St James history: Bentley, state housing and a London park

St James did not exist as a suburb until 1957, when part of Bentley was given its own name. Its first big wave of housing, and its Catholic school, came in the 1950s.

How St James got its name

Landgate says St James was named after St James’s Park in London, which itself honours Saint James the apostle. The Canning Road Board proposed the name and it was approved in 1957. Landgate and the City of Canning both note that many of the suburb’s streets are named after British prime ministers and members of parliament.

The Town of Victoria Park’s Local Heritage Survey describes the change from the Bentley side: in 1957 part of Bentley was declared a separate suburb and named St James, and in the same year St James became its own postal district.

Before the suburb

This is Whadjuk Noongar country. The City of Canning describes Whadjuk as the dialect group of the Perth area. The City gives the Whadjuk name for the nearby Canning River as Djarlgarro Beelier.

Before 1957 the area was part of Bentley. The Victoria Park heritage survey says Bentley was named after John Bentley, a convict warden in charge of convicts building roads in the 1860s and 1870s. The City of Canning notes that most development in St James came after the Second World War.

How it grew

Building began in earnest in the early 1950s. The Victoria Park heritage survey records that development of East Victoria Park, St James and Bentley started at that time, and that the area was dominated by government rental housing, especially in St James and Bentley, alongside many War Service homes. By 1956 the Bentley, St James and East Victoria Park area held more than 650 government rental properties.

The City of Canning likewise records that the State Housing Commission built many houses here in the 1950s, and that War Service Commission homes were also built.

The area’s Catholic school grew with the housing. Santa Clara School began in 1952 in a one-room stone building that served as both church and classroom, opened and blessed by Archbishop Prendiville. The school was formally established in 1953, a convent was built in 1958, and a separate church was finished in 1963. Dominican Sisters led the school for nearly forty years.

Places that tell the story

Santa Clara School on Coolgardie Street traces its start to 1952. The original buildings were replaced by a two-storey school in 1992, and a pre-primary was added in 1993.

Houghton Park carries the name of Cliff Houghton, whose links with the district spanned more than 80 years. The suburb’s street names, chosen to honour British parliamentarians, are another reminder of the London name.

St James today

The 2021 Census counted 4,894 people in St James. Separate houses made up 70 per cent of occupied dwellings, and about a quarter were townhouses or similar attached dwellings.

More about St James

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

Sources

• Landgate: Perth and surrounds suburb names (archived 2022)
• City of Canning: Our Suburbs
• City of Canning: Aboriginal Culture and Heritage
• Town of Victoria Park: Local Heritage Survey 2021
• Santa Clara School: Our History
• ABS 2021 Census QuickStats: St James

Top image: Houghton Park on Boundary Road, St James, 2022. Photo: Orderinchaos, 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