Published on Tuesday, 3 June 2025 at 12:20:02 PM
Welcome to #TimeWarpTuesday! This week we bring to you the next part of our mini-series on heritage places from the Town’s Municipal Heritage Inventory (MHI) published in June 2000.
Heritage Places - Part 16
Hillview Terrace Bushland
Address: Cnr Hillview Terrace and Berwick Street, East Victoria Park
PH00256-01 Hillview Terrace Bushland, c1997
Photographed by HeritageToday for the Town of Victoria Park Municipal Heritage Inventory, that was published in 2000.
“Historical Notes
“The Hillview Terrace Bushblock not only has biological and recreational significance, it is also the site of a sculpture paying tribute to a figure in Aboriginal Dreamtime. An Aboriginal man, Jerry Morrison, in 1995 erected a series of painted poles representing the ancestral being of Nyarrin (echidna) who according to Aboriginal Dreamtime legend laid the foundation of WA’s Bushland. Mr Morrison, a Nyoongah Aborigine[sic], was approached by a local conservation group to create the sculpture. He believes ‘the bushland is the link of Aboriginal heritage. When it goes the Aboriginal people will have nothing left, to look back on their past or forward to their future’. The Hillview Terrace Block was under consideration (in 1998) for heritage listing by the National Trust and the HCWA.
“Description
“The Hillview Terrace Bushland is an example of thinned but never developed natural bush in the middle of an urban area. Many varieties of native plants are growing e.g., kangaroo paws. The block is a remnant Banksia woodland of little under a hectare. It is surrounded by housing (undergoing urban infill), hospitals and the Australian Archives. Thus conversation is not only compatible with surrounding land uses, but is beneficial in an area where tranquillity and connection with nature are rare things.
The soil type is Bassendean Sand and the position is high in the landscape (locally). Attachments B & D list most of the plants (there may be more) and give an impression of the condition of the bushland. Eighty three (83) plants species have been identified. Plants like Nuytsia floribunda and Banksia ilicifolia which are facing local extinction are present on the block.
“There are two easements:
- An access driveway to the back of the Archives, and
- Land for SECWA/Western Power pylons running along Hillview Terrace.
“Neither of these detract from the block’s current use as a Community Wildlife Park. In fact, the Archive driveway allows parking for working parties and other visitors.
“Hillview Bushland is the site of a series of Aboriginal totem poles made from pine logs and painted. They are arranged in a geometric design set back from the road.
“Statement of Significance
“The area known as Hillview Bushland is aesthetic, social and scientific heritage value. It is highly valued by the local people in the area as it is the last area of remnant bushland in a residential area which is steadily becoming denser owing to subdivision of larger block[s]. The area is used for a range of recreational activities – walking, picnicking on the edges, photography and bird watching. A variety of flora grows in the area, which is overseen by a community group, ‘Friends of Hillview’, Two biological studies have been done, one to assess the fauna, the other a plant inventory. Care is being taken to facilitate bush regeneration and careful weeding is being undertaken. The scientific value of the area is increased by the opportunity it provides to monitor the regeneration of small bush remnants in the Perth metro area.
“Two aspects of the bushblock stand out as the most significant in terms of the need for conservation:
- The educational value of the site.
- The scarcity of urban banksia woodland such as this (refer to Scientific Significance).
The bushblock is within a few blocks of a number of educational institutions i.e., special schools, primary schools, high schools (Kent Street High School and Ursula Frayne College), Bentley College of TAFE and Curtin University. Biological studies, at appropriate levels, are undertaken in many of these schools, and we are aware that primary school children have taken nature walks in the blocks. An experienced Education Department teacher in the ‘Friends of Hillview Terrace Bushblock’ has undertaken to write primary programs for art and science so that teachers may make use of the block.
“The ‘Friends’ group to date has seen the educational value of direct community involvement in management and rehabilitation. This has applied to all ages and may be even more important and effective than formal programs in learning institutions.
“Environmental art workshops are another aspect of this. Again, people of all ages and skill-levels can participate and benefit. Artists devising these workshops have been helped by members of the Australia Association of Environmental Educators.
“Aesthetic Value: We feel that it is very important for local people to be able to experience the scale, shapes and colours of their natural environment. It is quite surprising that, though bordered by busy roads and urban infill, this bush is full of flowers and bird song and gives a feeling of tranquillity.
“Social and Recreational Values: The number of older people living nearby is significant because these people have seen the area change. The bushblock is extremely important to them because it is the last of their shrinking natural heritage. It is an exciting place for young children to go. They really enjoy walking through with the adults and picnicking on the edges. For adults there is walking, photography, bird watching and generally just ‘getting away from it all’.
“More active roles are also available in management, biological studies and art. It is not promoted as a tourist resource but, as with all such areas, it can contribute to the picture of WA and the ‘Wildflower State’ for which it is justly famous. ‘Friends’ group members are often on hand to answer visitors’ questions about the flora and fauna that they see. The block is easy to reach by public transport.
“Scientific Significance: Only two biological studies have been done specifically on the bushblock (as far as the ‘Friends’ group knows):
- Pit Trapping and Observations by Margaret Turpin of the WA Museum (Attachment C)
- The Plant Inventory (Attachment B)
These are of great value, but a great deal more should be done.
“Because Banksia woodlands are very poorly conserved in the Perth area, the ‘Friends’ will monitor this one carefully and intends to monitor its progress. The Friends of Hillview Terrace Bushblock is enlisting the required expert help to manage the block for the conservation of flora and fauna.
“Mike Stokes has done the course on Bush Regeneration given by APACE and is directing the working party which is weeding and replanting the edges of the block. Other group members are informing themselves on various aspects of the block and its ecology. In the future, we may need to undertake the Bradley method of weeding, but are cautious about unnecessary interference.
“Probably the main foreseeable scientific value of this block is the monitoring of the regeneration of small bush remnants in the Perth metropolitan area. Research on the survival of wildlife species in such small areas is also important” (1).
Do you have memories or photos of the Hillview Terrace Bushland? We’d love to hear about it and see photographs if you have any. Please get in touch via telephone: 08 9373 5500, email: vicparklibrary@vicpark.wa.gov.au or in person at 27 Sussex Street, East Victoria Park.
#LoveVicPark
Reference:
- Heritage Today 2000, ‘Town of Victoria Park Local Heritage Inventory’, Heritage Today, Mount Lawley, pp. 152-156.
PH00256-02 Hillview Terrace Bushland, with 'Sleeping Echidna' (art work) to right, c1997
Photographed by HeritageToday for the Town of Victoria Park Municipal Heritage Inventory, that was published in 2000.
PH00256-03 An example of wildflowers in the area - kangaroo paw in Hillview Terrace Bushland
Photographed by HeritageToday for the Town of Victoria Park Municipal Heritage Inventory, that was published in 2000.
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