Mardella history: Lowlands, a railway siding and a community hall

Mardella holds Lowlands, a farm begun in the 1830s whose first surviving house dates from 1845. Its name came later, from a railway siding on the line to Bunbury.

How Mardella got its name

Landgate records that Mardella is a variant of the Aboriginal name of nearby Medulla Brook, and that the name has been used here since 1898, when a railway siding called Mardella opened. It was approved as a locality name on 1 May 1997.

Before the suburb

inHerit records that the first hut at what became Lowlands was built in the 1830s, in low paddocks west of the present buildings. Tom Peel junior finished the first surviving house in 1845, on what was then called Serpentine Farm. After Thomas Peel’s bankruptcy the farm was sold at auction to John Wellard in 1859. Wellard added a brick two storey storehouse, men’s quarters and a stable in the 1860s, with bricks made on site, much of the work done by ticket of leave men.

How it grew

Alexander Richardson married Ellen Wellard in 1874 and later bought his brother-in-law Pierce Wellard’s share. The farm became known as Lowlands, and by 1888 Richardson had extended the holding to 10,000 acres. In 1922 the estate was divided between his two youngest sons.

In the 1950s the community raised money for a hall on Wright Road, built from 1953. It first housed George and Winifred Young’s general store and post office after fire destroyed their shop. Once the store was rebuilt, the Youngs gave the hall back to the community, and a fire station was added.

Places that tell the story

Lowlands, on Lowlands Road, was classified by the National Trust in 1975 and is on the Shire’s Heritage List. Its three residences are joined by breezeways and built mainly of earth. It is private property. Mardella Hall and Fire Station and the Mardella post office and store on Wright Road are in the Shire’s Local Heritage Survey, as is Brooklyn Farm on Lowlands Road.

Mardella today

The bushland around Lowlands was designated Bush Forever in 2000 and 2001 and bought by the State Government in 2013, becoming the Lowlands Nature Reserve.

More about Mardella

For what Mardella is like to live in now, read our Mardella suburb profile. If you own a property in Mardella and are thinking about selling, start with buyers for your property.

Sources

• Landgate: Perth and surrounds suburb names (archived 2022)
• WA Government: New outer south-eastern suburbs announced (1997)
• inHerit: Lowlands (originally Serpentine Farm)
• inHerit: Mardella Hall and Fire Station
• Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale: Local Heritage Survey list (2022)

Top image: The old Mardella general store, long closed, December 2020. Photo: Calistemon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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