Kalamunda, Western Australia

This article is about the suburb of Perth, Western Australia. For the local government area, seeCity of Kalamunda.

Kalamunda Perth,Western Australia
Kalamunda Road, Kalamunda
Coordinates	31.974°S 116.058°E/-31.974; 116.058
Population	7,163 (SAL2021)
Established	1901
Postcode(s)	6076
Area	10.6 km2(4.1 sq mi)
Location	25 km (16 mi) fromPerth
LGA(s)	City of Kalamunda
State electorate(s)	Kalamunda
Federal division(s)	Hasluck
Suburbsaround Kalamunda: Maida Vale Gooseberry Hill Piesse Brook Forrestfield Kalamunda Piesse Brook Forrestfield Lesmurdie Walliston

Kalamunda(Nyungar:Karlamarda) is a town and eastern suburb ofPerth,Western Australia, located in theDarling Scarpat the eastern limits of thePerthmetropolitan area.

History

IndigenousNoongarpeople were the first inhabitants of the area. The first permanent European settlers were the family of Frederick and Elizabeth Stirk, who arrived in 1881 and established a property called Headingly Hill at what is now Stirk Park; their house, Stirk Cottage, is now a museum. More settlers moved in during the 1890s, aided by the advent of theKalamunda Zig Zagrailway. At this time the Kalamunda area was known as "Gooseberry Hill".The nameKalamundawas declared on 13 December 1901 after a request from thirty-two residents to form a townsite. They requested the name "Calamunnda", derived from two words in the indigenousNoongar language,as recorded in a book by BishopRosendo Salvado:calameaning "fire", "home", "district", or "settlement" andmun-dameaning "forest" or "bush". Surveyor-GeneralHarry Johnstonrespelt the name as "Kalamunnda" and it was changed to "Kalamunda" by 1901.The local government area's unofficial motto is "A home in the forest".

Environment

Geography

At 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level, Kalamunda and the surrounding areas experience colder night temperatures than the bulk of the Perth Metropolitan area to the west. Deep clay soils in the valleys in this area provide ideal growing conditions for stone fruits, apples and pears, wine production and for a small commercial rose growing industry.

The suburb ofGooseberry Hillis located to the north of Kalamunda where the terrain drops away sharply to the Helena Valley effectively isolating Kalamunda from other Darling Scarp population centres to the north. To the south and east the urban area transitions into the semi-rural and orchard growing areas ofBickley,CarmelandPickering Brook,which in turn give way to extensive jarrah and marri forests.

Located nearby is theKalamunda National Parkand the northern terminus of theBibbulmun Track,a 963 km recreational walking trail.

Important Bird Area

The town lies within theMundaring-Kalamunda Important Bird Area,so identified byBirdLife Internationalbecause of its importance as a non-breeding season roost site and foraging base forLong-billed Black Cockatoos.

Climate

Kalamunda has aMediterranean climatewith hot dry summers and cool wet winters. Due to the suburb's high elevation of around 250–300 metres (820–980 ft) abovemean sea leveland location on theDarling Scarp,it is a few degrees cooler in winter than Perth; however, this difference is less pronounced in summer as Kalamunda is less affected than Perth by the regular afternoon sea breeze, theFremantle Doctor,due to its inland location. Kalamunda is far wetter than the city with over 1,000 millimetres (39 in) of annual rainfall,due to its locationin the Darling Scarp.

Climate data for Kalamunda
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	30.4 (86.7)	30.3 (86.5)	27.7 (81.9)	23.8 (74.8)	19.0 (66.2)	16.4 (61.5)	15.4 (59.7)	16.3 (61.3)	18.3 (64.9)	20.6 (69.1)	24.5 (76.1)	28.0 (82.4)	22.6 (72.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	16.2 (61.2)	16.3 (61.3)	15.3 (59.5)	13.4 (56.1)	10.8 (51.4)	9.1 (48.4)	8.0 (46.4)	8.1 (46.6)	9.2 (48.6)	10.1 (50.2)	12.5 (54.5)	14.6 (58.3)	12.0 (53.6)
Averageprecipitationmm (inches)	11.9 (0.47)	17.4 (0.69)	22.7 (0.89)	55.7 (2.19)	144.3 (5.68)	216.2 (8.51)	213.8 (8.42)	165.9 (6.53)	102.1 (4.02)	70.5 (2.78)	28.6 (1.13)	19.6 (0.77)	1,063.3 (41.86)
Average precipitation days	2.5	2.6	3.9	7.0	13.3	16.6	18.5	16.5	13.1	10.9	6.2	3.7	114.8
Source:

Transport

Kalamunda bus station

Kalamunda Roadserves as a major access road forPerth Airport,and provides the foothills suburbs with access to thePerth central business district.

