The Aboriginal People of this Area.
Wireless Hill was once known as “Yagan’s Lookout”, providing perfect views of the surrounding area. Yagan was born in 1810 and was the son of Midgegooroo, the leader of the Beeliar tribe who were custodians of the Melville, Fremantle and Cockburn districts. Yagan was a well-known figure in the early days of the Swan River colony, respected by the settlers for his strong personality and independence. He also advocated peace and believed that aboriginal people and European settlers could live in harmony.
There is a large “scar” tree in the Park, which provides visual evidence of the use of this area by Aboriginal people prior to European settlement.
Wireless Communication comes to Western Australia
In 1912 the facilities at Wireless Hill enabled wireless communication to be carried out for the very first time between the east and west coasts of Australia, between the mainland of Australia and ships that were up to 1,600km away in the Indian and Southern Oceans, and between Australia and the rest of the world.
In order to transport the German-designed wireless antennae from the Swan River to Wireless Hill, the first bitumen road was built in Western Australia. The remnants of this road can be seen from the Heritage Walk in the park.
The Park played a significant role in the security and defence of the Australian coastline from 1912 through to 1968. During World War I, the Applecross Wireless Station received an emergency signal from the Cocos Islands giving the position of the German light cruiser, SMS Emden. The station relayed the information to the HMAS Sydney, which was escorting a troop convoy close to the Cocos Islands. The Sydney gave chase and captured the Emden in one of Australia’s most famous sea battles of the First World War.
Wireless Hill station was officially decommissioned in 1967. It was vested in the City of Melville in August 1969 for the purposes of developing it as an urban bushland reserve, and was named Wireless Hill Park in February 1971.
The Wireless Hill Telecommunications Museum was officially opened in 1979. Together with the bushland reserve it is listed on the Register of the National Estate, West Australian Heritage list and City of Melville Municipal Inventory.
Conservation of this Bushland
Wireless Hill Park is a regionally significant area of bushland listed as “Bush Forever” Site, No 336.
Wireless Hill Park is managed by the City of Melville. The City of Melville, together with the Friends of Wireless Hill and other stakeholders, has produced a management plan for the Park.