View source for Beeliar, Western Australia

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type                     = suburb
| name                     = Beeliar
| city                     = Perth
| state                    = wa
| image                    = Thomsons Lake panorama, January 2021.jpg
| image_upright            = 
| caption                  = [[Thomsons Lake]], Beeliar
| image_alt                = 
| coordinates              = {{coord |region:AU-WA_type:city({{wikidata |property |current |P1082}})_dim:6500 |name={{wikidata |property |P1448 }} |display=inline,title |format=dms}}
| map_type = nomap
| local_map   = yes
| zoom        = 12
| pop               = <!--leave blank to draw the latest automatically from Wikidata-->
| density                  = 
| density_footnotes        = 
| established              = 
| established_footnotes    = 
| postcode                 = 6164
| elevation                = 
| elevation_footnotes      = 
| area                     = 11.4
| area_footnotes           = <ref>{{Census 2016 AUS|id= SSC50098|name= Beeliar (State Suburb)|access-date= 18 May 2021}}</ref>
| dist1                    = 
| dir1                     = 
| location1                = 
| dist2                    = 
| dir2                     = 
| location2                = 
| lga                      = City of Cockburn
| stategov                 = [[Electoral district of Cockburn|Cockburn]]
| fedgov                   = [[Division of Fremantle|Fremantle]]
| maxtemp                  = 
| maxtemp_footnotes        = 
| mintemp                  = 
| mintemp_footnotes        = 
| rainfall                 = 
| rainfall_footnotes       = 
| near-n                   = [[Yangebup, Western Australia|Yangebup]]
| near-ne                  = [[Cockburn Central, Western Australia|Cockburn Central]]
| near-e                   = [[Atwell, Western Australia|Atwell]]
| near-se                  = [[Success, Western Australia|Success]]
| near-s                   = [[Wattleup, Western Australia|Wattleup]]
| near-sw                  = [[Wattleup, Western Australia|Wattleup]]
| near-w                   = [[Munster, Western Australia|Munster]]
| near-nw                  = [[Munster, Western Australia|Munster]]
}}

'''Beeliar''' is a suburb of [[Perth]], Western Australia, located within the [[City of Cockburn]]. The name refers to the [[Beeliar people]], a group of [[Aboriginal Australians]] who had{{clarify|reason="land rights" has a specific legal meaning. They probably either HAVE legal land rights, or a different term (e.g. "traditional rights"?) should be used|date=May 2021}} [[Native title in Australia|land rights]] over the southern half of Perth's metropolitan area.  The suburb contains the [[Thomsons Lake]] Nature Reserve.

"Beeliar" is a [[Noongar language|Noongar]] word that translates to "river" or "water running through".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/5549093|title=A Nyoongar wordlist: from the south-west of Western Australia|date=2011|publisher=Western Australian Museum|isbn=978-1-920843-59-5|editor-last=Bindon|editor-first=Peter|edition=2nd|location=Welshpool, W.A|editor-last2=Chadwick|editor-first2=Ross|editor-last3=Western Australian Museum}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=Beeliar: Perth's Noongar place names|url=https://www.facebook.com/abcperth/videos/beeliar-perths-noongar-place-names/1592539307445690/|language=en|access-date=2021-05-17}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Collard|first1=Len|last2=Bracknell|first2=Clint|date=2012|title=Beeliar Boodjar: An introduction to Aboriginal history in the City of Cockburn, Western Australia|url=https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/beeliar-boodjar-an-introduction-to-aboriginal-history-in-the-city|journal=Australian Aboriginal Studies|language=English|volume=2012|issue=1|pages=86–91|issn=0729-4352}}</ref> The suburb was named after an early settler-colonialist, [[Robert Menli Lyon]],{{clarify|reason="Beeliar was named after Lyon" makes no sense - should it be "named BY Lyon"?|date=May 2021}} who recorded and interacted with the local Aboriginal group in the area circa the nineteenth century.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Cockburn History: Beeliar|url=https://history.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Buildings-and-places/Suburbs/Beeliar|url-status=live|access-date=|website=City of Cockburn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312015148/https://history.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Buildings-and-places/Suburbs/Beeliar |archive-date=12 March 2019 }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=R.M. Lyon and early encounters with Beeliar Nyungar, 1830s|url=https://history.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Aboriginal-Cockburn/Aboriginal-and-European-encounters/R-M-Lyon-and-early-encounters-with-Beeliar-Nyunga|url-status=live|website=City of Cockburn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312013720/https://history.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Aboriginal-Cockburn/Aboriginal-and-European-encounters/R-M-Lyon-and-early-encounters-with-Beeliar-Nyunga |archive-date=12 March 2019 }}</ref> Before [[History of Perth, Western Australia|European contact]], the suburb was occupied by the Beeliar group of the [[Whadjuk]] nation, who are part of the broader Noongar language region.<ref name=":1" /> The Noongar peoples have [[The Dreaming|Dreaming stories]] related to the creation of the landforms in Beeliar and had [[Indigenous Australian customary law|lore]] that outlined the maintenance and care of the land.<ref name=":1" /> [[Oral history]] records and [[archaeology]] account for the Beeliar-Noongar belonging to the Beeliar suburb and its neighbouring areas.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Dortch|first1=Joe|last2=Dortch|first2=Charles|date=2019-01-02|title=Late Quaternary Aboriginal hunter-gatherer occupation of the Greater Swan Region, south-western Australia|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/03122417.2019.1594556|journal=Australian Archaeology|volume=85|issue=1|pages=15–29|doi=10.1080/03122417.2019.1594556|s2cid=164371857|issn=0312-2417}}</ref>

