Swanbourne, Western Australia

History

Swanbourne was initially called Osborne, and was renamed in 1921. The renaming was done in order for the suburb to not be confused with Osborne Park, another suburb in Perth, and after an individual died following an ambulance being sent to the wrong location.

Swanbourne was named for Swanbourne House, in Swanbourne, Buckinghamshire, the family seat of Thomas Fremantle, a prominent Conservative politician, and his brother, Charles Fremantle, for whom the city of Fremantle was named.

Geography and population

Swanbourne is bounded by the Swanbourne Rifle Range and Cottesloe Golf Club to the north, Lake Claremont and Stirling Road to the east, the Fremantle railway line and North Street to the south, and the Indian Ocean to the west.

At the 2016 Australian census, Swanbourne had a population of 4,059 people. 69.6% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth was England at 7.5%. 87.0% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were "no religion" 37.4%, Anglican 20.9% and Catholic 19.1%.

There were 1,320 occupied private dwellings in Swanbourne. 78.7% of these were separate houses and 13.0% were semi-detached. Swanbourne is a high income suburb with a median family income of $3,564, compared to $1,910 for Western Australia and $1,734 for Australia. 8.8% of employed residents worked in defence.

Climate

Swanbourne has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa), similar to the rest of the Perth metropolitan region. In contrast to Perth, it is slightly more humid and cooler in the summer, due to the sea breezes, which can be quite strong in the afternoon, with an average 3 pm wind speed of 27.7 km/h.

|Jan record high C = 44.3 |Feb record high C = 43.0 |Mar record high C = 42.8 |Apr record high C = 37.3 |May record high C = 31.5 |Jun record high C = 26.2 |Jul record high C = 25.9 |Aug record high C = 30.2 |Sep record high C = 34.7 |Oct record high C = 37.1 |Nov record high C = 41.1 |Dec record high C = 43.7 |Jan avg record high C = 39.5 |Feb avg record high C = 39.6 |Mar avg record high C = 38.2 |Apr avg record high C = 33.2 |May avg record high C = 27.9 |Jun avg record high C = 23.9 |Jul avg record high C = 22.5 |Aug avg record high C = 23.7 |Sep avg record high C = 26.5 |Oct avg record high C = 31.8 |Nov avg record high C = 35.8 |Dec avg record high C = 38.3 |year avg record high C = 41.2 |Jan avg record low C = 12.8 |Feb avg record low C = 13.4 |Mar avg record low C = 11.4 |Apr avg record low C = 9.8 |May avg record low C = 7.2 |Jun avg record low C = 5.7 |Jul avg record low C = 4.7 |Aug avg record low C = 5.2 |Sep avg record low C = 5.9 |Oct avg record low C = 7.3 |Nov avg record low C = 9.8 |Dec avg record low C = 11.4 |year avg record low C = 4.0 |Jan record low C = 9.9 |Feb record low C = 11.0 |Mar record low C = 7.5 |Apr record low C = 7.5 |May record low C = 4.8 |Jun record low C = 2.9 |Jul record low C = 2.4 |Aug record low C = 3.1 |Sep record low C = 3.1 |Oct record low C = 5.0 |Nov record low C = 7.1 |Dec record low C = 5.7 Temperatures and rain data: 1993–2020; Relative humidity: 1993–2010

Facilities

Swanbourne includes the 18-hole Cottesloe Golf Club and Swanbourne Beach. Swanbourne is also well known for having one of the only two official nudist beaches (free beaches) in the Perth metropolitan region. The beach, situated on army land and thus not subject to local council authority, is immediately north of the officially named Swanbourne Beach. Allen Park contains a number of sporting facilities, including tennis courts, a football/cricket pitch and a rugby pitch. Also at Allen Park is the relocated Tom Collins House. Tom Collins was a noted Australian author. A veterinary practice in Devon road was originally started by Thomas William Hogarth.

Scotch College, a major independent school for boys, is the suburb's largest employer after the Army.

The Australian Special Air Service Regiment is based at Campbell Barracks within the suburb, which occupies the coastline north of Cottesloe and south of City Beach.

Transport

Swanbourne is served by Swanbourne railway station and by various bus routes that pass through Swanbourne. All services are operated by the Public Transport Authority.

Bus

• 27 Claremont Station to East Perth – serves Stirling Road, Shenton Road, Servetus Street, Narla Road and Alfred Road
• 28 Claremont Station to Perth Busport – serves Stirling Road
• 102 Claremont Station to Cottesloe Station – serves Stirling Road, Shenton Road, Servetus Street and North Street

Rail

• Fremantle Line
• Swanbourne Station

Politics

Swanbourne is part of the federal Division of Curtin. The seat is currently held by independent Kate Chaney, who won it at the 2022 Australian federal election, defeating the incumbent Liberal Party member. Curtin had long been regarded as a safe Liberal seat, having been held by the party or its predecessors for most of its history, with the exception of former Liberal member Allan Rocher, who served as an independent from 1996 to 1998. Chaney's election was part of a broader trend in traditionally safe Liberal electorates, where independent candidates were successful in campaigns focused on climate policy, political integrity, and gender equality.

Within the Parliament of Western Australia, Swanbourne falls within the state electoral district of Cottesloe, which is held by the Liberal Party.

References

References

1. "General News". The Daily News.
2. (20 March 1921). "SWANBOURNE". [[Sunday Times (Perth)]].
3. (20 October 1921). "SWANBOURNE LATE OSBORNE". [[Western Mail (Western Australia).
4. (11 August 1949). "What's it's like from the air". [[Daily News (Perth, Western Australia).
5. {{Census 2016 AUS
6. "Climate statistics for Australian locations – Swanbourne".
7. "Monthly highest temperature – Swanbourne".
8. "Monthly lowest temperature – Swanbourne".
9. [https://www.weekendnotes.com/the-3-best-nude-beaches-near-perth/ The 3 best nude beaches near Perth]
10. Goedecke, Sean. (10 March 2012). "The 3 Best Nude Beaches Near Perth". weekendnotes.com.
11. {{Cite Transperth bus. 27
12. {{Cite Transperth bus. 28
13. {{Cite Transperth bus. 102