Northbridge, Western Australia

Northbridge is an inner city suburb of Perth, Western Australia, historically separated from Perth's central business district by the Fremantle and Joondalup railway lines.

Northbridge
Perth, Western Australia
William Street, Northbridge
Northbridge
Coordinates31.946°S 115.854°E / -31.946; 115.854
Population1,307 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)6003
Location1 km (1 mi) N of the Perth CBD
LGA(s)City of Perth
State electorate(s)Perth
Federal Division(s)Perth
Suburbs around Northbridge:
West Perth North Perth Highgate
West Perth Northbridge East Perth
West Perth Perth CBD Perth CBD

It is part of the City of Perth local government area.

Location

Located immediately north of the CBD, Northbridge is officially bounded by William Street, Roe Street, Newcastle Street and the Mitchell Freeway.

The name Northbridge is often misapplied to areas and landmarks which are east of William Street and/or north of Newcastle Street, such as the Perth Cultural Centre, which are technically still part of the suburb of Perth.

The area is accessible by foot from Perth railway station and Perth Busport. It is served by a free CAT bus and also has a significant number of public car parks, both open and high rise.

The area is largely a mix of commercial, public and residential properties.

History

The area now known as Northbridge originally hosted freshwater swamps where the current railway station and railway lines are.[2]

Draining of the swamps commenced in the 1860s, by convict labour, facilitating the construction of more permanent buildings.[2] The gold boom of the 1890s saw the construction of many hotels for the accommodation of prospectors, including The Great Western Hotel (built 1896, now the Brass Monkey Hotel).[2][3] The 1890s saw the area house the attorney-general and many others from the elite classes.[2]

It was for that elite population that several private schools were established in the area, such as Scotch College (1897) and Presbyterian Ladies' College (1915).[2] These schools were subsequently relocated. Around the time of World War I, as the elite began to move out of the area, the area became a hub of European immigration, especially Greek and Macedonian.[2]

In the 1950s, post-war European migration brought with it a culture of outdoor coffees and al-fresco lifestyle.[2]

The area was previously a part of the Perth central business district, and was known by informal names such as "North of the Bridge" and "North of the Line".

Northbridge was split from Perth and officially gazetted as a suburb in 1982.[4]

Culture
Northbridge Piazza

Northbridge today is a predominantly ethnic precinct, and contains a wide array of cuisine, including Asian and Mediterranean cuisine, and contains Perth's main nightlife district, which is centred on James Street and Lake Street. Northbridge's restaurant, cafe and bar scene varies from laneway bars and hole in the wall eateries, to prominent multi storey venues such as the Brass Monkey and Metro City concert club. Northbridge also hosts Perth's main Chinatown area centred around Chung Wah Lane.[5]

The area has a historical connection to the Greek and Italian communities, with Perth's first Orthodox Church located on Parker Street.[6][7]

The main public open space area in the suburb is at Russell Square. The Northbridge Piazza also serves as an open air communal space, which has been used as a venue to show free movies, live music performances, and broadcasts of popular sporting events.[8]

In March 2018, Yagan Square was officially opened, a new public space between the CBD and Northbridge. The Digital Tower, the Marketplace and recreational areas are now available for tourists and residents.

Northbridge History Project
Rosie O'Grady's Irish pub, Northbridge

In the early 2000s the Northbridge History Project was supported by the Government of Western Australia, on the recommendation of a report to the Premier Richard Court. The project finished in 2010.

Northbridge History Study Days were conducted in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.[9]

During the project duration publications were produced, and an archive of the project was made, with publications and reports available on the project website.[10][11]

Papers from 2007

The book published in 2009 compiling the Study Days papers[12] had the following items from two years:

  • 1. Felicity Morel-EdnieBrown The swamp stealers : topography and change in Northbridge
  • 2. Jenny Gregory Northbridge and Carlton : ethnoscapes of consumption?
  • 3. Susanna Iuliano Espresso bar lifestyle : Italian migrants and cafe culture in Northbridge, Western Australia
  • 4. Nonja Peters On the street where you live : inner city immigrant enterprise
  • 5. John N. Yiannakis 'The chicken of the egg', Greek settlement in Northbridge : Greeks in metropolitan Western Australia

Papers from 2008
  • Cinema Paradiso, James Street
    6. Emma Benichou Northbridge through the eyes of a 'Flaneur'
  • 7. Geoffrey Bolton Northbridge as microcosm
  • 8. Richard Offen Northbridge heritage : friend or foe
  • 9. Peter Conole The Northbridge era in Western Australian policing
  • 10. Bobbie Oliver 'Be workmen true, to workmen still', labor history and heritage in Northbridge
  • 11. Keith B. Shilkin Jewish Northbridge
  • 12. Christine Choo Socially and economically disadvantaged in Northbridge : a recent history (1960s-2007)
  • 13. Kirrily Jordan and Jock Collins Cosmopolitan Northbridge : a changing inner-city ethnic landscape

The former separation of the Perth CBD and Northbridge will be changed with the completion of the Perth City Link project - which will see the former railway yard that was just to the west of the Perth railway station changed to an urban development project.

Notable people

Notable people from or who have lived in Northbridge include:

  • 2009 Christmas decoration in Northbridge
  • Russell Square
  • Greek Orthodox Church
  • Arch, Northbridge
  • St Brigid's Church with St Brigid's School

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Northbridge (WA) (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  2. Matthew Perkins (14 August 2008). "The swampy history of Northbridge".
  3. "Brass Monkey". Heritage Perth. City of Perth. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  4. Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of metropolitan suburb names – N". Retrieved 31 August 2008.
  5. http://www.mra.wa.gov.au/projects-and-places/chinatown
  6. Morel-EdnieBrown, Felicity (January 2011). "Community engagement, heritage and rediscovering a sense of place in Northbridge, Perth, Australia" (PDF). International Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies. 7 (1): 1–25. ISSN 1823-6243.
  7. Jordan, Kirrily; Collins, Jock (2009). "Cosmopolitan Northbridge: A changing inner-city ethnic landscape". Northbridge Studies Day Papers. Network Books: 249–275. ISBN 978-1-920845-51-3.
  8. https://www.perth.wa.gov.au/northbridge-piazza
  9. http://www.northbridgehistory.wa.gov.au/Pages/NorthbridgeHistoryStudiesDay.aspx
  10. http://www.northbridgehistory.wa.gov.au/Pages/Publications.aspx
  11. Newport, Tanya; Morel-EdnieBrown, Felicity; Western Australia. Dept. of the Premier and Cabinet (2006), Northbridge : guide to sources 2006, Dept. of the Premier and Cabinet, retrieved 24 March 2013
  12. Yiannakis, John N; Morel-EdnieBrown, Felicity; Nile, Richard, 1958- (2009), Northbridge studies day papers, Network Books, ISBN 978-1-920845-51-3CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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