The region of Beeliar was also included in the [[Swan River Colony]], which was the first colony not established for convicts.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Shellam|first=Tiffany|date=2012|title="Our Natives" and "Wild Blacks": Enumeration as a statistical dimension of sovereignty in colonial Western Australia|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/491172|journal=Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History|volume=13|issue=3|doi=10.1353/cch.2012.0033|s2cid=162343433|issn=1532-5768}}</ref> The suburb was first governed by [[James Stirling (Royal Navy officer)|Captain James Stirling]].<ref name=":5" /> Following Stirling's retirement, Beeliar was part of the [[Australian frontier wars|frontier wars]].<ref name=":5" /> Beeliar was home to [[Yagan]] and his father, [[Midgegooroo|Midjegoorong]], who were notable figures during this period.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" />

From the twentieth century, the suburban boundaries of Beeliar were modified gradually. Bibra Lake, which was still a feature within the Beeliar boundary during this time, was a site for the [[Australian Women's Army Service]] station during World War Two.<ref name=":6">Brady, D. & Murray, J. (2018). ''Reimagining the cultural significance of wetlands: From Perth’s lost swamps to the Beeliar Wetlands.'' Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5817&context=ecuworkspost2013</ref>

Since the post-war era, Beeliar has undergone several council projects, such as the Wetlands Education Centre of Cockburn (established in the 1980s), and gradually developed into a modern metropolitan suburb by the 1990s.<ref name=":6" /> The 1990s were when the most modern changes to the Beeliar boundaries occurred, which partially split Beeliar's region into a new suburb, [[Yangebup, Western Australia|Yangebup]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web|title=Cockburn History: Yangebup|url=https://history.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Buildings-and-places/Suburbs/Yangebup|url-status=live|website=City of Cockburn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312015422/https://history.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Buildings-and-places/Suburbs/Yangebup |archive-date=12 March 2019 }}</ref>

Since the 1990s, environmental and land rights concerns have been a local geopolitical issue. Beeliar citizens have voiced their concerns to the council about protecting the suburban geographic features, such as the various wetlands (including [[Thomsons Lake]]).<ref name=":6" />

== Name meaning and early suburban parameters ==
Historically, "Beeliar" has referred to a variety of things. The [[Settler colonialism#Australia|settler-colonialist]], [[Robert Menli Lyon]], recorded the term "Beeliar" with a dual reference.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> In one context, he used the term "Beeliar" as a "district" for the region.<ref name=":2" /> The other use for the term was to refer to the local Aboriginal group's language.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Older sources regarded the Beeliar region as the "[[Yagan]] territory on the southside of the [[Swan River (Western Australia)|Swan River]]", which is larger than the present boundaries of the suburb of Beeliar.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last1=Harben|first1=S.|last2=van den Berg|first2=S.|last3=Collard|first3=L.|date=2004|title=Nidja Beeliar Boodjar Noonookurt Nyininy: A Nyungar interpretive history of the use of Boodjar (country) in the vicinity of Murdoch University|url=https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/21353/|location=Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia}}</ref>

