Blackwall Reach

Blackwall Reach (Jenalup in Noongar) is a section of the Swan River in Western Australia.

This article is about the section of the Swan River in Western Australia. For other uses, see Blackwall Reach (disambiguation).
Blackwall Reach east shore cliffs viewed from the north, from Freshwater Bay, Claremont.
Blackwall Reach east shore cliffs viewed from the west.

Blackwall Reach was named after an area of the River Thames near Greenwich UK in 1896 by Commander L. S. Dawson RN, Admiralty Surveyor. The name originally referred to that part of the river, rather than either side, but this changed in the twentieth century when the riverside land on the eastern bank just south of Point Walter was specifically called Blackwall Reach. It contains limestone cliffs,[1] and remnant vegetation adjacent to the river's edge.[2][3]

The location is a popular spot for cliff jumping[4] and for rock climbing. However, since the creation and management of the clifftop reserve, signage advises against jumping. Non-adherence to this signage has resulted in fatalities.[5][6]

Due to its location close to the ocean, unusual fish catches have sometimes occurred.[7][8]

Prior to European settlement, the area was known to the Noongar indigenous people as Jenalup, a sacred place linked to the Dreaming stories.[9]

Notes
  1. J.Gentilli and V.N. Serventy (1949) The Blackwall Reach Cliffs, Swan River in The Western Australian Naturalist, vol.2, no.2, Sept 16 1949 pp.34–38
  2. Smith, Vanessa; Melville (W.A.); Smith, Vanessa (1986), Blackwall Reach Reserve draft management plan, City of Melville, retrieved 21 February 2012
  3. Melville (W.A. : Municipality). Council (2004), Blackwall Reach and Point Walter Bushland management plan, City of Melville, retrieved 21 February 2012
  4. Nicolas Perpitch (16 January 2017). "Man dies after cliff jumping at Blackwall Reach into Perth's Swan River". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  5. Perpitch, Nicholas (16 January 2017). "Man dies after cliff jumping at Blackwall Reach into Perth's Swan River". ABC News.
  6. Carmody, James (11 November 2017). "Tributes flow for WA teen Luseni Traore after fatal jump from Blackwall Reach into Swan River". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  7. "Unusual Fish In River". The Sunday Times. Perth: National Library of Australia. 26 June 1949. p. 3. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  8. "CRAYFISH IN RIVER". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 25 May 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  9. "Aboriginal History in the City of Melville". City of Melville. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2015.

Further reading
  • Landscaping project for the reserve – 'About Melville', Mar 1993, p. 2.
  • Dickson, Rod (1994) Ships registered in Western Australia from 1856, Vol. 4, p. 32 concerning Molly – history of the barge a 66-ton barge that collided under tow with barge "Emerald" adjacent to Blackwall Reach on 16 April 1928.

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