Burswood was once an island?

Рет қаралды 22,318

Ай бұрын

Before Burswood was a peninsula, it was an island. And before it was an island... it was a peninsula. I always wondered why Burswood was labelled as an island on old maps. After some research, it turns out it's because of Perth's first-ever infrastructure project: a canal. The Burswood Canal (or "Old Burswood Canal" as it's usually referred to) was constructed in the 1830s to cut off a difficult boat journey around the peninsula.
In this video, I go into the history of Burswood (including the Crown Casino, Optus Stadium, Swan Cement Works, John Hardie Asbestos, golf, a tip etc), how this first for public works came about and what remains today!
Website: www.brendansodyssey.com
Email: brendansodyssey@gmail.com
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Пікірлер: 127

@cragonaut Ай бұрын

Having a beer at every appropriately named pub was a great bit!

@joegoedhart1259 26 күн бұрын

I grew up on the Swan as a kid and teenager and for many years my uncles used to do pub crawls by boat from the Sandringham hotel and Ascot inn (when they were open and had jetty access) all the way to the Left bank and Trade winds. I can name every pub stop on that river. Fk, they were good old days. Fishing and crabbing and just getting drunk. 😊

@l1a146 Ай бұрын

So Im old enough to remember the rubbish tip, the cement works, the coming and going of the old dome, Hamburger hill and the later golf course. But I had no idea about the canal and earlier history. So when I "accidently" park at the casino and walk accross the park to the footy stadium. Those bodies of water are the remnants of the canal? Another wonderful snippet of WA history I never knew. Thankyou so much.

@brendansodyssey Ай бұрын

Do you accidently park within the footprint of the dome?

@Legotruck82 Ай бұрын

Lol this feels like it was a sneaky excuse to go around a few local drinking spots and write it off on tax as "research" haha

@brendansodyssey Ай бұрын

Not that I needed an excuse haha

@sirtra Ай бұрын

Not sneaky, crafty and totally legit* Just like being able to claim part of the cost of the bike used in some of these videos, driving to/from locations, entry fees, camera equipment, computer for editing etc. Even if it's small i recommend doing it early on as in the long run when you're making serious money you'll not only have experience in what you can/cant but it'll be less suspicious *On the assumption if/when the channel is run as a business or personal income stream

@philthy903 Ай бұрын

I remember 1970s and 1980s train trips from Armadale to the city, through such scenic delights as the sparkling blue ponds at the Hardie works, the car bodies and discarded fluoro tubes (all that mercury!) at the dump, the clouds of cement dust at Swan Portland, and the lovely black river sludge from the fly ash (and probably PCBs from the transformers) at the power station. The area really has taken a hammering over the years.

@bmacpher 3 күн бұрын

Yeah, there was a reason Dad never wanted to fish in the river, or swim past Baysie.

@sirtra Ай бұрын

I'm always impressed with the old footage you manage to dig up and often rewind or pause to get a better look it's that good! 😊

@brendansodyssey Ай бұрын

Links to all video sources can always be found the description. I hit the character limit on this description box, however, so I'll be offloading them somewhere else very soon.

@JesterMcPants Ай бұрын

@@brendansodyssey onlyfans confirmed

@warpo007 Ай бұрын

Brendan, out of 10 i'd give your research an A+

@PhillipWhyte Ай бұрын

Oath. Perfect score and fair enough. A+/10 sounds like some new brand of cows milk 😆

@robertchandler6254 Ай бұрын

G'day Brendan, just wanted to say that I reckon your research, production values and narration is fully on-point. All power to you dardy bruz.

@kiplinght Ай бұрын

The toxic garbage, cement and asbestos are still more appealing than the casino

@chairmanlmao4482 Ай бұрын

lmao its so depressing in there, nobody ever looks like they're having a good time. Quite liked one of the restaurants there though

@joegoedhart1259 25 күн бұрын

@@chairmanlmao4482 I agree. When it first opened it was like Las Vegas for a few years. The last time I went, there were few people there and they were dressed in trackie dacks and sneakers. No one was have fun. All the glitz and glamour seems to have dissapeared. The enviroment was toxic so we left.

