Burns Beach, Western Australia

Burns Beach is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located 34 kilometres (21 mi) north of Perth's central business district at the northern fringe of the City of Joondalup. Burns Beach has maintained much of its original character as a small coastal village even with its loss of isolation, and the beach is popular among hang gliding enthusiasts.^[2]

Burns Beach Perth, Western Australia
The Burns Beach Cafe and Restaurant
Coordinates	31.719°S 115.724°E / -31.719; 115.724
Population	4,071 (SAL 2021)[1]
Established	1920s
Postcode(s)	6028
Area	3.3 km2 (1.3 sq mi)
Location	32 km (20 mi) NW of Perth central business district
LGA(s)	City of Joondalup
State electorate(s)	Burns Beach
Federal division(s)	Moore
Suburbs around Burns Beach: Tamala Park Tamala Park Indian Ocean Burns Beach Kinross Iluka Currambine

History

The land at Burns Beach was originally owned by the Midland Railway Company. In 1908, following a request from 50 local residents, the Wanneroo Road Board (which eventually became City of Wanneroo) successfully applied for a 20-hectare (49-acre) reserve for camping and a health resort. By the 1920s, the area was well used by locals, who knew the area as "Burns Beach" after a farmer who ran sheep in the area.^[3]

For many years it was accessible only by track or boat and functioned as a small coastal village, and tourism and fishing were the main occupations. After World War II, it was connected by road to Wanneroo Road.

The sprawl of housing development extending northwards from Perth reached Burns Beach in the early- to mid-1990s with the growth of Joondalup as a regional centre and the construction of the suburbs of Currambine and Kinross.

View of Indian Ocean - south towards Ocean Reef and Hillarys at Burns Beach. The coastal nature walk can be seen to the top left.

Present day

Burns Beach has maintained much of its original character even with its loss of isolation, and the original caravan park is still in operation. Burns Beach marks one end of a coastal nature walk extending to Fremantle. The suburb also contains a cafe and restaurant with outdoor seating, as well as a picnic area with barbecues and toilets. Burn's Beach's ocean facing parking bays are a popular destination for residents seeking a pleasant spot to watch the sun set in the summer, or the waves pound through in winter.

Geography

Burns Beach is bounded by the ocean to the west, Marmion Avenue to the east and Burns Beach Road to the south.^[4] Tamala Park, a bushland buffer to the north, separates Burns Beach and Kinross from the Mindarie-Clarkson urban region.

At the 2001 census, Burns Beach had a population of 225 people living in 90 dwellings, with a median age of 39 years (among the oldest in the northern suburbs). A caravan park at the end of Ocean Parade (technically in Iluka) houses another 90 residents.^[5] Residential styles in Burns Beach include a mix of holiday dwellings from before and after World War II.

Education

A new Burns Beach primary School opened in February 2022. Other primary schools are at Beaumaris (Ocean Reef), Currambine and Kinross. Burns Beach falls within the Ocean Reef Senior High School and Clarkson Community High School catchment areas.

Transport

Burns Beach is served by the 470 and 471 Transperth bus routes from Joondalup,^[6] which are operated by Swan Transit.

Bus

•    470 Burns Beach to Joondalup Station – serves Ocean Parade and Burns Beach Road^[7]
•    471 Burns Beach to Joondalup Station – serves Beachside Drive, Seabreeze Avenue, Grand Ocean Entrance and Marmion Avenue^[8]

Politics

Burns Beach is a reasonably affluent suburb with a large elderly population. While this would normally point to a clear Liberal Party preference, fishermen and permanent residents of the caravan park who favour Labor comprise a fair proportion of those voting at Burns, making it a marginal booth with no clear preference at either federal or state elections. Nearby Kinross, an urban residential estate suburb similar to the proposed Burns Beach Estate, favours the Liberal Party although not as strongly as Currambine and Ocean Reef to the south.

2004 federal election Source: AEC   Liberal 55.7%   Labor 34.2%   Greens 5.21%   One Nation 3.26%   CDP 1.30%	2001 federal election Source: AEC   Liberal 52.3%   Labor 36.2%   Greens 4.56%   One Nation 3.23%   Democrats 2.15%	1998 federal election   Labor 32.8%   Liberal 30.3%   Independent 27.7%   Greens 4.18%   One Nation 3.54%
2005 state election Source: WAEC   Labor 41.0%   Liberal 39.2%   Greens 8.68%   Family First 3.59%   CDP 2.99%	2001 state election Source: WAEC   Labor 43.7%   Liberal 34.4%   One Nation 8.61%   Greens 6.62%   Independent 3.97%	1996 state election Source: WAEC   Liberal 47.5%   Labor 39.7%   Greens 7.09%   Democrats 5.67%

See also

• Electoral district of Burns Beach

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Burns Beach (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
2. Hang Gliding Association of WA (12 April 2006). "Perth Region Sites Guide". Archived from the original on 23 August 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-27.
3. "History of metropolitan suburb names – B". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
4. Department of Land Information. StreetSmart Perth Street Directory (54th ed.). West Australian Newspapers Ltd. pp. Map 219. ISBN 978-0-909439-67-5.
5. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Community Profile Series: Burns Beach (State Suburb)". 2006 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
6. Northern 67 timetable Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Transperth, effective 29 April 2007. Accessed 3 August 2007.
7. "Route 470". Bus Timetable 67 (PDF). Transperth. 7 January 2025 [effective from 2 February 2025].
8. "Route 471". Bus Timetable 67 (PDF). Transperth. 7 January 2025 [effective from 2 February 2025].