronze statue ‘Bibulmun woman’. The park also features a wooden jetty that extends out over the edges of the lake for bird watching.

History

The original inhabitants of this area were Whadjuk and Yued Noongar people. Yellagonga, a prominent and highly regarded Aboriginal Elder, was the leader of his family group, the Oor-dal-kalla people. It is from the Oor-dal-kalla people that Joondalup derives its name. The Noongar word ‘Doondalup’ means ‘the lake that glistens’.

A cadastral map dated 1890 indicates that most of the land along the coast and around the circular lakes was leased for pastoral purposes by 1880. The Crown land was at first used by farmers without authority. Dairy farmers settled along the linear lakes while the rest of the district developed mainly for pastoral use. Pastoral leases were of a minimum of 3,000 acres and an area called Reserve 313A was allocated as a ‘watering place for stock’. A stock route between Sorrento and Dongara had been developed to the west of present Wanneroo Road and then west of Lake Joondalup, with usage peaking around 1884. In 1889 it was widened to about 800m and was gazetted in 1889 as freehold land.

The original 5.5ha reserve was gazetted on 2 June 1967 for recreation. A portion of it was for the purpose ‘Camping (Boy Scouts)’ and was a popular camping place. Neil Hawkins Park was established in UNESCO’s ‘Year of the Child’ in 1979 as a joint venture between the Metropolitan Region Planning Authority (MRPA), Shire of Wanneroo and the Joondalup Development Corporation. Neil Hawkins was a former Chairman of the MRPA. He visited the park in 1982 for a special tree planting ceremony and planted the first of 2,000 trees on the foreshores of Lake Joondalup. Trees were supplied by the Joondalup Development Corporation. On 17 January 2000 the vesting was changed from the City of Wanneroo to the City of Joondalup.

Neil Hawkins Park now forms the starting point for the Yaberoo Budjara Heritage Trail that runs through Yellagonga Regional Park, Neerabup National Park and into Yanchep National Park. The name Yaberoo Budjara is translated as the land (Budjara) of the people of north of Perth (Yaberoo). The 28km walking trail opened in 1988 and highlights features of natural, Aboriginal and historic significance. It is based on the tracks made by Yellagonga and his group that linked together the linear lakes of the coastal plain.

Neil Hawkins Park features the bronze sculpture of a Bibbulmun woman and a dingo, created by Rod Corbett and installed in 1988. The statue denotes the importance of the area to Noongar people. ‘Bibul’ means ‘breast’, hence the Bibbulmun group name which indicates a
matrilineal society, with succession from the mother’s line.

Uses

Historic Themes

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This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.