Bayswater is a northeastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is on the northern side of the Swan River, approximately 6 kilometres from the Perth CBD. Bayswater lies within the local government area of the City of Bayswater, which also incorporates the suburbs of Bedford, Emble-ton, Morley, and parts of Maylands, Mount Lawley, Noranda and Dianella.
Known as the “Garden City”, City of Bayswater covers a beautifully maintained area of 33km2 located just 8km north-east of Perth. It is home to a number of picturesque, exciting and educational attractions and 10km of Swan River foreshore.
The area was initially sparsely developed along the route of the Great Eastern Highway. Suburban devel-opment began in earnest following the opeing of the Perth to Midland railway line 1891. Bayswater is home to the Bayswater City Football Club at Frank Drago Reserve.
Aboriginal people have lived in the Bayswater area for thousands of years. The remains of a campsite have been found at nearby Upper Swan and are believed to be between 40,000 and 53,000 years old. When Euro-peans first arrived in the area, the entire South West region of Western Australia was occupied by the Nyungar people. These people were nomadic hunter-gatherers and they altered and regulated the environ-ment through systematic burnings.
The first European exploration of the Swan River took place in 1697 by Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh. This was followed by the French during the next century and the English in 1827. The English, encouraged by James Stirling's naive report on the area's fertility, decided to establish the Swan River Colony. The land along the Swan River was divided into a number of narrow strips of land, which would later shape the pattern of suburban development.