"Beeliar" has been translated by many to mean "river".<ref name=":1" /> "Beeliar Noongar" commonly refers to the "river peoples" of the Beeliar district.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Nyungar History|url=https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Nyungar-History|url-status=live|website=City of Cockburn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509203942/https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Nyungar-History |archive-date=9 May 2018 }}</ref> "Boodjar" is a [[Noongar language|Noongar]] term, translated as "land".<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":9" /> Some historians regard the majority of the City of Cockburn to have been "Beeliar Boodjar", or the land of the Beeliar-Noongar.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":9" /> Early written sources of the Beeliar suburb show boundaries beyond the present suburb of Beeliar due to historical developments and geographic changes since European contact.<ref name=":2" /> Parts of [[Beeliar Regional Park]] are not within the present boundaries of the suburb, but the entire Regional Park was initially under the Beeliar suburban boundaries.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7" />

== Noongar Dreaming and creation stories ==
[[The Dreaming]] of the Noongar believes that the ''Waakal'', the [[Rainbow Serpent]], created the landscapes and boundaries of the regions in [[South West (Western Australia)|south-west Western Australia]], including the water features (the "bilya" or "beeliar"), [[Flora of Western Australia|flora]] and [[Fauna of Western Australia|fauna]] found in Beeliar's area.<ref name=":1" /> Historians translated parts of the Dreaming to say the local [[Creation myth|creation story]] was that "Waakal twisting up and down [making hills]… to [[Fremantle]] and south to [[Mandurah]]", which shaped the creation of the [[Beeliar Wetlands]] features.<ref name=":1" />

Since the pre-contact era, Beeliar, as a suburban area, holds important [[Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology|spiritual]], economic and "[[Bush medicine|medicinal]]" value for the local Aboriginal peoples.<ref name=":1" /> This is partly due to wetlands having “biologically productive” soil, which led to beneficial flora and fauna to live in Beeliar.<ref name=":1" />

== History ==

=== Pre-contact ===
Using the [[oral history]] transcripts and the few written records by early [[Settler colonialism|settler-colonialists]], scholars suggest that Beeliar and its surrounding suburbs of the local council ([[City of Cockburn]]) were the lands of the [[Noongar]]/Nyungar peoples.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /> [[Radiocarbon dating|Carbon dating]] has also revealed that Noongar people have occupied the area for at least 28,000 years.<ref name=":8" /> Specifically, at Hope Road, Beeliar Wetlands, archaeologists have found “fossiliferous chert artefacts underlying artefacts made from quartz”, which they believe to date approximately to the mid-[[Holocene|Holocene period]], and argued that there was “repeated wetland occupation” from this era.<ref name=":4" />

The pre-contact Beeliar Aboriginal group spoke the [[Nyungar language|Noongar language]], and the geographic nation that the Beeliar people belong within is the [[Whadjuk]] nation.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /> Historians and archaeologists have estimated the Noongar peoples to live in the Whadjuk region, including the Beeliar suburb, for "well over 40,000" years.<ref name=":1" /> Historians [[Leonard Collard]] and Clint Bracknell (2012) claim that the Noongar language may have "dialectic differences" across different groups due to how far the region extends over [[South West (Western Australia)|south-west Western Australia]].<ref name=":1" /> Lyon's records also regard the local Aboriginal peoples of the Beeliar area being a distinct "language" group as well as a district.<ref name=":3" /> Collard and Bracknell (2012) identify through [[Norman Tindale]]'s (1974) records that there were twelve "socio-dialectic groups" around the area and that "Beeliar is one clan of the Whadjuk group".<ref name=":1" /> Shellam (2012) identifies four dialectal groups within the Whadjuk: “Beeliar (south of [[Swan River (Western Australia)|Swan River]]), Mooro (north) and Beeloo (east)".<ref name=":5" />
[[File:Noongar_regions_map.svg|left|thumb|Noongar language region, showing the different boundaries for groups. Whadjuk is the region near Perth.]]
Scholars have identified the Beeliar area as having "major" sites for traditional Noongar [[Aboriginal ceremonies|ceremonies]] as well as a popular meeting area for "a number of major travel routes" between Noongar groups.<ref name=":1" /> Before European contact, Beeliar had "long-established trails" that connected "freshwater wetlands", which also functioned as a path to connect different Noongar groups to "social and cultural obligations", such as ceremonies, trade, and creating [[bush medicine]].<ref name=":1" /> According to scholars, the different Noongar groups would travel to trade to places as far as [[Uluru]] and would commonly trade “stones and ochres and all sorts of different things” that weren't grown in Beeliar.<ref name=":1" />

