Matilda Bay or Crawley Bay (known originally as Currie's Bay, then Sutherland's Bay) is a natural

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

in the Swan River in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, adjacent to the

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

suburb of

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

. It extends from Pelican Point to

Mounts Bay Road Mounts Bay Road is a major road in Perth, Western Australia, extending southwest from the Perth central business district, central business district along the north bank of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River, at the base of Kings Pa ...

below Kings Park. The

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

is immediately opposite. Other landmarks on Matilda Bay include Matilda Bay Restaurant, Pelican Point Sea Scouts,

Royal Perth Yacht Club The Royal Perth Yacht Club (RPYC) is a yacht club in Perth, Western Australia. It is the third oldest yacht club in Australia after the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria and the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.

, UWA Rowing Club and Mounts Bay Sailing Club. A well-known bronze sculpture that is located at the site of the former Crawley Baths – ''Eliza'' is displayed just offshore from Mounts Bay Road and depicts a woman preparing to dive. Matilda Bay Reserve is a recreational parkland between Hackett Drive and the river. It includes Pelican Point, which is an important breeding sanctuary for migratory birds. Matilda Bay is believed to have been named after the wife of

John Septimus Roe John Septimus Roe (8 May 1797 – 28 May 1878) was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, a member of Western Australia's legislative and executive councils for nearly 40 years, but also a participant in ...

, Matilda (née Bennett).

History

Captain Currie was the first colonial owner of the estate surrounding the bay, at that time known as Currie's Bay. Pelican Point was then known as Point Currie. The estate was sold in 1832 to the Assistant Surveyor and Colonial Treasurer, Henry Charles Sutherland for £100. Sutherland named the property Crawley Park after his mother's maiden name and the bay became known as Sutherland's Bay. In 1876 Crawley Park was sold to Sir

George Shenton Sir George Shenton (4 March 1842 – 29 June 1909) was a prominent businessman in colonial Western Australia, the first Mayor of Perth, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for over thirty years. Early and family lif ...

, and the bay was known generally as Crawley Bay. After Shenton's death in 1909, the estate was acquired by the Government in 1910 and vested in the University of Western Australia in 1912. Some of the present foreshore, west of Crawley Baths, was created by land reclamation to allow

to be widened. The

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

had a fleet of 60 Catalina flying boats based at Matilda Bay during World War II, part of Naval Base Perth. In 1943,

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

operated five Catalina flying boats between Ceylon (now

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

) and Matilda Bay in what was known as

the Double Sunrise The Double Sunrise service was formed in July 1943 to re-establish the Australia–England air link that had been cut due to the fall of Singapore in February 1942. The service initially operated from its base in Nedlands, Western Australia ...

service.

Image gallery

References

External links

*Recent aerial photos by

Richard Woldendorp Richard Leo Woldendorp AM (1 January 1927 – April 2023) was a Dutch-Australian photographer known for his aerial photography of Australian geography. Early life Born in Utrecht in The Netherlands and brought up by his mother, a sole parent, ...

br>
*Earlier photographs of the Supermarina Southampton II flying boats by Reg Lamber

and Izzy Orloff of the same planes in 192

{{coord, 31, 58, 50, S, 115, 49, 26, E, region:AU_type:waterbody, display=title Swan River (Western Australia) Bays of Western Australia Crawley, Western Australia

History

Image gallery

See also

References

External links