Spearwood is situated in the Aboriginal tribal district of Beeliar which had always provided its original inhabitants with fresh water, good vegetation and wild fowl. At the time of European settlement the leader of the Beeliar people was Midgegooroo, father of Yagan. Tribe numbers were significantly reduced after European contact because of the dispossession of Aboriginal people from their land and their susceptibility to fatal diseases such as typhoid, influenza and tuberculosis when they were unable to access clean water or an adequate and nutritious supply of food.
Spearwood was named after the Spearwood bush which is a woody, evergreen shrub with perfumed yellow, cream and white blossoms that surveyors noticed was common in the area.
Prior to settlement Spearwood was pastoral land and for many years Aboriginal and ticket-of-leave shepherds were its only inhabitants. Pastoral leases then gave way to large freehold estates and settlement started in the area in the 1850s when Alfred Hooker took up Cockburn Sound location No. 97 and Charles Manning purchased adjoining blocks.
When the area was subdivided by real estate entrepreneur James Morrison in 1897 he used the name Spearwood Gardens Estate, the first time the name was used. The Spearwood area soon became one of Perth's major market gardening areas and legend has it that it had some of the most fertile soil in the country.
Although most of the Market gardens have made way for housing the Azalea Lee Homestead located in Manning Park has a large collection of vintage tractors and tools on display which celebrate our pioneering years.
Spearwood is bounded by Phoenix Road to the north, Stock Road to the east, Barrington Street and Troode Street to the south and Hamilton Road to the west.
Spearwood has a mixture of both modern and Victorian styled housing, this creating a diversity of different cultures and looks, prominently seen throughout the Spearwood area.
Spearwood (6163) is a suburb of Perth, Southern Suburbs, Western Australia. It is about 17 kms from WA's capital city of Perth. Spearwood is in the federal electorate of Fremantle.
In the 2016 census the population of Spearwood was 10,034 and is comprised of approximately 50.7% females and 49.3% males.
The median/average age of the population of Spearwood is 41 years of age.
The main ancestry is English 21.4%, Australian 19.1%, Italian 11.1%, Irish 5.6%, and Croatian at 5.5%.
The main shopping area is "Phoenix Shopping Centre", a thriving commercial centre located along Rockingham Rd, with a smaller centre, "Stargate Spearwood" located further south, also on Rockingham Road. Both centres are planning major refurbishment in the next few years.
The City of Cockburn Civic centre is located on Coleville Crescent and consists of a Library, Seniors Centre, Dental Centre and Council Offices.
A number of new Cafes and restaurants have opened in recent years along Hamilton Road as part of the Eliza Ponds and Ocean Road Estate.
Aerial view of Spearwood provided by a member of the Spearwood Community.