Inglewood

The name of this suburb is thought to have been derived from a Norwegian barque called "Inglewood", whose voyage was mentioned in an article in The Western Australian on 24 May 1904.

The area now known as Inglewood was first granted to John Gregory in 1831.  The portion first settled was mainly in Swan Location Y, and later extended into Location X. J. Birkett received the Land Grant next, then Mary Hutton. Initially, this development was considered part of Maylands, and covered the areas now known as Inglewood, Dianella, Yokine, Morley, and Bedford.  The real estate company known as Gold Estates of Australia were the initial developers, starting their survey prior to 1906.  A section now referred to as "The Avenues" was the first to be subdivided. This development included land from the railway line to North Street, and eventually through to Eleventh Avenue and Dundas Road. The later subdivision was then named "Inglewood Estate".  It took Gold Estates nearly 20 years to sell the land.  This area was always developed as residential, as opposed to earlier sites such as Perth itself and Leederville where market gardens were next to residential land.

In 1909 Gold Estates agreed to subsidise the coast of extending the tramline from Walcott Street to Second Avenue. This move failed to produce a rapid increase in sale of land, and it was not until after the Great War that land sales picked up.  People were still building in Mount Lawley, where they had a choice of transport between the train and the tram, or Maylands, which was much closer to the railway.  Edgar Walter Hamer became manager of Gold Estates and was also elected to the Perth Road Board as member for Maylands in 1899. Trams were important for public transport along Beaufort Street: there was great celebration when the tramline reached Dundas Road in 1929.

As a sidenote, the current playing fields for the Mount Lawley High School were used for the disposal of sanitary waste for the Perth Road Board area until the residential area pushed against the wooded boundary and the residents complained of the “nauseating smell”.

Inglewood was one of the communities which had a Progress Association in place by 1920: these associations liaised between the ratepayers and the Board.

During the 1920's and 1930's, people continued to move into the Inglewood district and settle.  In 1936, the Inglewood Hotel was opened, following petitioning for such premises from the residents since 1929.  This would have been even more of an event as no hotels were built in Mount Lawley as a condition of the use of the Lawley name.  Schools were also being built at this time to cater for the increasing number of children in the district Inglewood was also catered for in the health area, as there was a doctor there in 1932, and a pharmacist by 1945.  Residents had to travel to Mount Lawley or Maylands to visit the dentist, where there was a choice of six practitioners.  In 1933 there were 33 licensed midwives in Inglewood, Mount Lawley, and Maylands, as well as private hospitals in Mount Lawley and Maylands.  St Anne’s Private General Hospital was opened by the Sisters of Mercy in 1937.

People travelled from Inglewood to the coast for their summer holidays, treating it as a great adventure.  There is such a description on p.222 of “Diversity’s challenge”. The Western Australian Hunt Club held a meeting in 1918 which started from the tram terminus, riding up Beaufort Street and into the bush alongside the road in the Inglewood Estate.  Regular hunts through Inglewood continued for the next ten years despite the increasing unsuitability of the area for hunting.

The Piccadilly Gardens Cinema and Civic Theatre were great attractions. In 1920 films were screened in any convenient local hall, but dedicated buildings soon appeared. This cinema/picture- gardens/office/shops/flats complex was constructed and operated by Thomas James Snooks (1890-1958). His involvement with this site goes back to the end of the First World War, when he constructed and operated a picture garden (demolished by his grandson in 1960), later building the indoor cinema, clock tower, offices, shops, and flats. T.J. Snooks was a pioneer in the Maylands, Mount Lawley, and Inglewood districts both as a picture show man, and as a builder (under the name T. Snooks & Son) of a significant proportion of the residential and commercial fabric of the area. He also staged performances of Gilbert and Sullivan in the, now demolished, Maylands church hall as a young man in the 1910's. Frank Baden-Powell operated an Old Time Music Hall in the Civic Theatre building for many years, and this role was taken on by Max Kay before he moved the operation to a new building in Highgate, further along Beaufort Street.

The population growth necessitated the erection of state schools for the area.  The first primary school was built in Second Ave in 1927, later to be known as the Inglewood State School.  Two more rooms were added within five years.  The building, which later became Mount Lawley State School, had additions in 1923, 1926, 1928, 1930 and 1932.

Many residences contained within Inglewood are of pre-war vintage, with styles including Federation and Californian Bungalow. Inglewood has a high heritage value, with numerous places of cultural and historical significance. Many of the older dwellings have recently been renovated and restored to their original styles. In addition to character housing, there are 1960's flats and modern unit developments scattered throughout the suburb. 

The main commercial area within Inglewood centres on Beaufort Street and contains retail services, a library, and a recreation centre. There are also several small shops within the suburb which cater for daily needs. Inglewood contains many recreational facilities, including the Inglewood Aquatic Centre, Mount Lawley Golf Course and Macaulay Park.  The W.A, Museum conducted a twelve-month survey of wildlife in the park area and its bushland over twelve months in 1993 and 1994.

The Clock Tower on the corner of Beaufort Street and Dundas Road is the former site of the Civic Theatre. It incorporates a prominent clock tower, which is highly visible to northbound traffic along Beaufort Street. The Inglewood Civic Centre was opened in October 1991 and incorporates the local library, and Autumn Centre and a Children's Centre.