@phil4977 29 күн бұрын

I grew up in Perth and can remember when Burswood opened. Big line up from the door right into the car park on a Friday and Saturday night. Great place to go as a young 18/19 year old with mates. Dressed up and into the cabaret lounge with live entertainment. Great times.

@partymeeple5633 Ай бұрын

I'm old enough to remember the rubbish dump at Burswood. I first noticed that canal when I was redrawing a tram map for my Sweetheart.

@jefftoll604 Ай бұрын

Excellent research and some interesting photos. Note the realignment of Great Eastern Highway at 9:22 which formerly went straight over the railway line via a level crossing into now Burswood Road. The current railway bridge over Great Eastern Highway was completed around 1969. Also looks to be a railway siding into Swan Portland Cement factory off the main Armadale line. Also 9:29 you can see preparations being made for the proposed Burswood bridge in the middle of the island which was to link to East Perth. This was abandoned in favour of the now Graham Farmer Freeway route.

@frank.bullitt 16 күн бұрын

Great video, I can shed more light on the Rubbish Dump area, There used to be a racetrack on the Peninsula where the Rubbish Dump was. We used to go dirt bike riding there in the 70's Also, when they built the now Crown Casino, the pylons where 40 feet tall, and when they went to drive them into the ground they would go down maybe 5 feet, then suddenly drop 30 feet into the sludge, until 5 feet was showing out of the ground. This is from living in Norwood Rd Rivervale from 1970-1991

@SKYKR Ай бұрын

Awesome video as always Brendan - love to see local history and you do such an amazing job at presenting it 👌

@jamesc21051979 Ай бұрын

Really enjoying your vids mate. Keep up the good work

@mrboogang Ай бұрын

Absolutely love the research, rich history and dedication you have to this channel, Brendan. It's a complete breath of fresh air and I wish you all the success for the future. Thank you for everything you release and do.

@oldncarvingJohn Ай бұрын

Just joined. Good to support a local channel. Great content.

@mdjcsmith Ай бұрын

I remember when it first opened being called "Burswood Island Resort and Casino"

@smackhead 16 күн бұрын

Fantastic history and research. You really have a knack for it. Having a beer at places named after things you've discovered... priceless.

@iandepassey3868 Күн бұрын

Another great nostalgic trip. I remember riding dirt bikes on burswood through the ash dumps from the east Perth power station.

@DouglasDC10.30 Ай бұрын

Video idea! Could you make a video about Perth’s old diesel trains were sold to Auckland and used on their commuter rail network until 2022.

@kparker2430 26 күн бұрын

well done man, critical work you're doing before the vanishing disappears. Burswood was a great swamp for a few years after they wound up the dump. I miss it. I don't miss the cement works, what an eyesore it was.

@KalebPeters99 29 күн бұрын

There's something comical about the river just being labeled "Perth Water" in those early maps 😆 Great video as usual, mate!

@Charlie-qn4my 28 күн бұрын

History lesson on Perth to make benefit next shindig. Great success!

@janiswhite8461 Ай бұрын

I remember a lot about area. I lived in that area in the 1950's and 1960's,The canal opened up to the river opposite the Maylands aerodrome (yes I remember that too) there was a small wharf and a sunken abandoned barge. The Red Castle Brewery the stinky cement works and the adjacent Chinese market gardens way before the rubbish tip where the casino is now There is such a lot of history about that area that you have missed. To be fair very little of that area was documented as it was an industrial area.

@adamroper1197 Ай бұрын

That's so amazing to hear, hopefully people like you can record some of this history.

@vsvnrg3263 Ай бұрын

i dont ever remember swan being in burswood. ive been in perth since 87, and remember the drama caused by swan selling sub-standard products which sent them broke. this happened in the early 90's. was swan still in burswood until 97 like brendan says? ive always known of them being down kwinana way.