The suburb is serviced by theKalamunda bus station,which provides bus services across the Perth metropolitan area.

Kalamunda was once part of a thriving logging region, withKalamunda railway stationthe largest station on theUpper Darling Range Railway.The area has a number of features as a result of this railway including a museum at the site of the original station. Typical rail side road structures with a rail reserve between and theZig Zagroad on the old section where the railway climbed theDarling Scarp.It is atGooseberry Hillthat the railway used to descend from the hills toMidland Junction,dropping 300 metres in a series of five zig-zag shunts. The railway line has been replaced by a single lane, one-way scenic drive that follows the old track.

Bus

Bus Stations

• Kalamunda Bus Station

Bus Routes

• 272Kalamunda Bus Stationto Kalamunda Community Centre – serves Mead Street and Crescent Road
• 273Kalamunda Bus StationtoKalamunda Bus Station– Circular Route, serves Canning Road, Recreation Road, Peet Road and Cotherstone Road
• 274Kalamunda Bus StationtoGooseberry Hill– serves Mead Street and Railway Road
• 275WallistontoHigh Wycombe Station– serves Canning Road, Railway Road, Mead Street,Kalamunda Bus StationandKalamunda Road
• 276Kalamunda Bus StationtoHigh Wycombe Station– serves Mead Street and Railway Road
• 279Kalamunda Bus Stationto Maddington Central – serves Canning Road and Lesmurdie Road
• 282Kalamunda Bus StationtoElizabeth Quay Bus Station– serves Canning Road
• 283Kalamunda Bus StationtoElizabeth Quay Bus Station– serves Canning Road and Lesmurdie Road
• 307Kalamunda Bus StationtoMidland Station– serves Mead Street and Railway Road

Facilities

Kalamunda has extensive areas with orchards, primarily involved in apple andstone fruitproduction. The region largely serves as adormitorysuburb for Perth workers. It has a modestretail,governmentandeducationsector, and a smallindustrialbase. While the town's retail centre is the largest in the Darling Scarp it primarily services Kalamunda and the contiguous urbanised areas ofLesmurdieandWalliston.

Kalamunda and the surrounding areas have anartsandcraftstradition, and are home to three major Perth residential colleges. Conservation groups are active within the community, and efforts have been made (largely successfully) to maintain native vegetation adjacent to the urban areas, and to some extent with the urban area.

Kalamunda is home to the television towers of all free-to-air Perth Television stations, and the approach control radar forPerth Airport.

Demographics

In the2016 census,Kalamunda had a population of 6,970; 48.3% male and 51.7% female. The median age of Kalamunda residents was 47, and median weekly personal income was $676. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.7% of the population.

The most popular religious affiliations in descending order in the 2016 census were No Religion 33.1%, Catholic 22.4%, Anglican 18.8%, Not Stated 9.0% and Christian, nfd 3.8%. Christianity was the largest religious group reported overall (61.4%) (this figure excludes not stated responses).

The population profile of Kalamunda is slightly in advance of the Perth Metropolitan area with a media age of 47, compared with Perth Metropolitan areas median age of 36,and it is likely that in time it will develop a large retirement population. The population of Kalamunda and the surrounding areas have a diverse ethnicity. Notably however, there are manyItalianfamilies who became involved in theorchardindustry in the post-Second World Warmigration period.

Despite the steady encroach of theurban sprawlin recent times which has eroded the sense of a 'regional centre', Kalamunda remains a quiet town amongst thejarrahforests on theDarling Scarp.

Short stay accommodation in a forest setting close to Perth is a growth area, and Kalamunda is increasingly offering eco-tourism experiences for local and overseas visitors.

Gallery

• 
  The gum nut fountain
• 
  Stirk Park

See also

• City of Kalamunda
• Kalamunda National Park
• Gooseberry Hill, Western Australia

External links

• City of Kalamunda Website

Media related toKalamunda, Western Australiaat Wikimedia Commons