WARail & telegraph
Mundaring
A vineyard, a sawmill siding and then the weir that watered the goldfields.
1889Sawmill brings a railway stop
WHAT STARTED IT
The Eastern Railway climbed through the hills here, and in 1889 a timber concession and sawmill created a stopping place beside Peter Gugeri’s vineyard. The siding, first called Gugeri’s, took its new name from the Mundaring Vineyard Company.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Work on the weir on the Helena River, south of the town, to supply the goldfields pipeline brought workers and visitors, and the Mundaring Hotel opposite the station sold the hills air to holiday-makers. Guest houses and orchards followed, and as cars became affordable the town became a semi-rural base for Perth commuters.
TURNING POINTS
1889A sawmill opens and a railway stopping place, Gugeri’s Siding, follows.
1894By December the siding has been renamed Mundaring.
1898Gaugings of the Helena River are taken to show the planned reservoir will fill.
1900John Chipper takes the lease of the Mundaring Hotel, opposite the station.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
The leading business centre of the Shire of Mundaring, with about 3,200 people on Great Eastern Highway. It again promotes itself as a hills retreat with walking and cycle trails.