The [[Museum of Perth]] (n.d.) recorded that in the pre-contact era, winter rainfall would create one giant swamp, called ''Yoordgoorading'', which "may have connected to [[Thomsons Lake|Lake Thomson]] and Lake Poulett".<ref name=Yoordgoorading>{{Cite web|title=Yoordgoorading|url=https://www.museumofperth.com.au/yoordgoorading|access-date=2021-05-17|website=Museum of Perth|language=en-US}}</ref> During the hot seasons, with minimal rainfall, the land would dry, "which allowed the Noongar people to practice their traditional [[Cold fire (Noongar fire type)|low-intensity firing]] regime in the area.<ref name=Yoordgoorading/> Burning the area while the swamps were dried out cleared dead plants, increased water access for birds and cycled nutrients to the soil, which improved the yield and taste of plant foods eaten by Noongar people".<ref name=Yoordgoorading/> In sum, the lands of Beeliar and its connecting suburbs were agriculturally cared for by the local Aboriginal groups.

=== Post-contact ===

==== European contact ====
[[File:Early_map_of_swan_river_colony.jpg|thumb|{{circa|1830s}} map of the Swan River Colony district]]
In 1829, the [[Swan River Colony]] was declared by [[James Stirling (Royal Navy officer)|Captain James Stirling]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /> This colony's boundaries{{snd}}including the future city, [[Perth]], and the suburb, Beeliar{{snd}}extended into the Whadjuk nation.<ref name=":5" /> This colony was the first not to be established for [[Convicts in Australia|convicts]].<ref name=":5" /> Stirling was the [[Governors of Australia|governor]] over the colony from 1829 to 1832 and 1834–1838.<ref name=":5" /> During this period, the colony did not consistently count the local Aboriginal people of the region.<ref name=":5" /> The inconsistent [[Census in Australia|census]] data from this period has impacted how scholars understand the records for the following period and how this affected the Beeliar Noongar demographic.<ref name=":5" />

==== Frontiers ====
[[File:Wirin_Yagan_Square.jpg|left|thumb|Statue in [[Yagan Square|Yagan Square, Perth]] of the historic warrior Yagan]]
Frontier conflict, commonly referred to as the [[Australian frontier wars|frontier wars]], was a phenomenon that occurred across Australia, including in Beeliar. In May 1833, a Beeliar man named [[Midgegooroo|Midjegoorong]] was "executed by firing squad, without trial".<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|publisher=National Museum of Australia|title=Founding of Perth|url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/founding-of-perth|access-date=2021-05-17|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite web|title=The Dead and their Possessions: Repatriation in Principle, Policy and Practice|url=https://www.routledge.com/The-Dead-and-their-Possessions-Repatriation-in-Principle-Policy-and-Practice/Fforde-Hubert-Turnbull/p/book/9780415344494|access-date=2021-05-17|website=Routledge & CRC Press|language=en}}</ref>  Following this execution, Midjegoorong's son [[Yagan]] had a [[Bounty (reward)|bounty]] imposed on him by the local government.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11" /> On 15 August 1833, two local shepherds found Yagan and killed him.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11" />

