Jolimont, Western Australia facts for kids

Jolimont is a small suburb located west of Perth, Western Australia. It is mostly within the City of Subiaco, but a small part is managed by the Town of Cambridge. The suburb is thought to be named after a place in Melbourne, which was named after Governor La Trobe's home. Jolimont's postcode is 6014.

Even though Jolimont has a small area for homes, most of its land is used for parks and sports. It includes parts of Wembley and all of Daglish. The suburb has a primary school and is served by the CircleRoute bus service. It is also close to Daglish train station. Jolimont is home to the Matthews Netball Centre and the Pat Goodridge Hockey Centre. It also has other sports courts and open spaces for everyone to enjoy.

Jolimont's Location and Land

Jolimont is a suburb about 5 kilometres west of the main city area of Perth. Perth is the capital and largest city in Western Australia. Jolimont is also about 5 kilometres east of the Indian Ocean. It is part of Perth's wealthy western suburbs.

The suburb has clear boundaries. To the north is Salvado Road, and to the west is Selby Street. To the south, it is bordered by Dakin Street, Wilsmore Street, Roberta Street, Jersey Street, and Troy Terrace. To the east, you'll find Hay Street, Tighe Street, Upham Street, and Bishop Street. Nearby suburbs include Wembley to the north, Floreat to the west, and Shenton Park to the south-west. To the south is Daglish, and to the east is Subiaco.

Jolimont sits on land called Spearwood Dunes. These dunes formed about 40,000 years ago. They are made of brown sand over yellow soil, with Tamala Limestone underneath. These dunes are part of the larger Swan Coastal Plain. There is also a wetland in Jolimont called Jolimont Swamp. This swamp is part of Mabel Talbot Park.

Jolimont's Past

Long ago, before Europeans settled in Australia, the area of Jolimont was home to the Mooro group of the Whadjuk Noongar people. Their leader was Yellagonga. They lived in the area north of the Swan River. They went as far east as Ellen Brook and north to Moore River. Lakes and wetlands in the region, including Jolimont Swamp, were important for finding food. These places also hold special spiritual meaning for them.

Around the 1930s, during a tough economic time called the Great Depression, many Aboriginal people moved to Perth looking for work. Some camps appeared on the edges of Perth. A report in 1937 suggested that a camp in Jolimont should be closed. A freshwater spring in the south-west of Jolimont Swamp was a permanent camp for Clara Layland. She was an elder and a keeper of knowledge. The Noongar people knew her as the "Daglish granny." Other Aboriginal people camped there until the mid-1900s.

People of Jolimont

In 2016, Jolimont had 1,402 people living there. This number has grown over the years. In 2011, there were 1,200 people, and in 2001, there were 963. In 2016, 43.4% of residents were male, and 56.6% were female. The average age was 54, which is older than the state average of 36. About 11.6% of residents were over 85 years old. The eastern part of the suburb, where a retirement village is, has an average age of 81. Other parts of Jolimont have younger average ages.

At the 2016 census, most people said their family background was English (30.8%) or Australian (22.5%). Other common backgrounds included Irish (8.5%), Scottish (8.4%), and Chinese (2.7%). Most residents (61.9%) were born in Australia. Other birthplaces included England (7.1%), India (2.8%), and New Zealand (1.7%). Most people (78.1%) spoke only English at home. Some households (15.9%) spoke another language. These included Mandarin (2.4%), French (1.1%), and Vietnamese (0.9%). The most common religions were no religion (31.5%), Catholic (21.3%), and Anglican (20.0%).

Education in Jolimont

Jolimont Primary School

Jolimont Primary School is the only school in the suburb. It is a public school for students from Kindergarten to Year 6. In 2021, it had 49 Kindergarten students and 304 students from Pre-Primary to Year 6.

In the late 1890s, a local group called the Jolimont Progress Organisation asked the Education Department to build a school. The local council supported this idea in 1899. By mid-1899, the Education Department agreed to build a school and chose a location. It took until July 1905 for a company to be hired to build the school. J. Lake built it for £450. The school building was a single brick and iron classroom. It was finished in September 1905 and opened on 9 October 1905. Only 15 students enrolled at first.

