Local Government
Perth
Region
Metropolitan
Mounts Bay Road Perth
Mounts Bay Road foreshore from Matilda Bay to the Narrows Bridge, including the Matilda Bay boatshed built in the early 1930s.
Perth
Metropolitan
Constructed from 1890
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| Type | Status | Date | Grading/Management | |
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| Category | ||||
| Local Heritage Survey | Adopted | 28 Mar 2023 | Category 2 | |
| Local Heritage Survey | Completed\Draft | Category 2 | ||
Mounts Bay Road foreshore, including Goonininup and Kooyamulyup, is a Registered Aboriginal Site. It was a favoured camping ground for Whadjuk Nyoongar people at the time of colonisation. The Mounts Bay Road foreshore has aesthetic value as a picturesque drive along the river at the base of Mount Eliza. It has associations with iconic structures along the foreshore, including the Blue Boat House and the ‘Eliza’ statue, which marks the location of the former Crawley Baths.
Grassed area along the river.
Mounts Bay Road extends from Winthrop Avenue, Crawley to William Street, Perth. It follows the foreshore around the base of Mt Eliza. The eastern end between Point Lewis Rotary and William Street is now considerably inland, due to the extensive landfill for the Narrows Bridge and freeway in the late 1950s. It is a picturesque drive along the Swan River with little development along it, due to the river on one side and the steep cliffs of Mount Eliza on the other. Mounts Bay Road is a Registered Aboriginal Site (ID3787) with Mythological significance as well as a Camp, Named Place, and a Water Source. The location of the former Swan Brewery is a significant site called Kooyamulyup. It was a favoured camping ground, being near to the fresh water spring Goonininup (Kennedy’s Fountain), and on the foreshore where an abundance of food and other resources were readily available. Also over the Mounts Bay Road area is another Registered Aboriginal Site (ID3704) called Kings Park Waugal (Ceremonial, Mythological, Plant Resource, Water Source). The natural spring is associated with the Waugal and its creation journey that made the rivers and waterways. The Derbal Yerrigan (Swan River) is also a Registered Site (ID3536) (Mythological). After colonisation, this area was claimed for a mill. A convict depot was built in the 1850s near Kennedy's Fountain, and the Swan Brewery relocated in 1879 to land just to the west. The land has been reclaimed over time to the large complex that is there today, on both sides of the road. (Refer to an 1897 plan held at State Library of WA, 578C/2). One notable landmark along Mounts Bay Road foreshore is a privately owned jetty and boatshed at the bottom of Kings Park Avenue, commonly known as the Blue Boat House. It has become an iconic structure, popular for photographers and tourists. The boatshed was originally built in the 1930s. It came into the hands of the Nattrass family in 1944. In 1972, it had other owners, until 2001, when it was purchased by Peter Nattrass, son of Roland Nattrass and Lord Mayor of Perth at the time. The boatshed had become very run down and faced government threats to demolish and remove it. The family repaired it, including repainting it in a bold blue colour. On 6 February 2004, the refurbished boatshed was re-launched by Perth yachtsman Jon Sanders and Perth sailor David Dicks. In 2015 the timber jetty was replaced with a new one with steel pylons. The Blue Boat Shed has become an internationally known landmark and tourist destination for photographs in the last decade. Another notable structure along the Mounts Bay Road foreshore is ‘Eliza’, a 2.2 metres high bronze sculpture by Perth artists Tony Jones and Ben Jones which was erected in 2007. The sculpture and plinth are mounted on a steel pylon 15 metres off the shoreline and depicts a woman about to dive off a wooden platform. The artwork has its own lighting from solar panels. Eliza is regularly ‘dressed’ in various costumes by nearby university students and other unknown pranksters. Eliza commemorates the Crawley Baths built in 1914, demolished in 1964. The baths were a prominent landmark and Perth's prime competition and recreational venue for half a century. The Crawley Baths were reportedly the largest enclosed body of water in the southern hemisphere. Mounts Bay Road has been a major transport route from the western suburbs to and from the city for many years. The views of the foreshore from Matilda Bay, South Perth and Applecross with Kings Park behind provide a beautiful and distinctive remnant vegetated setting to the river.
High level of integrity. High level of authenticity.
Good
| Ref ID No | Ref Name | Ref Source | Ref Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Art website: https://publicartaroundtheworld.com/public-art-in-australia/public-art-perth-cbd/eliza-statue/ | |||
| AHIS database | |||
| Aerial Photographs | Landgate | ||
| ABC News online: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-30/perth-blue-boathouse-in-crawley-becomes-instagram-star/11261312 | |||
| Crawley Baths Art Development proposal, City of Perth. 2 September 2006, at web archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20110706123506/http://portal.environment.wa.gov.au/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/ADMIN_SRT_PLANNING/2006/docs/DevelopmentProposal.PDF |
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