==== Post-frontiers ====
A new era for the Swan River Colony emerged after Stirling resigned in 1838.<ref name=":5" /> During this new era, which lasted until 1860, an influx of British [[Convict era of Western Australia|convicts]] and settlers moved to the region.<ref name=":5" /> The occupation of more people led to roads, infrastructure and housing being created.<ref name=":5" /> By extension, this led to the creation of new suburbs within the metropolitan region of Perth, such as Beeliar. ''[[Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal]]'' writer [[Robert Menli Lyon]], one of the first settler-colonialists from Britain, recorded the region of Beeliar as "the district of Midjegoorong" in 1833.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":12">{{cite web|url=https://www0.landgate.wa.gov.au/maps-and-imagery/wa-geographic-names/name-history/historical-suburb-names#B|title=Perth and surrounds suburb names|publisher=Landgate|access-date=2021-05-18}}</ref> He outlined the boundaries of this area as being "north-south from the [[Swan River (Western Australia)|Swan]] and [[Canning River]]s to [[Mangles Bay]], and east-west from the sea to the [[Darling Scarp]]".<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> It was not until the following decade that this region came to have a permanent non-Indigenous occupation.
[[File:Swan_River_Australien_Karte.png|thumb|Swan River and Canning River boundaries]]
In the 1840s, Beeliar was officially occupied by British colonialists as a suburb.<ref name=":6" /> A prominent reason for Beeliar to be established as a suburb was the need to establish agriculture in response to the increase of population across the city of Perth.<ref name=":6" /> The Beeliar Wetlands was the prime focus for the settler-colonialists in the suburb.<ref name=":6" /> One of the water reserves within Beeliar Wetlands, named Bibra Lake, was initially used for "dairying and market gardening and the inevitable rubbish dumping".<ref name=":6" />

==== Late nineteenth century ====
In the 1890s, the loosely defined "Beeliar" district became sectored into new suburbs.<ref name=":2" /> The government outlined the new boundaries southeast of Bibra Lake to be the new suburb of [[Jandakot, Western Australia|Jandakot]].<ref name=":2" /> Beeliar, as a suburb, continued to be sanctioned north, west, and south of [[Bibra Lake, Western Australia|Bibra Lake]], with popular markets found at "Thomsons and Kogolup Lakes" (City of Cockburn, n.d.).

==== Twentieth century ====
By 1913, after the new boundaries of Beeliar were defined, the [[Government of Western Australia|state government]] installed interconnecting drains between several water features, including the Beeliar Wetlands and Thomsons Lake.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="C. Drake">{{Cite book|last1=Drake|first1=Cathy|url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1330589|title=Recollections of the Beeliar Wetlands: recollections of long-time local residents|last2=Kennealy|first2=Shona|date=1996|publisher=C. Drake|isbn=978-0-646-27445-4|location=Cockburn, W.A}}</ref> Oral history records reveal that many Beeliar citizens remember a “different” state of nature in the Wetlands, claiming that the instalment of pipes led to the "semi-dryness" of the Beeliar Wetlands.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="C. Drake"/>

During 1930–1945,{{clarify|reason=The AWAS didn't exist in 1930, so this date might need correction, or the sentence clarified|date=May 2021}} an [[Australian Women's Army Service]] station was set up next to Bibra Lake.<ref name=":6" />
[[File:Bibra_Lake_AWAS_camp_huts.jpg|left|thumb|333x333px|The [[Australian Women's Army Service]] station near [[Bibra Lake, Western Australia|Bibra Lake]], 1944<ref name=":6" />]]
Following the war, Bibra Lake hosted more civilian infrastructural developments. This included the eventual construction of a "water park, [[Cockburn Ice Arena|ice rink]] and skateboarding park" surrounding Bibra Lake.<ref name=":6" /> Scholars have found that the mid-1900s also attracted Aboriginal peoples and groups to the region to participate in the booming industry of the suburb.<ref name=":1" /> According to historians, Beeliar and its surrounding suburbs had "some of the first Aboriginal housing schemes" in the state.<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Cons_3869_Cockburn_Sound_157,_Western_Australia.jpg|thumb|Districts of Cockburn's suburbs {{circa|1923}}]]

In 1967, approximately 84% of the electoral [[Division of Fremantle]], which includes Beeliar, voted "Yes" in the [[1967 Australian referendum (Aboriginals)|referendum]] to allow Aboriginal people to be included in the population count.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|title=Referendum Day {{!}} Western Australian Museum|url=http://museum.wa.gov.au/referendum-1967/referendum-day|access-date=2021-05-17|website=museum.wa.gov.au|language=en}}</ref>

