Baskerville is an outer northeastern rural suburb of Perth, Western Australia, in the Swan Valley region, 31 km from Perth's central business district via Midland and Great Northern Highway. Nearly all of it is under cultivation with viticulture being the main economic activity, and several well-established Swan Valley wineries are based here. Its local government area is the City of Swan.
| Baskerville Perth, Western Australia | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Westfield Winery Cellar | |||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 31°48′00″S 116°01′08″E / 31.8°S 116.019°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 302 (SAL 2021)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6056 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 6.82 km2 (2.6 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of Swan | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Swan Hills | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Pearce | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
History
editThe name Baskerville was given by William Tanner, a prominent Perth citizen and landowner, to Swan Location 5 when he took up a grant there in 1831. He never lived on the properties, however, and left the Swan River Colony in 1835. In the 1880s, the land was acquired by Walter Padbury, who employed his relative, Henry Hardwick, to manage it. In 1886 a homestead was built for him on what is now Memorial Avenue in the west of the suburb.[2][3]
After World War I, the Government decided to commence a soldier resettlement scheme in the Swan Valley region, and subdivided it into lots of about 10-50 acres which would be operated as small farms. However, many of the soldiers had no agricultural experience, and sold the land to new migrants, particularly those from Yugoslavia and Italy who had experience in viticulture. A 1953 map by a CSIRO viticultural expert shows nearly all of Baskerville was used for grape growing, with some citrus orchards on the riverfront near what is now Amiens Crescent.[4]
In 1989, the white-berried seedling of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cygne blanc, was discovered growing in a Baskerville garden planted next to a Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard.[5]
Although the name of Baskerville was commonly in use for the area, it was not approved for the suburb until 1992.[3]
Geography
editBaskerville is a narrow strip of land, starting on a curve in the Swan River and measuring approximately 800 m north–south by 7.5 km east–west, with Haddrill Road providing the centre line. A small area of native forest exists to the east of the suburb, accessible from Joshua Mews. No explicitly residential areas exist in the suburb.[citation needed]
Facilities
editA hall, pavilion and oval are located on Memorial Avenue, a fuel station is located on Great Northern Highway and many of the small family-run wineries, including an organic winery, on Memorial Avenue and Haddrill Road offer cellar door tastings. Belvoir Amphitheatre, an open-air concert venue, is just north of the suburb's boundary.
Transport
editGreat Northern Highway 
, a two-lane single carriageway at this point, travels through the west of the suburb, and Haddrill Road, a minor distributor, provides access from the highway to the suburb's interior. Transperth bus routes 310 and 311 serve Great Northern Highway while route 312 serves Railway Parade and Haddrill Road further inland.[6] All services are operated by Swan Transit.
Bus
edit- 310 Midland Station to Upper Swan – serves Great Northern Highway[7]
- 311 Midland Station to Bullsbrook – serves Great Northern Highway[8]
- 312 Midland Station to Midland Station – Circular Route, serves Railway Crescent and Haddrill Road[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Baskerville (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ City of Swan (14 December 1995). "Heritage - Baskerville Homestead". Archived from the original on 7 January 2007. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
- ^ a b "History of metropolitan suburb names – B". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
- ^ Bourke, Michael J. (1987). On the Swan : a history of Swan District, Western Australia. Nedlands, WA: UWA Press. p. 306. ISBN 0-8556-4258-0.. Accessed at Battye Library, Perth.
- ^ J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours pgs 160-161, 285-286, 1179 Allen Lane 2012 ISBN 978-1-846-14446-2
- ^ Eastern 91 timetable Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Transperth, effective 1 February 2004. Accessed 17 January 2007.
- ^ "Route 310". Bus Timetable 91 (PDF). Transperth. 26 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
- ^ "Route 311". Bus Timetable 91 (PDF). Transperth. 26 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
- ^ "Route 312". Bus Timetable 91 (PDF). Transperth. 26 April 2023 [effective from 12 June 2023].
External links
edit- Swan Valley Wine Guide (Swan Valley Tourism information)
- Swan Valley Winery Guide (Swan Valley Wineries information)