Balcatta

The area now designated as the Postal District of Balcatta was once contained in the northern half of Perthshire Location Au granted to TRC Walters, on 10 March 1840. The name was recorded by Alexander Forrest in 1877 and was the Aboriginal name for the northern portion of Careniup Swamp. It is derived from Bal which means "his", and Katta, meaning "hill". The feature lay within the boundaries of Swan Location 92, granted to Samuel Moore in February 1948. Following Moore's death in 1875, the land was sold to John Charles New, who later sold in 1888.

A later owner, James Arbuckle, named his house 'Balcatta' after the area it overlooked and when the land around Careniup Swamp was subdivided it was given the name of 'Balcatta Estate.'

 During the First World War, North Beach was locally known as "Balcatta Beach" and in 1930, the road leading to the beach was gazetted as "Balcatta Beach Road". This has since been changed to North Beach Road. The present Balcatta Postal District boundaries were first officially defined in 1955. Prior to the 1960's the area was mainly used for market gardens and rural activities. Residential development rapidly progressed in the area in the late 1960's, but it wasn't until the 1970's that industry began to expand in the area.