@-Scotty Ай бұрын

@@vsvnrg3263 yeah I had a mate that was working there in 96' before they closed, I recall his stories on how staff were stealing everything from hand tools to complete oxy sets before they shut down.

@melaleucam8 27 күн бұрын

I did a lot of different environmental work on and around the stadium area. When we were installing groundwater wells and doing other soil bores in the area we had to avoid the mapped canal area and if any wood fragments were found we had to contact an archaeologist. Never found any. Groundwater near the tennis centre still has a really high pH (~10) due to the buried lime remnants of the cement factory. There is heaps of asbestos buried deep (~3m) in that general area too. Great video, pleasantly surprised by the amount of research and accuracy of this video, great job mate 👍

@alanblyde8502 29 күн бұрын

Hey that was a great story, we used to go to that tip when we’re were kids, we thought it was a big day out, years later we rode our mini bikes “XR75” on Herrison Island, and rode our pushies at a location near the rail bridge call sinders 🇦🇺🤙

@PatrickJWenzel Ай бұрын

Did you know: Maylands used to be called “Pineapple”

@davidbarnsley8486 Ай бұрын

I love all the old pictures Brendon, your research is impressive I remember when the casino was being built them saying about asbestos problems and other rubbish related issues I had no idea James hardy was on that site so close to the city 👍👍

@lewdards1127 25 күн бұрын

loving these history lessons!

@TaralgaBushAdventure Ай бұрын

Necking a beer at every significant pioneer-named pub. Approved, I do recall the area being named Burswood Island, but thought that was some wanky retconning of the area for the casino. Didn't know its earlier history. I only ever knew it as a dump area

@blakekemp2354 Ай бұрын

Great stuff mate, never knew about the canal or where those pubs got their names. Keep up the great work, cheers

@jayson4642 Ай бұрын

Another excellent video, great style too ;) As a former surveyor and Perth native, you're doing great work creating this historic video catalogue. Hope you enjoy making them for many more years. Any desire to look in to the Kent Street weir, Wilson, Riverton bridge are? City of Canning is pretty good at historical signage eg Ferndale Sihk cremation site

@brendansodyssey Ай бұрын

Have we worked together?

@jays2002 Ай бұрын

No, don't think so. I suspect I'm at least 20-25yrs your senior 😉. I was surveying in Karratha in the mid to late 90s. Although, if KZfaq was around then, you could be a younger me.

@warpo007 Ай бұрын

Sorry to see you had to go south of the river for some of these shots.

@ianvader4697 Ай бұрын

I hear Girrawheen up north is nice this crime of year....

@fishsmiddy1048 Ай бұрын

Why would you want to go north? It’s full of POMS and Safers..

@sarah-janegalipo3995 Ай бұрын

Hey! Settle down. 😂

@therese4963 Ай бұрын

Great video Brendan. Very informative 👏

@matttomlinson3899 Ай бұрын

Nice work mate, I'm getting into your vids and sharing them. Good on ya.

@markscott2215 Ай бұрын

Excellent job once again Brendan

@willmg07 29 күн бұрын

I really like your channel, good to see some local Perth content. I did not know until this video as well that Maylands had an airport.

@brendansodyssey 29 күн бұрын

I hope to make a video on it one day, but it's currently a police complex!

@Jay-Dylan Ай бұрын

Loving the channel and the deep dives into Perth history. Would love to see one of Maylands airport at some stage. Keep up the good work mate, appreciate the time and effort you put into these. I hope it takes off for you!

@brendansodyssey Ай бұрын

The airport site is on my radar (ha) but it's currenty a police compound. They probably wouldn't be too happy if I just rocked up and started filming. I might see if I can organise access

@Jay-Dylan Ай бұрын

@@brendansodyssey hahaha I realised that after I replied 🤣🤣 how good would it be if they said yes. Fingers crossed!

@nikki_d_cm Ай бұрын

Love these, will definitely keep watching to learn more about ‘boring’ Perth 😂

@qre268Zrtb Ай бұрын

🙂I read that the current manager of the Casino saying Perth was boring. I bet millions that he would change his mind in nano seconds if the State Govt were to suggest to him about opening another Casino (in opposition to his), so that we could be less boring.

