Morley, Western Australia

Morley is a suburb of Perth, within the City of Bayswater local government area, situated approximately 10 kilometres (6 mi) northeast of the Perth central business district. It contains the Galleria Shopping Centre, one of Perth's larger shopping centres. Morley bus station is located in the car park of the shopping centre. From the late 1950s, Morley (originally known as Morley Park) began to develop as a major shopping and commercial centre.

Morley
Perth, Western Australia
Bishop Street, Morley
Coordinates31.887°S 115.907°E / -31.887; 115.907
Population22,539 (SAL 2021)[1]
Established1918[2]
Postcode(s)6062
Area10.5 km2 (4.1 sq mi)
Location10 km (6 mi) from the Perth CBD
LGA(s)City of Bayswater
State electorate(s)Morley, Bassendean, Maylands
Federal division(s)Perth, Cowan
Suburbs around Morley:
Noranda Noranda Beechboro
Dianella Morley Kiara
Bedford Embleton Bayswater
Nora Hughes Park

The name Morley began appearing on maps around the beginning of the twentieth century and was adopted when the Morley Park Estate was subdivided for urban development after the First World War.[2] The most likely explanation for its use is that it commemorates Charles William Morley, who is known to have farmed in the area during the 1860s and 1870s.[3]

History

The Morley area was in the early days of the Swan River Colony developed with agriculture. The area was originally known as Morley Park. In 1929 a landowner progress association petitioned the Bayswater Road Board for improved roads and lighting for improved transport of produce to markets.[4]

Commercial icons appeared in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the Wirrina Drive-In, the Morley Park Hotel and the Boans department store. Parallel with the commercial growth, a settlement program resulted in the residential development of Morley. This was achieved through a series of town planning schemes undertaken by Margaret Feilman, the consultant town planner to the Shire of Bayswater. These schemes especially catered to the needs of the home building companies whose style of large scale development was a new phenomenon of the 1960s.[5]

Tonkin Highway was constructed through Morley in 1984, bisecting the suburb.

After Boans burnt down in 1986, the Galleria Shopping Centre was built, opening in 1994.[6]

In 2015 the City of Bayswater adopted an activity centre plan for the improvement of the Morley commercial precinct. It aims to build upon the strengths already present in the City Centre and promote an improved street interface with the Galleria Shopping Centre; Progress Street as the Centre's Main Street; and an enhanced Morley bus station.

In 2019, the last overseas Blockbuster store in Morley closed down, leaving only one remaining location in Bend, Oregon.[7]

Facilities

Morley Recreation Centre facilitates various sporting activities, such as indoor soccer, basketball, badminton, netball,[8] roller skating and roller derby.

Education

Primary schools in Morley:[9]

  • Hampton Park Primary School (independent public school)
  • Infant Jesus Primary School (private catholic school)
  • Morley Primary School (independent public school)
  • Weld Square Primary School (public school)

High schools in Morley:[9]

Morley Senior High School is located in the nearby suburb of Noranda.

Notable people

Australian test cricketer Michael Hussey, singer Samantha Jade and Victorian Bushranger cricketer David Hussey were all raised in Morley.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Morley (Suburb and Locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
  2. "The Morley Park Estate". The West Australian. Perth, WA. 13 July 1918. p. 2. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  3. "Perth suburb names". Landgate. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  4. "Morley Park wants roads and lights". The Daily News. 11 July 1929. p. 9. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  5. Municipal Inventory (PDF) (Report). City of Bayswater. October 2006. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  6. "History – Part Two: 1930 – present". City of Bayswater. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  7. "And then there were two: Morley Blockbuster one of the last in the world". Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  8. "Morley Recreation Centre - Team Sports". www.morley.ymca.org.au. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011.
  9. "Schools and Education". City of Bayswater. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
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