Osborne Park

Osborne Park was named after William Osborne, a butcher who owned an abattoir and land along Wanneroo Road and who was elected to the local Road Board in 1875. Osborne Park was originally part of the 6,020 acres officially granted to Thomas Richard Carey Walters in 1840.  The grant to Thomas Walters stretched from current day Green Street to Hale Road, then to Huntriss Road in Doubleview, to Delawney Street in Balcatta, and to Flinders Street Yokine.  Walters then received a further grant which included the southern portion of Careniup Lake, and he bought some land bordering on Herdsman Lake.  By 1838 sufficient improvements had been made for title to be granted.  These included clearing and fencing the land, and showing some use.  Cattle were on the property.  However, although he had all this land, Thomas Walters did not seem to be interested in farming it himself, as he was a successful merchant in the town.  He leased the land, firstly to George Shenton who placed his dairy cattle there, then to Thomas Williams, who kept pigs.  Some of the land was also “sold” to small holders in return for ditches and drainage work.   After the death of Walters in 1874, William Osborne bought part of his estate.

 When the European settlers arrived, there was a long chain of linear lakes holding surface water from Mandurah to Yanchep, and they are also connected through the underground aquifers.  With the ebb and flow of water in the lakes during winter and summer, the growth and death of vegetation built up the soil around the water supplies.  When the settlers attempted to plant their crops in the sandy coastal soil they had little success.  William Mews is credited with discovering the value of the lakeshore for growing crops.  He had an area now bounded by Lake, Brisbane, Beaufort and Newcastle Streets, on a seasonal lagoon where he grew hops commercially for the local brewing industry.  This area was quoted as an example of the value of cleaning up and draining the local waterways and it is a process which is continuing to the present day.

Even with all these small patches of agricultural effort, there were large tracts still used for rough grazing.  For example, Samuel Moore acquired land adjoining Careniup Swamp in 1839 for summer pasture for his herd.  To supplement their food supplies, the settlers would go out hunting