@DumbSkippy 28 күн бұрын

Thank you Brendan! Great research and production! Could you do a video about the lakes just north of the city, inc. the one under the city rail station?

@walkaboutwithrob 28 күн бұрын

Very nice work! Though I have never been to Perth this was still very interesting. It looks like we create the same type of content. Hi from Brisbane.

@yungjacko7514 Ай бұрын

These videos are so interesting and well researched! Well done

@camg2793 Ай бұрын

Excellent work

@jsmith8646 Ай бұрын

Cool old footage man!.Where do you even start to dig for that?.Gold.

@WesternAustraliaNowAndThen Ай бұрын

You discover some really cool stuff to investigate. Yet another thing I was completely unaware of. It is amazing just how much of Perth is built on top of swamps and lakes but the really early canal seems to be the reverse of that 'progress'.

@isabeller6506 Ай бұрын

I never knew that part of the canal was still there. When my grandmother's family immigrated to Perth from Scotland in the 1930s, almost all the men in the family worked in the cement works at Burswood when they first arrived.

@rileyandrew4377 Ай бұрын

Just stumbled across this channel - absolutely awesome effort mate, looking forward to binging and sending to all my other Perth mates. Great local content!

@karlkomley9004 Ай бұрын

So good Brendan! I've been wondering about this for years? Excellent presentation.

@darrynmurphy170 Ай бұрын

Great work mate

@stewartwebb6583 Ай бұрын

Great videos Bren. My son and I really enjoy them.

@rolly4x4 Ай бұрын

My Pop worked at Swan Portland Cement until he retired in the 80’s.

@bartsted8369 Ай бұрын

make a video about the brickwork in Ascot and Maylands mate

@chairmanlmao4482 Ай бұрын

Or the East Perth power station and all the sketchy dealings with the redevelopment of the site

@Whomobile Ай бұрын

damn rode past a lot of this on my Bike this morning

@woofowl2408 Ай бұрын

Great stuff! I hope they have cleared up that Hardie's site properly.

@brendansodyssey Ай бұрын

Hopefully. There's a bunch of expensive apartments and townhouses on the site now!

@woofowl2408 Ай бұрын

@@brendansodyssey Yep, don't want to happen here what happened in Sydney. Just a suggestion, but maybe a video on the Swan River when it used to flood and regularly take out bridges? From memory, I think there was a 6 meter flood early on in the colony. Anyway, keep up the great work!

@Nooneaskedforthis Ай бұрын

great vid!

@ranwest2213 Ай бұрын

I grew up around the spearwood coogee area, seems to be a lot of heritage sites with not much information. Plus just 1900s bungalows mixed in with 1970s builds throughout the suburbs. Could be a good video idea..

@brendansodyssey Ай бұрын

Plus the old trainline

@joegoedhart1259 26 күн бұрын

I think he may be out with his dates for the tip. I also remember and we used to ride our trail bikes there as teenagers. We called it The Bunner or The Cinders back then. I remember the tip as a kid...maybe closed 1974 not 1984? I remember when Shelly bridge was a tip too. When it shut down, we were only left with the Gossy tip.

@brendansodyssey 25 күн бұрын

Most dates are derived for government based historical sources (Inherit) along with Landgate imagery, which is dated.

@joegoedhart1259 25 күн бұрын

@@brendansodyssey That would be right...Good ole government 😆

@BDub2024 Ай бұрын

In the 80s everyone referred to Burswood as Burswood Island. I was a bit confused and asked a parent who said it wasn't actually an island but it was just called that. And was more of a peninsula. I suppose I envisaged an island in the middle of the river that I wasn't aware of. It was the time leading into the Burswood casino being built (now Crown).

@metabaron90 Ай бұрын

Do we have a theory as to what caused the river to turn that milky brown colour in the landgate aerial photos from 1981?

