- See also: Mosman Park
According to the Town of Mosman Park, Buckland Hill was named by James Stirling in honour of William Buckland, theologian and palaeontologist – and not after Buckland House, the former home of Scotsman Dr Adam Jameson, which had been built originally in 1897. Dr Jameson was the Cottesloe Road Board’s first appointed Health Officer and a foundation member of both the Peppermint Grove and Buckland Hill Road Boards.
Ruth Marchant James, 1980:
“Buckland House”, the former home of Scotsman Dr Adam Jameson, had been built originally in 1897. Dr Jameson was the Cottesloe Road Board’s first appointed Health Officer and a foundation member of both the Peppermint Grove and Buckland Hill Road Boards.
This became the original building of Iona Presentation Convent.
Buckland Hill was an early aid to navigation, as for example as noted in this 1843 newspaper article:
Buckland Hill may be easily known by its being the highest down [i.e., hill], clear of trees, between Swan River and the remarkable sand patch to the northward of it. Two singular clumps of trees on a ridge between it and the sand patch also tend to show its position to strangers. The Inquirer', 10 May 1843, page 3.
Obelisk
The Hill is surmounted by a water supply reservoir, and an obelisk, also known as the Monument, without specification of what it might memorialise. Possibly originally from WW1, when the Hill was used as a signal station.
The Harley Scramble
Lost Perth:
The Harley Scramble was introduced to the state by Audrey Ambrose and Ray Charman. This yearly motor cycle race, through the bush and disused quarries of Buckland Hill, was regarded by many as the toughest course in Australia.
The first race was held in 1928 with laps 3 miles in length but after 1930 the laps were reduced to 2 mile and competitors were required to complete a number of laps. By 1952 lap requirements had increased from 20 to 28 laps which equated to a distance of 65 miles completed over two sessions and included 8 quarry walls, known as 'slides'.
Handicaps were not permitted in the race and the rider with the lowest average lap time was declared the winner of the Melrose Cup. Surprisingly the first fatality of the race was not a competitor but a 12 year old boy, Robert Cecil Bedford-Brown, who was hit by a rider on 17th June 1951.
By 1964, housing development in the area had increased and the disturbance from the Harley Scramble became unacceptable to the new residents. The Mosman Park Town Council voted to close the course in April of that year and the land is now known as 'Mosman Fields'. Harley Terrace is now situated at the start and finish point of the infamous race.
Thanks to Jack Lorimer, we see the event in glorious colour including The Colonial Sugar Refinery in the background many of us had school excursions to. Thanks to The Grove Library for the spiel, https://www.facebook.com/thegrovelibrary. Lost Perth.
I'm not sure if Buckland Hill is on the left in this photo. SLWA captions it 'near Rocky Bay', 1920s, ref. no. 112017PD.
Leighton Battery
Buckland Hill was the site of Leighton Battery during World War 2, and its remains have been conserved and are open to the public.
References and Links
The first photo is from the Lost Perth Facebook page which seems to attribute the photo to Jack Lorimer. The second photo is from the Jack Lorimer Facebook page and is definitely by him. Judging by the position of the car near the tent, I'd say they were taken on the same day.
James , Ruth Marchant 1980, 'The Presentation Sisters: unsung pioneers of education', Early Days, Volume 8, Part 4: 83-92.
Mosman Park page for Buckland Hill and the 'Monument'.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 8 May, 2016 and hosted at freotopia.org/places/bucklandhill.html (it was last updated on 15 April, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.