Burswood Tip (fmr)

Statement of Significance

The place is associated with the development of Perth’s waste management, including the development of sewerage treatment and prior use as a rubbish dump.

The place demonstrates the post-war redevelopment of the Swan River into recreation areas, including rehabilitation areas of previous industrial or waste management use

Values

• The place is associated with the development of Perth’s waste management, including the development of sewerage treatment and prior use as a rubbish dump.
• The place demonstrates the post-war redevelopment of the Swan River into recreation areas, including rehabilitation areas of previous industrial or waste management use.

Physical Description

Burswood Tip (fmr) is located on the Burswood Peninsula in the Town of Victoria Park within the metropolitan region, the area lying on the southwest portion of the peninsula south of the recently-developed stadium.

The current use and layout of the place is a recreational park. Recent landscaping associated with the development of Optus Stadium includes the planting of new trees and lawns, the establishment of roads and pathways, as well as the addition of nearby parking areas.

The area’s history as a former rubbish tip and sewerage treatment area is not visible in the current landscape.

History

The Burswood peninsula took its name from the family estate of English settler Henry Camfield, who arrived in Western Australia on 12 October 1829. Camfield was disappointed with his original land grants in the colony but succeeded in getting Surveyor General J. S. Roe to grant him 1,000 acres which included the peninsula, previously reserved for Crown purposes. The area was eventually taken up with large land grants, and the addition of transported convict labour after 1850 provided for the development of roads and bridges in the area. By the 1880s, there approximately 100 houses in the area. A slowly developing economy saw the subdivision and sale of the larger land grants for residential purposes, one of the earliest being the “Victoria Park Estate” in 1887.

The discovery of gold in the 1890s saw a flood of new settlers and by the turn of the century more of the original farms were being converted into residential and commercial areas. This process of urbanisation accelerated in the inter-war period, as well as seeing industrial enterprises such as the Portland Cement Works take up position on the previously unutilised riverside areas. While sewerage treatment plants had been located at Burswood island c.1909, the swampy area was considered a health hazard due to the mosquitos that bred there. The noxious smells and river pollution from the sewerage filtration beds remained a bone of public contention throughout this period. Part of the process of the sewerage treatment during this time was the removal of rubbish from the filtration beds, which was buried in the foreshore of the river. The situation was finally resolved by 1936 when the Metropolitan Sewerage Service was established to replace the aging Burswood plant. The area appears to have still been used as an illegal rubbish dump at this point.

Burswood Tip (also known as the Rivervale Tip for a time) operated from 1946 until 1985. It initially recieved fly ash from the East Perth Power Station on the other side of the river, but after 1954 also recieved local rubbish from the surrounding area. It closed for several years in 1972 but was reopened briefly for general waste in 1978. From 1979 it was only used for the recieving, chipping and storing garden waste and tree prunings before they were taken elsewhere. It was close din 1985 and the land was developed for the Burswood Island Gold Course.

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.