@johnphilips406 Ай бұрын

Fantastic history video, great work, i was born in Perth and love learning about its history, cheers

@crazymusicchick Ай бұрын

Lol naming pubs after dudes from history has its perks for history buffs 😂

@Oppaletix Ай бұрын

Damn i lived on whatley. What a road. My god

@alanvaleandthelazyfarmer1930 29 күн бұрын

I've just found your site and put it on my list for binge watching. I'm near Armadale and perhaps we could meet sometime. I'll email.

@JC-xs3fx Ай бұрын

Another great video mate. Anychance of a video about the old parkerville amphitheatre? It's a cool spot to explore... the tavern is close by also 😅

@brendansodyssey Ай бұрын

I grew up in Parky... spent a lot of time at that pub haha. Unfortunately, the amphitheatre has been redeveloped into a mediated retreat, but I did get some photos there beforehand: www.brendansodyssey.com/urban-exploration/blog-post-title-one-w6gnj

@JC-xs3fx Ай бұрын

@brendansodyssey awesome write up thanks mate. The last time I went up there they had started to rebuild the stage, bit disappointed that it has now been turned into a retreat, would have been cool to see it rebuilt to its former glory.

@onelittledropintheocean 18 күн бұрын

Parkerville hey, that may explain your interest in old railway stuff. It amazes me how fast massive infrastructure comes, goes & is mostly forgotten, like the old steam trains chugging through those Eastern hills towns. It seems like a lot of wasted time, money & resources happen with this rapid so-called progressive culture we live in 🤔

@1978Prime Ай бұрын

Its funny how they renamed Burswood station to Rivervale station because it was becoming a bad name, but eventually, Rivervale had a bad rep because of the crime, and then renamed it back to Burswood which was more prestigious by then.

@Gough-jf9zf Ай бұрын

Pretty sure when it first opened the casino was called Burswood Island Casino.

@user-fe9vh3fi9c Ай бұрын

"Freemantle" 'Fre-mantle'

@TinshipTravels Ай бұрын

This is great, and highlights a few issues with the V8 Supercars trying to build a street circuit in the area. Which hopefully won't ever happen. (I am a massive Supercars fan though) Just not here ;)

@PatrickMorrison Ай бұрын

Awesome! Where is the video from for 00:40? - that's a great shot of a river barge in operation

@brendansodyssey Ай бұрын

encore.slwa.wa.gov.au/iii/encore/record/C__Rb6555800__Sswan%20reclamation__Ff:facetmediatype:g:g:Video%20Lw==%20Film::__Orightresult__U__X1?lang=eng&suite=def&ivts=iQ98%2FljhM09yn6L%2FLUIqrA%3D%3D&casts=hKk2y0%2BzhYvSPW6RI9eFnw%3D%3D All sources will be added in the description shortly

@PatrickMorrison Ай бұрын

@@brendansodyssey Thank you! Excellent work! We cover this topic in the third year archaeology course at UWA - I'll be adding a link to this in the weekly resources :)

@Trainspottedatperth Ай бұрын

Damm I never knew that!

@Wailn_ Ай бұрын

Really interesting video! I wonder if you could submit an FOI request to the relevant Department to try and get hold of the archeological report?

@j-b-l8147 10 күн бұрын

So they removed the rubbish tip and built a casino? So nothing changed?

@popefang Ай бұрын

Hey Brendan, is there a way to DM you regarding information sources. I know people in WaterCorp. Also I had my first driving lesson in 1976 in a brown HX Kingswood as we drove from Great Eastern Highway alongside the river on sand tracks through the dump to get to the racecourse

@brendansodyssey Ай бұрын

I don't think KZfaq currently has DM's, but you can email me at brendansodyssey@gmail.com 👍

@RegSorrell Ай бұрын

Just found your channel and I love it. I’m local and run a video company, if you ever need a hand, let me know. (For the love not the dollar) Would love to help you make a video about the East Perth Power Stn site. It was supposed to be a Media Hub / Film Studio at one time, if I remember correctly. I’ve got a few drone shots if you need.