Kalamunda

A Brief History

Kalamunda had developed to its present form through three eras

The timber/rural era (1861 - 1902),
The resort era (1903 - 1950)
The residential era (1951 - present)

Western Australian colony was established on the Swan River in 1829, the Darling Range was largely ignored by pioneers.
The district offered little economic advantage compared with fertile land on the coastal plain and the farming regions east of the scarp. It was not until 1861 that development albeit minor, occurred in the form of a 16 hectare allotment for grazing purposes, taken up by Benjamin Robins in the Gooseberry Hill area.
The rich jarrah forests east of the Darling Range provided the first stimulus for settlement in the area which is now the Shire of Kalamunda.

The first timber cutting licence was issued in 1864 for 260 ha. near Carmel. The licence was extended to 40,500 ha. seven years later but heavy competition from mills in Jarrahdale and an unreliable railway service brought about the closure of the mill in 1882.
Two employees stayed in the area as farmers; one a carpenter named Wallis after whom Walliston is now named. At about this time farmers were moving out of Guildford and establishing orchards and running sheep on fertile land in what is now known as Gooseberry Hill and the Kalamunda townsite.

The real impediment to development was transport.
This was overcome in 1891 with the opening of a rail link to Perth and Fremantle via a side link on the Perth - Midland line. This side link ran through Maida Vale via the Zig Zag to Gooseberry Hill and Kalamunda, Pickering Brook to Canning Mills.
This greatly increased the timber industry in the area and with the need of agricultural produce to feed the massive population influx to W.A. in the Coolgardie/Kalgoorlie goldfields boom era (1895 - 1904), Kalamunda and its surround developed rapidly.
In 1896 a separate Roads District from the rest of the colony was created (controlled by the Darling Range Roads Board) due to the peculiar needs of the physically isolated community. The Board began building roads to connect the area more efficiently with the rest of the colony.
Eventually the Board became the local governing body for the area and oversaw land subdivision and controlled building construction.

In 1901 the Kalamunda town site was gazetted.
It's site was chosen by the residents as it was (a) central to development of that day (b) unsuitable land for agricultural purposes and was adjacent to an established stop over for the train.

Cala-munnda was the name chosen by the settlers, which is a combination of two aboriginal words loosely translated to mean "Forest Home". The name was subsequently changed to its present spelling prior to the final declaration of the townsite.

The Resort Era (1903 - 1950)

The government take over of the the railway in 1902, and the Annual Agricultural shows that had been taking place in Kalamunda since 1897, were two prime reasons in establishing the area as a resort location.

At the turn of the century, the Premier of W.A. Walker James, considered the cities of Perth (population 44,000) and Fremantle (population 23,000) needed a sanitorium where people could escape from the bustling metroplis and enjoy fresh air and relaxation. In assuming control of the railway line the Premier remarked that the use of the settlement in the hills as a sanitorium had concinced him that the purchase of the line was in the best interests of the State.
Land sales at the time reinforced the concept of the 'country life - away from the city', but the return trip by rail to Perth was slow (4.5 hours) and cost a minimum of one third the daily wage, which precluded the commuter from residing in the area. However, the blocks did sell as holiday retreats, either weekenders or a significant number of hostels, boarding houses, and convalescent retreats, establishing Kalamunda as a holiday town.

Local business responded and in 1913 resolved that as a group,
Kalamunda would be advertised as a "Health Resort". In 1929 a Government Tourist Directory described Kalamunda as "perhaps the most popular of the residential townships fringing the western slopes of the Darling Ranges".
The weekend shacks were generally constructed on the smaller residential allotments within a kilometre of the townsite. To attract the upper class (and hence money) to the area, substantial buildings were erected to cater for their needs. These quality houses were constructed on allotments of 5,000 - 6,000 sq.m plus, and a substantial amount of the surrounding bushland was usually retained on the allotment, for health reasons.
Kalamunda Road was the main link to Guildford and Perth, and with Gooseberry Hill became popular for homesite's.
Properties adjoining the road were in excess of 6,000 sqm and the houses were set well back from the road with large gardens established in front of them. One property ("Pasadena", at 50 Kalamunda Road), became widely known and popular because of its magnificent garden.

The first building by-laws were enacted and being enforced in 1919. These by-laws did not however restrict lot size but the local authority did establish a basic policy in 1916 that allotments must be at least 2,000 sq. m (half acre). This provision indicates the very early conviction that Kalamunda should not become suburbia. The large allotment size became a contentious issue with developers and in 1929 the by-laws were amended so that subdivisions could be as small as 1,000 sq.m (quarter acre). Fortunately, this amendment was only taken advantage of in the flatter areas of the district.
The need for larger lots on undulating ground, because of building difficulties coupled with the buyers interest for bushland settings, reduced the impact of this amendment on the Kalamunda environment.

At the end of the Second World War came the return of the soldiers, men now with skills in managing large earthmoving equipment. Bulldozers were brought into the State for the first time and the advent of this machinery changed the face of the hills rapidly. Where before it would take months of weary labour to clear 3 acres, it now took less than one day.
Land was very cheap, about ten pounds an acre, and well within the means of a worker with a regular income, so, many after buying some land, took to it as a livelihood and much of the eastern part of the Shire became developed in this time.
With the increasing availability of motor transport and good roads, Kalamunda's attraction as a resort diminished and residents of Perth traveled further a-field to Bunbury, Busselton and Albany to get away from the city.
Kalamunda was now only thirty minutes drive from Perth. But with the decline of the resort use of Kalamunda came the acceptance of the area for residential use as it was now in commutable distance to Perth.

The Residential Era (1951 - present).

With the assurance of permanent water supply in the very early 1950's, there was a great increase in residential development.
With the exception of even greater growth in the future, the Road Board realised it was not adequately equipped to handle the situation and approached the Town Planning Board of Perth in 1952 to get advice on a zoning and subdivisional plan.
This work was carried out simultaneously with the development of the Stephenson/Heburn Metropolitan Region Report and resulted in the "Shire of Kalamunda Town Planning Scheme" which was the first Local Authority Planning Scheme to come into force after the Metropolitan Region Scheme, in 1963.
Meanwhile in the interim period (1953 - 63), the Road Board adopted and enacted the principles and guidelines of the scheme.

This is significant because it precedes the major period of rapid growth in the shire. The implementation of the scheme had no immediate impact on the district, principally because the population was small and they had participated at all levels through the development of the plan, however with the boom growth in Perth, due to the discovery of rich finds of minerals in the North, came rapid growth in Kalamunda.
The coming of the the land developer also heralded problems with the realisation of the planning scheme's one failure - it did not set any specifications for minimum permissible lot size. This fact became a clear problem for it had at times great difficulty in maintaining its ideal 1900 sq.m (half acre) lot size.