In the 1980s, the Wetlands Education Centre of Cockburn was established.<ref name=":6" /> This institution relies on the sites of Beeliar Wetlands, as well as [[Thomsons Lake]] (which is located within the suburb's newer boundaries) for its research and educational excursions.<ref name=":6" /> Historians have claimed that the [[Noongar]] peoples of the Beeliar area continued to camp and regularly practice ceremonies “through [to] the 1980s”.<ref name=":1" /> In addition to the Wetlands Education centre being established in the 1980s, the state government also agreed to develop [[Beeliar Regional Park]].<ref name=":2" />
[[File:Thomsons_Lake_-_surrounding_bush_&_forest_no_7.jpg|left|thumb|Thomsons Lake, 2016]]
The naming of the suburban region, Beeliar, was officially approved by the state government on 2 December 1993.<ref name=":12" /> However, similar to Bibra Lake, which became a separate suburb from Beeliar, the Beeliar suburban boundaries have continued to evolve and change as new suburbs are established since the mid-20th century.<ref name=":6" /> Two years after the approval of the name "Beeliar", the suburb was redefined again and shared the land with another suburb, named [[Yangebup, Western Australia|Yangebup]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7" /> Beeliar Drive cuts through Beeliar Regional Park and marks the boundary between the two suburbs.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7" /> Thus, only a portion of the Beeliar Regional Park still belongs within the suburb of Beeliar.

== Geographic ==

=== Nature and environment ===
Within the official council boundaries of Beeliar since the 1990s, the Beeliar Regional Park and the Beeliar Wetlands are split between Beeliar and its neighbouring suburbs, [[Yangebup, Western Australia|Yangebup]] (north) and [[Wattleup, Western Australia|Wattleup]] (south). The main road, [[Beeliar Drive]], marks the division between the Beeliar and Yangebup. Likewise, another major road, a section of Russell Road, marks the boundary between Beeliar and Wattleup.

Beeliar's section of Beeliar Wetlands and Beeliar Regional Park include Kogolup Lake and Thomsons Lake. Thomsons Lake Nature Reserve (sometimes spelt as "Thompsons") is the largest portion of the Wetlands within Beeliar.

Smaller reserves within Beeliar are: Habitat Reserve, Hakea Reserve, Owgan Reserve, and Luttrell Gardens.

=== Environmental threats ===
The [[Department of Parks and Wildlife (Western Australia)|Department of Parks and Wildlife]] (2006) identified the following threats to Beeliar's wetlands:  "Drainage, excavation and filling; Pollution including eutrophication; Water level changes; Salination; Aesthetic disruption (Section 24); Aquatic or declared weeds (Section 19); and Insect pest control (Section 21)".<ref name=":15">WA Department of Parks and Wildlife. (2006). ''Beeliar Regional Park Final Management Plan 2006''. Retrieved from https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/downloads/parks/beeliar_management_plan_18_10_2006.pdf</ref> Of the identified threats, four have been the selected targeted areas for environmental protection: "Drainage, excavation and filling; 2. Pollution including eutrophication; 3. Water level changes; and 4. Salination".<ref name=":15" /> The Department (2006) reports that "406 native taxa" are found within the Beeliar features.<ref name=":15" /> This report also identified Thomsons Lake and Koholup Lake as Aboriginal sites under the ''[[Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972]]''.<ref name=":15" />

== Urban features ==

=== Parks and recreational sites ===
One of the two major recreational parks is Radonich Park.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web|title=Radonich Park|url=https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Recreation-and-Attractions/Facilities-and-Venues-for-Hire/Radonich|url-status=live|website=City of Cockburn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420200446/https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Recreation-and-Attractions/Facilities-and-Venues-for-Hire/Radonich |archive-date=20 April 2018 }}</ref> The facilities that are granted for public access include barbeque stations, exercise equipment, and a playground.<ref name=":16" /> These public facilities are located in the southeast corner of the park.<ref name=":16" /> Dogs are not permitted at this park.<ref name=":16" /> Sports features, such as [[Goal (sports)|goalposts]], are available at this park; however, they are not permanent.<ref name=":16" /> The grounds, changing rooms, and toilet facilities are available for hire from the [[City of Cockburn|council]] for varying fees for private use.<ref name=":16" /> This park is accessible via public transport, the 530 bus route.<ref name=":16" />

