What’s in a name?… Waterford

The suburb of Waterford is named after an Irish town, commemorating the birth place of Edmund Rice, the founder of the Christian Brothers and where the first Christian Brothers’ schools were founded.

The Christian Brothers were the owners and subdividers of the land south of Manning Road east of Elderfield Road. This land originally formed part of the Clontarf Boys’ Home, school and farm, set on approximately 200 hectares along the Canning River.

The first stage of subdivision of the land was approved in 1981 and the subdivision occurred over many years, starting from the western end of the estate. All of the street names within Waterford reflect the Irish theme of the original Christian Brothers.

This land was annexed to the South Perth Road Board from the Canning Road Board on 10 June 1955.

(Information taken from Appendix to City of South Perth Municipal Heritage Inventory : Origin and Meaning of Street and Place Names; image courtesy Google Maps).

What’s in a name?…Salter Point

Salter Point was named after Samuel August Salter, sawyer and timber contractor, who had a landing stage on the point known as “Salter’s Landing”, later known as “Salter’s Point” (see red circle on map below for location).

Logs were floated down the Canning River from Kelmscott and Jarrahdale to Salter’s landing for transportation to a mill by barge. This operation was around 1879-1891, being the first known European activity in the area prior to the establishment of Clontarf Boys’ Home in 1901. The Salter Point area at this time was virgin bushland and there was no access to the area by road, it could only be accessed from the river.

The area of Manning, Mount Henry, Salter Point and Waterford was annexed to the South Perth Road Board from the Canning Road Board in 1955.

(This information was taken from the publication Origin and Meaning of Street Places and Names in the City of South Perth and is a supplement to the City of South Perth Municipal Heritage Inventory; map courtesy of Google Maps).

Building of the week – Cygnet Theatre

The Cygnet Theatre was built in 1938 for James Stiles, owner of the Grand Theatre Company. The theatre was originally named Como Theatre but changed to Cygnet Theatre in the 1960’s to associate with the Festival of Perth’s black swan logo.

The building was designed by William Leighton and built by W.H. Ralph and Sons and originally had an adjacent outdoor picture garden. Leighton is also known for other cinemas such as the Piccadilly Theatre & Arcade in Perth, Windsor Theatre in Nedlands and Astor Theatre in Mt Lawley.

Gaiety Theatre (corner Coode and Angelo Street, established 1926) and Hurlingham Theatre (Canning Highway, established 1933) were still operating when Como Theatre opened. Como Theatre was the most modern and up-to-date cinema in the district, screening talkies for the first time.

The style of the theatre is inter-war functionalist with art deco influences. It is listed on the state register of heritage places administered by the Heritage Council of WA.