By mid-1906, the school had about 62 students. A new classroom was built, just like the first one, for £349. The school was surrounded by natural bushland. Students often helped put out fires in the bush. By mid-1914, there were 112 students. Because of too many students, two more classrooms were added in 1916 and 1919. One of these was later removed in 1930. In 1921, the Jolimont Parents Association was formed. They helped raise money and improve the school.

The number of students stayed steady in the 1930s and during World War II. After the war, it grew quickly. In 1946, the school used the nearby Jolimont Hall. In 1948, the school was updated and made bigger. Two new classrooms, a head teacher's office, and a staffroom were built. The old classrooms were also updated, and their roofs were changed. These improvements finished by 1950, when the school had 287 students. In 1955, three more classrooms were added. Over the next few decades, student numbers went down as new schools opened. Numbers were lowest in the 1980s but started to rise again in the 1990s.

The school had several new buildings in the 1990s and 2000s. Portable classrooms were added in 1993 and 1999. An undercover assembly area, canteen, and sports storerooms were built in 2000. A new classroom was built in 2001. A new library and office area were built in 2005, along with other updates. More classrooms were built in 2010 as part of a government program.

Shenton College is the closest public high school. It has 2,582 students from Year 7 to Year 12. It is less than 2 kilometres south of Jolimont.

How Jolimont is Governed

Local Government

A part of Jolimont, north of Hay Street and west of Perry Lane, is part of the Town of Cambridge. This includes Henderson Park. The rest of Jolimont is part of the City of Subiaco.

In the City of Subiaco, Jolimont is in the North Ward. The councillors for this ward are Stephanie Stroud and Rosemarie de Vries. The Mayor of Subiaco is David McMullen. In the Town of Cambridge, Jolimont is in the Wembley Ward. The councillors for this ward are Kate Barlow, Alaine Haddon-Casey, Gary Mack, and Rob Fredericks. The Mayor of Cambridge is Keri Shannon.

State and Federal Government

For the state government, Jolimont is in the electoral district of Nedlands. This area is part of the North Metropolitan Region for the upper house. The current member for Nedlands is Katrina Stratton from the Australian Labor Party. This party is a major centre-left party in Australia. Before 2021, the Liberal Party of Australia, a major centre-right party, had held this seat since 1950.

Jolimont is in the division of Curtin for the federal government. The member for Curtin is Celia Hammond from the Liberal Party. This area usually votes for the Liberal Party. The only place to vote in Jolimont is at Jolimont Primary School. This voting place tends to vote less for the Liberal Party than the rest of the area, but it still often votes for them more than the rest of the state or country.

Getting Around Jolimont

Two main roads go through Jolimont: Hay Street and Selby Street. Hay Street runs east to west. If you go east from Jolimont on Hay Street, you will reach Subiaco, Thomas Street, the Mitchell Freeway, and the Perth city centre. If you go west, you will reach West Coast Highway.

Selby Street runs north to south. Going south on Selby Street takes you to Shenton College and Claremont. Going north leads to Wembley, and then to Innaloo and Stirling. Other important roads include Salvado Road, which goes east to the Mitchell Freeway and Perth city centre, and Jersey Street, which helps you get around inside Jolimont.

Public transport in Jolimont is run by Transperth. The closest train stations are Shenton Park, Daglish, and Subiaco. All of these are on the Fremantle line and are less than 2 kilometres from Jolimont.

Bus routes in Jolimont include routes 28, 998, and 999. Route 28 travels between Perth Busport and Claremont station along Hay Street. Routes 998 and 999 are known as the CircleRoute. These buses travel in a big circle around Perth. Route 998 goes clockwise, and route 999 goes anti-clockwise. They both go through Jolimont along Selby Street. To the south, they connect to Shenton Park station and Claremont. To the north, they go to Innaloo and Stirling. Just north of Jolimont, on Cambridge Street, you can find routes 81, 82, and 85. These routes go to Perth Busport.

Bus Services

•        28 Perth Busport to Clareont Station – travels along Hay Street and Selby Street.
•        998 Fremantle Station to Fremantle Station (limited stops) – this is the CircleRoute Clockwise, serving Selby Street.
•        999 Fremantle Station to Fremantle Station (limited stops) – this is the CircleRoute Anti-Clockwise, serving Selby Street.