Pine Trees at Collier Park Golf Course

Statement of Significance

• The remnant trees of the former Collier Pine Plantation have aesthetic value as these groupings are distinctive from the surrounding native vegetation.
• The remnant trees has historic value for their association with the Collier Pine Plantation which was a major government initiative to provide work and resources for the Western Australian community.

Physical Description

There are remnant stands of the Collier Pine Plantation throughout the southern suburbs of the City of South Perth. Some of the most dense stands are within the Collier Park Golf Course, Penrhos College and a significant stand of trees surround the government buildings currently occupied by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

The development of Collier Park Golf Course in the 1980s resulted in the clearance of many of the pine trees that formed part of the Collier Pine Plantation. Whilst some of these trees have been retained and form part of the landscaping of the golf course, the dense forest like character that once prevailed has been replaced with a much more open aesthetic

History

The Collier Pine Plantation was one of several pine plantations in the outer metropolitan area which were established in the late 1920s with the goal of supporting the timber industry and provide relief work for the unemployed during the period of economic depression.

It was proposed that the mature trees would be a valuable resource which the government would profit from when cut down in the 1960s, and that the land would then be used for public purposes. The original plantation was 900 acres, and the plantation was divided roughly in half by the boundary between the City of Perth and the City of South Perth. Initial plantings were unsuccessful with the death of 95% of the first seedlings. After adapting the methods of planting and management the trees grew to maturity over the next 30 years.

To relieve the housing shortages after 1947, homes were built close to the northern and eastern boundaries of the plantation. In 1957, a portion of the plantation site was allocated for use for the construction of Ngala Mothercraft Centre, now Ngala Early Learning and Development Centre.

By 1962, the original plantation area had been reduced from 900 acres to 600 acres and in the following years the government implemented its proposal to use lands for government institutions, including Bentley High School, Rowethorpe Retirement Village, Swan Cottages, Como High School, Western Australian Institute of Technology (later Curtin University), and Penrhos College. Other portions of the Collier Pine Plantation were also used for government-provided housing at Karawara, the City’s Collier Park Retirement Village, South Perth Lawn Tennis Club, Forestry Department (later known under a succession of names), and the Department of Agriculture.

In the late 1980s the Collier Park Golf Course was developed on a large parcel of land bordered by Thelma Street, Kent Street and Hayman Road. The Pine Trees at Collier Park Golf Course are remnants of the earlier Collier Pine Plantation.

Other large remnant groups of pines are evident on the site of the Department of Biodiversity Diversity and Attractions, on the north west corner of the junction of Hayman Road and Kent Street and at Penrhos College.

Integrity/Authenticity

High / High

Condition

Various

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

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