Dianella is a mid-century suburb with an older story underneath it, and it can claim a place in Western Australian television history.
How Dianella got its name
The suburb is named after the small blue lily Dianella revoluta, which the City of Stirling says was plentiful in the area before it was developed. Dianella was formed in 1958 by joining four localities: North Inglewood, East Yokine, Morley Park and Bedford Park.
Before the suburb
The City of Stirling’s management plan for Dianella Regional Open Space describes the area as the tribal lands of Yellagonga’s group and records a registered Aboriginal heritage site within the reserve.
How it grew
Early grants went to settlers including Thomson, Darby, Drummond and Birkett, names that survive in Dianella’s streets. The City of Stirling records that much of the area was subdivided in the 1880s by the Intercolonial Investment Company of Sydney, but that by 1919 the only development was along Walter Road, a track to the dairies at Morley.
The real growth came in the 1960s, northward from Walter Road and Grand Promenade, with St Andrews and Dress Circle among the last large estates.
Places that tell the story
Western Australia’s first television station, TVW7, began broadcasting from its Dianella studios on 16 October 1959. The last news bulletin from the Dianella studios went to air in February 2015.
Marsala House on Sycamore Rise, by architect Iwan Iwanoff, dates from 1976 and is on the State Register.
Our Lady’s Assumption Church on Grand Promenade was built between 1965 and 1971.
Dianella Regional Open Space protects about 17.5 hectares of bushland.
Dianella today
Dianella is now a large established suburb of 1960s and later houses, bushland reserves and newer townhouses.
More about Dianella
For what Dianella is like to live in now, read our Dianella suburb profile. If you own a property in Dianella and are thinking about selling, start with buyers for your property.
Sources
- City of Stirling: Dianella
- City of Stirling: Thematic History
- City of Stirling: Dianella Regional Open Space draft management plan
- inHerit: Marsala House
- WA TV History: last Seven Perth news from the Dianella studios
Dates and names are drawn from the sources above. Where sources differ, we have said so or given an approximate date.
By Key Performance Real Estate, 338 Beaufort Street, Perth
Category
Buying
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