Feature Urban Park – Perry Lakes Reserve

Perry Lakes Reserve, which is located 7km west of Perth’s CBD in the suburb of Floreat, consists of a 57-hectare regional recreation reserve around the Perry Lakes. Used as the venue for Perth’s Annual Garden Show, the reserve encompasses a 13-hectare conservation wetland, which is a drought refuge for a range of fauna.

Perry Lakes Reserve (Photo: Pocket Oz)

The lakes themselves are considered to be significant to the Aboriginal people due to historical use as hunting grounds for waterbirds, tortoises, snakes and fish.

The reserve lies on the southern boundary of the Gnangara Mound, a ground water mound that plays a significant role in the supply of Perth’s water. When the water table is higher than the water level in the lakes, groundwater will discharge into the lakes. When the water level in the lakes is higher than the water table, water will be discharged from the lakes to the groundwater system.

Perry Lakes has in excess of twenty species of waterbirds, including approximately six breeding species. An important characteristic of the lakes is the broad, marshy areas that exist, as this type of habitat is scarce in the wetlands of Perth. The marshy areas are particularly favoured by the Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) whose numbers are found in abundance at the lakes.

(Article sources: Pocket Oz)