DOLA Internet home page contains history of Palmyra street names

12/5/97

The name of the suburb of Palmyra was chosen after a competition run by the Melville Road Board, and means City of Palms, alluding to the famous Syrian city which was ranked as fourth in the seven wonders of the ancient world.

In keeping with the theme street names were chosen such as Cleopatra, Solomon and Aurelian which were associated with ancient history in the Middle East.

Kardinya is an Aboriginal word meaning 'sunrise' and was first used for a road name in this area in 1955.

Neighbouring Samsom is named in honour of one of Fremantle's most noted families. Lionel Samson arrived at Fremantle in 1829 and established a family business. Two of his descendants have been Mayor of Fremantle.

The suburb of Jandakot takes its name from Lake Jandakot. It is an Aboriginal word said to mean 'place of the whistling eagle'. During subsequent years it was known as Jandicoot, Jandakoot and Jandakott but the current spelling was eventually adopted. The lake's name was changed to Forrestdale lake in 1973.

Lands Minister Doug Shave said finding the history behind the names of Perth's 333 suburbs was one of the fascinating things people could do by accessing the Department of Land Administration's (DOLA's) new LandSearch WA Home Page on the Internet's World Wide Web at http://dola.gov.wa.au.

Mr Shave said DOLA, which recently won gold and silver awards at the national Government Technology Productivity Awards, had become the latest State Government department to showcase its varied products and services through the Internet.

"Publishing relevant, up to date and useful information for customers on the Internet is in keeping with DOLA's continuous improvement in customer service," the Minister said.

"The department will build on the current web site and is seriously looking at future opportunities for electronic commerce.

"As the name of the site (LandSearch WA) suggests, the ultimate aim is to provide the public with a facility for online searching of land information in WA."

The information provided, including how to use maps, measure distances and take compass bearings, was designed for adults and school children.

The site also detailed the latest information on changes to the strata titles legislation. User-friendly 'How To' kits have also been published to explain the conversion options now available to strata title owners.

The LandSearch WA web site was designed and developed by Dow Digital of Osborne Park.

Further information: Anabel Gomez 366 0300