Mount Lawley

Mount Lawley is an inner northern suburb of Perth, Western Australia.

Mount Lawley is an inner northern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The suburb is bounded by the Swan River to the east, Vincent, Harold and Pakenham Streets to the south, Central Avenue and Alexander Drive to the north, and Norfolk Street to the west.

Before the establishment of the Swan River Colony, the area was occupied by the Yabbaru Bibbulman Noongar people, who used the nearby Boodjamooling wetland (later known as Third Swamp Reserve, and now as Hyde Park) as a camping, fishing and meeting ground.In 1865, Perth Suburban lots 140 to 149 were designated; these were bounded by Beaufort Street, Walcott Street, Lord Street and Lincoln Street.The colony was granted representative government in 1870, at which time Vincent Street and Walcott Street became boundaries of the City of Perth.

The Tramways Act 1885 allowed for construction of Perth's first tramway network, with trams in the area servicing Vincent Street, Beaufort Street and Walcott Street.

The area was part of the subdivision of Highgate Hill, with the area north of Vincent Street still consisting of large acreage, where much of the land was owned by William Leeder.Between 1889 and 1901, a number of estates were established in the area, beginning with the East Norwood Estate and including Mount Lawley Estate.Mount Lawley Estate was developed by J. Robinson and S. Copely and stretched northwards from Walcott Street. The area of Mount Lawley was formally proclaimed in 1901. Mount Lawley was named in honour of Sir Arthur Lawley, the Governor of Western Australia from May 1901 to August 1902. His wife, Lady Annie Lawley, reputedly agreed to the naming of what was then primarily bushland in her husband's name on the condition that no licensed hotels be built in the suburb.The Beaufort Street trams were replaced by trolley buses during the 1950s, and subsequently by diesel buses when the trolley bus service ended in 1968. A number of arterial streets carrying traffic in and out of the city centre began to carry heavy loads of traffic in the 1970s, and the suburb saw a significant commercial and residential revival from this period on.