The other major recreational park is Beeliar Reserve.<ref name=":17">{{Cite web|title=Beeliar Reserve|url=https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/About-Cockburn/Facilities-and-Venues-for-Hire/Beeliar-Reserve|url-status=live|website=City of Cockburn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420190053/https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/About-Cockburn/Facilities-and-Venues-for-Hire/Beeliar-Reserve |archive-date=20 April 2018 }}</ref> The public facilities available at this location are barbeque stations, a playground, sporting features, and toilets.<ref name=":17" /> Unlike Radonich Park, this park does not have exercise equipment.<ref name=":17" /> In addition, this park features a [[cricket pitch]] and [[floodlight]]s for sporting events.<ref name=":17" /> Attached to the park is the Beeliar Community Centre.<ref name=":17" /> There are several walking tracks that cross the park.<ref name=":17" /> The 530 and 531 bus routes both provide service to and from Beeliar Reserve.<ref name=":17" />

Smaller parks within Beeliar include: Garbin Park, Systena Park, Formosa Park, Wanarie Park, Meve Park, Touchell Park, Costa Park, Diedrich Park, Mariposa Park, Wearne Park, and Peregrine Park.

=== Community centre ===
The Beeliar Community Centre is attached to Beeliar Reserve.<ref name=":18">{{Cite web|title=Beeliar Community Centre|url=https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/About-Cockburn/Facilities-and-Venues-for-Hire/Beeliar-Community-Centre|url-status=live|website=City of Cockburn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420191354/https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/About-Cockburn/Facilities-and-Venues-for-Hire/Beeliar-Community-Centre |archive-date=20 April 2018 }}</ref> It has two main facilities: a main room and a meeting room.<ref name=":18" /> The main room seats 150 people, and the meeting room seats 50 people.<ref name=":18" /> Both rooms have kitchen facilities attached.<ref name=":18" /> One of the recurring events held at the Community Centre is the Beeliar Hub, which is for parents with children for a social meeting.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Beeliar Hub|url=https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/City-and-Council/Events-and-News/Events-and-Workshops/Beeliar-Hub|url-status=live|website=City of Cockburn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001221337/https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/City-and-Council/Events-and-News/Events-and-Workshops/Beeliar-Hub |archive-date=1 October 2020 }}</ref>

=== Schools and education facilities ===
There are [[List of schools in the Perth metropolitan area|two schools]] in Beeliar:{{efn|The City of Cockburn's web site lists Emmanuel Catholic College as being in Beeliar,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Community-and-Business/Families-and-Children/Schools|title=Schools|publisher=City of Cockburn|access-date=2021-05-20}}</ref> but according to the College's web site<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.emmanuel.wa.edu.au/|title=Emmanuel Catholic College : Contact|access-date=2021-05-20}}</ref> and [[Landgate]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://maps.landgate.wa.gov.au/|title=Landgate Map Viewer Plus|access-date=2021-05-20}}</ref> it is in [[Success, Western Australia|Success]].}}

* Beeliar Primary School – public<ref>{{cite web |url=http://beeliarps.wa.edu.au/ |title=Home |website=beeliarps.wa.edu.au}}</ref>
* South Coogee Primary School – public<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://southcoogeeps.wa.edu.au/our-school/|title=Our school – South Coogee Primary}}</ref>

