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History of metropolitan suburb names - P


The following information is a summary of origins for suburb names within the Perth metropolitan area. Please select the first letter of the suburb you wish to see:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

PADBURY

This suburb is named after Walter Padbury (1820-1907), pastoralist, merchant and philanthropist. Padbury, a prominent Perth citizen, was the first landholder in the area. The suburb was named in 1971.


PALMYRA

Palmyra, meaning City of Palms, was a famous Syrian city which was a trading centre on the trading routes of Ancient Europe. Its ancient name was Tadmor, but it was called Palmyra by the Romans who ranked it fourth in the seven wonders of the ancient world. The name Palmyra was chosen from a competition run by the Melville Road Board and the street names chosen, eg Zenobia, Cleopatra, Solomon, Aurelian, Antony etc, are names associated with Ancient History in the Middle East area.


PARKERVILLE

The railway line that once ran between Bellevue and Mount Helena, via Parkerville, was opened for traffic in 1896. Parkerville was one of the first stations to be constructed on the line and served the Parkerville Suburban Area which had been thrown open for selection in June 1895. The Suburban Area was named in honour of Mr S H Parker whose country home, now the Old Mahogany Inn, was situated nearby. Parker was a prominent of the Perth legal fraternity.


PARKLANDS

This suburb is so named because of the 'Parkland' development of the area (farmlet development etc). The name was approved in 1990.


PARKWOOD

Previously part of Lynwood, Parkwood was approved as a suburb name in 1993. It is an estate name created by the developers in the early 1970's.


PARMELIA

Parmelia is one of the Kwinana suburbs named after a ship. The "Parmelia" was the first ship to arrive bringing settlers to the new colony. It arrived in June 1829, including in its passengers the new Governor and his wife, James and Ellen Stirling.


PAULLS VALLEY

This suburb was named in 1973, and honours one of the first orchardists in the district. It is located in the Darling Range east of Kalamunda.


PEARSALL

This is one of Perth's newest suburbs, having been approved in 1994. The name honours W.C.Pearsall who was a member of the Wanneroo Road Board from 1931 - 1950 and owned the first service station in the area in 1929. Pearsall was formerly part of Wanneroo.


PEEL ESTATE

The extensive area of farmlets now known as Peel Estate derives its name from a grandiose settlement scheme developed in England in 1828. Thomas Peel was the leader of the scheme to develop 250,000 acres with 10,000 emigrants, but for a number of reasons the scheme failed. The area was also subject to an extensive government scheme to develop land for group settlement in the 1920's. Thomas Peel, after whom the suburb is named, settled at Mandurah and died there in 1856.


PEPPERMINT GROVE

The area now known as Peppermint Grove was originally owned by John Butler, and Keanes Point was once known as Butlers Hump. For many years the Peppermint Grove property, which received that name from the groves of peppermint trees natural to the area, was the scene of picnics when crowds of upto 400 travelled by steamers from Perth. In December 1890 the land was closed to picnickers by a Perth syndicate who subdivided the estate, and used the name Peppermint Grove to promote the land.


PERON

The name Peron applies to the area of former holiday camps and reserves around Cape Peron at the southern end of Cockburn Sound. Cape Peron was named after Francois Peron, a French naturaliste who was part of a French expedition that explored the Western Australian coast in 1801-03.


PERTH

The story of the naming of Perth begins with the instructions given to Captain Stirling, Lieutenant Governor designate of the proposed colony of Western Australia, regarding the foundation of the colony. Stirling received a letter from the Secretary for the Colonies, Sir George Murray, which read:

"Amongst your earliest duties will be that of determining the most convenient site for a Town to be erected as the future seat of Government. You will be called upon to weigh maturely the advantages which may arise from placing it on so secure a situation as may be afforded on various points of the Swan River, against those which may follow from establishing it on so fine a port for the reception of shipping as Cockburn Sound is represented to be...".

Stirling was therefore given the choice of establishing the chief town on Cockburn Sound, or "on various points on the Swan River". It has been established that Murray actually gave Stirling more explicit instructions, and advised him that failing the establishment of the town at Cockburn Sound, he was to fix the site for it at the confluence of the two rivers, the Swan and the Canning, or in other words, at Point Heathcote. Stirling had good reasons to disobey Murray, but briefly they were that it was that the Perth site was "decidely preferable in building materials, streams of water, and facility of communication".

Stirling did however gladly comply with Sir George Murray's command that the new town be called Perth. Murray's reasons for choosing the name, Perth, were purely sentimental and quite understandable, for he was both a Perthshire man and represented his birthplace in the House of Commons. The choice suited Stirling, himself a Scotsman, although it is recorded that at least one early settler, William Leake complained to the Home Office about the name. August 12, 1829, marked the day of the founding of the town, when Mrs Helen Dance cut down a tree. August 12 was also the King's (George 4th) birthday.


PICKERING BROOK

Named after nearby Pickering Brook. The brook is named after an early settler, Captain Edward Picking whose name was sometimes recorded as Pickering. The suburb of Pickering Brook was officially created on the 12th January 1973. Part of it was formerly known as Carilla.


PIESSE BROOK

The suburb of Piesse Brook is named after Piesse Gully which flows through the area. The name of this watercourse was first recorded in 1890, and is most likely named after the family of William Roper Piesse, a prominent citizen with a large family who lived in Guildford for a time. Boundaries for this suburb were approved in 1972.


PINJAR

The suburb of Pinjar is named after the large swampy lake of this name located north east of Wanneroo. The lake name is shown on government plans from 1868, and the name is of Aboriginal origin. The meaning of Pinjar is unknown, but could be "tadpole" or "swampy lake".


PORT KENNEDY

Port Kennedy takes its name from the feature of this name located in the south east corner of Warnbro Sound. The port was named by J S Roe, Surveyor General, in 1859, during the survey of Warnbro Sound. He named it after Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy, Governor of Western Australia 1855-1862. The suburb was previously named Becher, after Point Becher, and was renamed in 1990.


POSTANS

Named after George Postans who was one of the first settlers in the area. He arrived in the Colony as a convict in 1850 and bought 100 acres of land in 1882, several years after getting his ticket-of-leave. The suburb was formerly known as Caledonia.

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