Hyde Park, Perth

Hyde Park is a popular meeting spot for local residents

Hyde Park (formerly Third Swamp Reserve) is an inner-city park in Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. It is located in the north-east corner of the suburb of Perth – 2 km north of the central business district – surrounded by Vincent, William, Glendower and Throssell Streets.^[1]

Facilities include: public toilets, playground equipment, barbecues, drinking fountains, pavilion, stage area and fitness equipment.^[2] Electricity is available, which is used, for example, to power temporary fairground rides.

The Hyde Park Fair^[3] is held annually in the park, and is one of Perth's longest running free community events.^[4] The event was originally known as the Hyde Park Festival, and was first held in 1968.^[5] The Festival ended in 1985, but was resurrected in 1989^[6] as the Hyde Park Fair, run by the Rotary Club of North Perth.^[7]

Hyde Park

History

Hyde Park, 1925

The area was originally approximately midway along a series of wetlands which stretched from Claisebrook Cove through to Herdsman Lake and included Lake Monger. The lakes and the area in which they resided were collectively known as the Great Lakes District. Today, only a small proportion of those wetlands remain.

Prior to European settlement, the area was known to the local Noongar people as Boodjamooling. After the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829, the European settlers gave it the name Third Swamp. In 1897, 15.5 hectares of Third Swamp was gazetted as a public park by Lyall Hall and two years later renamed Hyde Park.^[8]

Flora and fauna

Sloping grass areas run down to two central groundwater lakes. Shade is provided by mature introduced trees:

• Plane Trees - around the lakes
• Moreton Bay Figs - lawn area
• Port Jackson Fig - lawn area
• Pines - around the boundary
• Jacarandas - south-east corner
• Unusual tree species: Swamp Cypress, Red Cedar, Bunya Pine
• Remnant indigenous tree species: Eucalyptus and Melaleuca.^[9]

• 

  Moreton Bay Figs

• 

  Jacarandas

• 

  Australian white ibis

• 

  Ducks on the lawn area

References

1. Strictly speaking Perth (the suburb) lies between West Perth, North Perth and Highgate with Vincent Street (on the north side of the park), as boundary between Perth and North Perth and Mount Lawley
2. "Hyde Park". City of Vincent. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
3. "Hyde Park Fair". Retrieved 3 March 2014.
4. "2014 Hyde Park Fair". City of Vincent. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014.
5. "Historic Hyde Park to have interim heritage listing". Government of Western Australia. 10 October 1998. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
6. http://fremantle.inmycommunity.com.au/news-and-views/local-news/Special-kids-area-and-mens-toys-at-this-years-Hyde-Park-fair/7640898
7. "The Rotary Club of North Perth". Retrieved 18 May 2014.
8. "History of Vincent". City of Vincent. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
9. Register of Heritage Places - Interim Entry: Hyde Park (PDF). Accessed 21 March 2006. Archived 7 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine

Coordinates: 31°56′16″S 115°51′46″E / 31.9379°S 115.8628°E