St James, Western Australia

St James is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, shared between the Town of Victoria Park and the City of Canning in the city's inner south-east.

St James Perth, Western Australia
Coordinates	32.001°S 115.911°E / -32.001; 115.911
Population	4,894 (SAL 2021)
Established	1957
Postcode(s)	6102
Area	1.8 km2 (0.69 sq mi)
LGA(s)	Town of Victoria Park City of Canning
State electorate(s)	Victoria Park
Federal division(s)	Swan
Suburbs around St James: East Victoria Park East Victoria Park Welshpool Bentley St James Bentley Bentley Bentley Bentley

St James is almost wholly residential, with a small commercial strip along Albany Highway and scattered businesses elsewhere. Boundary Road defines the boundary between the City of Canning and Town of Victoria Park and is the main east-west thoroughfare in the suburb. The main north-south counterparts are Albany Highway in the east and Berwick Street/Chapman Road in the west.

Name

The name "St James Park" was proposed by the Canning Road Board in 1939 for the area bounded by Boundary Road, Albany Highway, Welshpool Road, the Armadale railway line, Ewing Street, Bedford Park, and Taree Street. It was apparently named after St James's Park in London. The name was initially rejected by the state government's Nomenclature Committee, as it had no historical significance to Western Australia. However, it remained in local use and in 1957 the northern portion of Bentley was officially gazetted as the new suburb of St James.

A number of streets in the suburb are named after notable UK Prime Ministers and Members of Parliament (including Palmerston, Walpole and Pitt Streets).

History

Prior to European settlement, St James was occupied by the Beeloo subgroup of the Noongar people. Until World War II, most of St James was vacant bushland with some portions used for agricultural purposes. In the post-war period a significant amount of public housing was built by the State Housing Commission in St James and Bentley. Hundreds of blocks were also made available to war veterans by the War Service Homes Commission.

In the 1990s the State Housing Commission began a process of redeveloping its public housing assets in St James and neighbouring suburbs, with the homes built in the 1950s demolished and either sold to private owners as vacant lots or rebuilt at higher densities.

Transport

Bus

•    34 Perth Busport to Cannington Station – serves Holder Street, Walpole Street and Pollock Street
•    177 Elizabeth Quay Bus Station to Cannington Station – serves Berwick Street and Chapman Road
•    178 and 179 Elizabeth Quay Bus Station to Bull Creek Station – serve Berwick Street, Chapman Road and Walpole Street
•    201 Curtin University Bus Station to Cannington Station – serves Hill View Terrace, Holder Street, Walpole Street and Chapman Road
•    220 Perth Busport to Armadale Station – serves Albany Highway
•    930 Elizabeth Quay Bus Station to Thornlie Station (high frequency) – serves Albany Highway

Bus routes serving Hill View Terrace:

•    37 Curtin University Bus Station to Airport Central Station
•    998 Fremantle Station to Fremantle Station (limited stops) – CircleRoute clockwise
•    999 Fremantle Station to Fremantle Station (limited stops) – CircleRoute anti-clockwise