Wembley history: the Emerald Hill estates and the end of the tram line

Wembley is a suburb of the 1920s and 1930s, and its name, its hotel and its old theatre all date from that era.

How Wembley got its name

The area was once part of West Leederville and was known as the Emerald Hill Estates. inHerit records that the name Wembley Park was formally approved in 1924, after Wembley Park in London, site of the British Empire Exhibition that year. The name was later shortened to Wembley.

How it grew

Thomas Hunt was granted 100 acres in the area in 1842. The land was subdivided in 1909, but settlement was sparse until the late 1920s. Trams reached Nanson Street between 1913 and 1930 and were replaced by trolleybuses in 1939.

Places that tell the story

The Catholic McAuley Centre on Barrett Street stands on the site of the Benedictine monastery of New Subiaco. Its stables date from the late 1850s, it became an orphanage in 1872, and St Vincent’s Foundling Home opened there in 1914. Benedictine-era olive trees survive on Barrett Street. It is on the State Register.

The Wembley Hotel on Cambridge Street dates from 1932 and was built at the end of the tram line. It was the starting point for trips along the plank road to the beach.

The Wembley Theatre and Gardens on Cambridge Street opened in 1937. Only the facade survived a fire in 1980.

Wembley today

Wembley has been part of the Town of Cambridge since 1994. Its inter-war and post-war houses sit alongside newer units and townhouses, between Herdsman Lake and Lake Monger.

More about Wembley

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

Sources

• inHerit: Rutter Park and Wembley
• City of Stirling: Wembley
• Perth Electric Tramway Society
• inHerit: Catherine McAuley Centre
• inHerit: Wembley Hotel
• inHerit: Wembley Theatre and Gardens
• Town of Cambridge: town profile

Top image: The former St Vincent's Foundling Home, Wembley, 2023. 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