Gnangara

Gnangara is an outer rural suburb of Perth, Western Australia, 22 kilometers north of the Perth CBD, situated over the Gnangara Mound. Select MORE for information on the suburb and its history.

Gnangara is renowned for its large water systems – the Gnangara Mound and Lake Gnangara, which the suburb is named after. The Gnangara Mound is the largest and most important source of fresh groundwater in the Perth region, supporting environmental features such as wetlands, bushland and large urban trees. Groundwater is also allocated for use in private bores, agriculture, recreation and domestic uses.

Gnangara is bounded by Ocean Reef Road and Gnangara Road to the south, Badgerup Road and Ross Road to the west and the Gnangara Pine Plantation to the northeast and east. While the plantation has the same name as the suburb, only a few hectares of it are within the suburb's boundaries, with the majority in Lexia to the east.

Many residents have large acreages, which are used for livestock, plant nurseries and other small businesses.

Gnangara is part of the City of Wanneroo local government area and sits within the City’s Established Industrial Place Management Area.

Over 2,000 people currently live in the combined Gnangara, Jandabup and Mariginiup suburbs. Despite the cultural significance of the area, no Aboriginal families have resided in the area since the Nyoongar community cultural and educational college closed in January 2008 (See Origin of Name and History).

The Gnangara suburb, which was named after ‘Lake Gnangara’ and was approved on 8 January 1980.

The word ‘Gnangara’ is derived from the Aboriginal word ‘Knangara’, possibly meaning ‘swampy’ or ‘spring’ with water flowing into the lake from its north west corner. Alternatively, the name may derive from the Noongar word 'ngangka', which variously means sun, mother, or thumb.

For thousands of years Aboriginal people camped at Lake Gnangara, which was seen as Beedawong (an initiation) area. Yellagonga, Yagan, Benne Yowlee and other tribesmen frequented the wetlands area for hunting and fishing.

Following the arrival of Europeans, the land surrounding the lake was set aside for use and benefit of Aboriginals and was vested in the Aborigines Protection Board on 23 June 1887, becoming a long-term Nooyngar camp. After the Board’s dissolution in 1901, Under Secretary for Lands cancelled Reserve 1229 to make the land available for conditional purchase and homestead farms.

Lake Gnangara contains one of the largest deposits of diatomaceous earth in WA, a type of sand that consists of fossilized algae. Not only is this sand amongst the best in the world for making glass and porcelain, it also has many health benefits, such as removing unwanted materials from drinking water.

In 1923, Charles Leach Snr., who grew up in Wanneroo and ran a dairy at Badgerup Road before moving to Snake Swamp, Gnangara (now known as Landsdale) staked a Mineral Claim over Lake Gnangara. He was working a vegetable garden there but at the same time he was quarrying sand from Lake Gnangara for making porcelain. Sand was bagged in hessian sacks and taken by horse to Gnangara Road, where it was transferred by lorry to the Calyx Porcelain Works (now Bristile) in Subiaco.

In 1975, land was secured by the late Nyoongar Tribal Sovereign Elder Ken Colbung for the Nyoongah Community. The Aboriginal Lands Trust later purchased 65 hectares of land west of Lake Gnangara, which was leased to the Nyoongah Community Inc. in 1987 for a period of 99 years.

On 17 November 1979, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam officially opened the Nyoongah Community Cultural Complex, which was located at Sydney Road. Two years later, on 25 September 1981, the WA Premier Sir Charles Court officially opened the Aboriginal Community College. These facilities aimed to preserve Aboriginal living culture and to provide Aboriginals with general education and training in skills, such as carpentry and bricklaying. The college closed in January 2008 because it was no longer financially viable.

In 2011, the City of Wanneroo recommended approval of the rezoning of the land for light industrial use.

(Historic information courtesy of Wanneroo Community History Centre)

Area: 14 km2 (5.4 sq mi) Population: 2,367 (2016 census for combined Gnangara, Jandabup and Mariginiup suburbs) Local Government Area: City of Wanneroo Phone: 08 9405 5000 Email: enquiries@wanneroo.wa.gov.au