=== Drive Thru Art Gallery ===
Three of the 30 of the Cockburn Drive Thru Art Gallery artworks are located in Beeliar.<ref name=":19">{{Cite web|title=Drive Thru Art Gallery|url=https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Recreation-and-Attractions/Arts-Culture-and-History/Drive-Thru-Art-Gallery|url-status=live|website=City of Cockburn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925183544/https://www.cockburn.wa.gov.au/Recreation-and-Attractions/Arts-Culture-and-History/Drive-Thru-Art-Gallery |archive-date=25 September 2020 }}</ref> There are two [[mural]]s and one [[sculpture]].<ref name=":19" /> At the Beeliar Community Centre, there is [[street art]] created by Lesley King and local Beeliar young people.<ref name=":19" /> The other [[mural]], by Chandy Pendergrast and Aran Cummins Devereaux (and Beeliar Residents Advancement Group and Emmanuel Catholic College), is located on the Beeliar Railway Abutment Bridge on the western end of Beeliar Drive.<ref name=":19" /> The final artwork is a metal sculpture depicting crops in a market garden by Dawn and Phillip Gamblen (local Croatian community representatives) installed at Spearwood Avenue.<ref name=":19" />

==Transport==

===Bus===
*{{legend2|#E35400}} 530 and 532 [[Cockburn Central railway station|Cockburn Central Station]] to [[Fremantle railway station|Fremantle Station]] – serve [[Beeliar Drive]]<ref>{{Cite Transperth bus|530}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Transperth bus|532}}</ref>
*{{legend2|#E35400}} 531 [[Cockburn Central railway station|Cockburn Central Station]] to [[Fremantle railway station|Fremantle Station]] – serves [[Beeliar Drive]], The Grange, Starflower Grove, Tindal Avenue, Ivankovich Avenue, Merevale Gardens, Congdon Avenue, East Churchill Avenue and Watson Road<ref>{{Cite Transperth bus|531}}</ref>
*{{legend2|#E35400}} 534 [[Aubin Grove railway station|Aubin Grove Station]] to [[Wattleup, Western Australia|Wattleup]] – serves Russell Road<ref>{{Cite Transperth bus|534}}</ref>
*{{legend2|#E35400}} 549 [[Fremantle railway station|Fremantle Station]] to [[Rockingham railway station, Perth|Rockingham Station]] – serves [[Stock Road]] and [[Rockingham Road, Perth|Rockingham Road]]<ref>{{Cite Transperth bus|549}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
According to the [[2016 Australian census|2016 Census]], 7,454 people are living in Beeliar. 1.7% identify as Indigenous Australians. There are more females than males, and the median age is 33.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web|title=2016 Census QuickStats: Beeliar|url=https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC50098?opendocument|access-date=2021-03-27|website=quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au|language=en}}</ref>

One-quarter of Beeliar's residents identify as having English ancestry (25.3%). The majority were born in Australia (62.4%), with other countries of birth including [[England]], the [[Philippines]], [[New Zealand]], [[South Africa]], and [[Portugal]]. Although most of Beeliar's populace was born in Australia, only 36% had both parents born in Australia.<ref name=":14" />

34.9% of Beeliar's residents affiliate with [[Catholicism]], which is higher than the state average (21.4%).<ref name=":14" />

Less than 20% of Beeliar's populace has some [[Higher education|university qualification]], which is slightly lower than the national average (22%). 22.6% of those currently studying or involved in the education system in 2016 were in public primary schools.<ref name=":14" />

The census reports 2,053 families in Beeliar, with an average of 1.9 children per family with children. The average number of people per household is 2.9 people.<ref name=":14" />

The majority of Beeliar's population aged 15 or over are married (52.2%), with an additional 12.4% involved in a [[Marriage in Australia|de facto marriage]].  The majority of families have one parent working full-time, and the other works part-time (26.3%).<ref name=":14" />

Households have, on average. 2.1 vehicles.<ref name=":14" />

The majority of Beeliar's residents work full-time (59.6%), which is higher than the state average (57%). The most popular industries that they work in are hospitals (4.1%), primary education, supermarkets, aged care services, and [[Iron ore mining in Western Australia|iron ore mining]].<ref name=":14" />

The median household income is $2045 per week. The median monthly [[Mortgage loan|mortgage repayments]] are $2167. The median weekly rent is $400. Households with Indigenous people pay a median of $385 per week. They pay $2470 per month on mortgage repayments, which is 148% more than the national median for Indigenous Australians ($1660 per month).<ref name=":14" />

==Notes==
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==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}

{{City of Cockburn suburbs}}

[[Category:Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia]]
[[Category:Suburbs in the City of Cockburn]]