Wembley Downs

The title "Wembley Downs" derived from the local golf course and was used by residents before being officially approved in 1959. Confusingly, the golf course was named after the suburb of Wembley, which is several kilometres east of Wembley Downs. The name "Wembley" originated from a town in England.

Parts of the land which now form Wembley Downs were originally granted to Henry Trigg and Mary Ann Hokin in 1842.  David Boyd then acquired a tract of land in Wembley Downs covering 642 acres in about 1906. After the death of Boyd in 1926, his executors sold the land to the City Beach Land Company of Perth.  In 1927 Wembley Downs was subdivided into approximately 90 lots. Development was slow, due partly to the thick virgin bush and limestone outcrops which made building difficult.  The City Beach Land Company re-surveyed the land in 1940, and even this produced little further development.  In 1947 the Perth Road Board had to resume 600 blocks for unpaid rates, and these were auctioned for prices ranging from four to eight pounds.  Because there was such a small population with no houses within a 1.5-kilometre radius from them, the Board readily gave permission for the AJS Motorcycle Club to conduct events in disused quarries in the suburb in 1950.

However, growth accelerated in the 1950's, especially with a stretch of houses along Weaponess Road, and the residents used the former quarry tracks to travel out of their suburb.  When a water main was laid along the line of the quarry tracks it made such travel difficult, and the roads weren’t really improved until the Perth City Council built more in preparation for the Commonwealth Games at Perry Lakes in 1962.  By the 1970's the area was almost completely developed. The section of Wembley Downs incorporating the Wembley Golf Complex is officially located outside the City of Stirling.

Residential dwellings within Wembley Downs are mainly single houses on large individual lots. However, a substantial number of duplexes have been established in recent years because of the growing popularity of infill development. All types of residential dwellings in Wembley Downs are usually built of brick, though the design of houses varies considerably. Many buildings from the 1960's are of the international style and there are also examples of houses of almost every design genre from the 1950's to the present.

The primary commercial and retail centre in Wembley Downs is "The Downs", which is located in the north of the suburb on Weaponess Road. The suburb is well provided with public open space. The most notable reserve is the Wembley Golf Complex, which is managed by the Town of Cambridge. A.S. Luketina Reserve and the Empire Avenue Reserve provide facilities for a range of recreational pursuits including tennis and football. Education needs are served by Wembley Downs Primary School, Newman College Doubleview Campus and Hale School. Hale School is located on Hale Road in the northeast of Wembley Downs and provides the local and wider community with a private education facility for boys.