Morley history: from Morley Park farms to the Galleria

Morley is younger than many of its neighbours. The City of Bayswater’s history notes that parts of it were still rural into the 1940s, and that the housing of the 1960s and 1970s set the tone of the suburb we know today.

How Morley got its name

The name appeared on maps around 1900 and was adopted when the Morley Park Estate was subdivided after the First World War. The most likely explanation is Charles William Morley, who farmed in the area in the 1860s and 1870s.

Before the suburb

Morley lies within Whadjuk Noongar country, and the City of Bayswater acknowledges the Whadjuk Noongar people as the Traditional Custodians.

How it grew

The track that became Walter Road was built in 1887. Although parts of the area were subdivided in the 1890s, the City of Bayswater records that Beechboro Road and Morley Park were rural areas right into the 1940s.

As Perth’s suburbs spread in the 1950s, planners set Morley aside as a future business district. By the end of the 1950s the Wirrina Drive-In, the Morley Park Hotel and Boans department store had arrived.

A site with many lives

The City of Bayswater’s history traces one site from a poultry farm to a drive-in theatre, then Boans Morley and finally today’s Galleria shopping centre. Boans was badly damaged by fire in 1986, and the Galleria grew on the site.

Morley today

Morley is now one of Perth’s main suburban centres, with the shopping and services of the Morley activity centre surrounded by 1960s and 1970s houses and newer infill around the centre.

More about Morley

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

Sources

• City of Bayswater: thematic framework (2020)
• City of Bayswater: local history
• Morley, Western Australia (citing Landgate)

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