wellard
 

Hi, can anyone give me any information on wellard, just outside Rockingham. We are think of moving to there next year when our visa comes through. It now has a new railway line connecting to perth, so it will be easier now to get to work in perth if i get a job in one of the hospitals as a childrens nurse. The homes look lovely and there is a national park, so we know it won't be over developed.:p

Re: wellard
 

I thought his thread was about "Wellard" the dog that Bianca's brother had in eastenders.
donna

Re: wellard
 

Same here. And I never even watched Eastenders. :lol:

Re: wellard
 

Hmmmmm? :rofl:

Re: wellard
 

Yeah, wasn't it sad when he died? and they were playing East 17! Sorry can't help with your question, how great though to live somewhere called Wellard!

Re: wellard
 

Wellard has 2 yery different areas that I am aware of, one much older area with large plots of land lots of mature trees/greenery etc. Then the other part is the new build area around the train station. Plots are very small in comparison but the new homes are very nice if that is what you are looking for-most are double storey because of plot size.
my freind works as a train guard at that railway station

Re: wellard
 

I think it had the biggest price drop of any suburb over the last 12 months - not sure if this is good or bad news.

It is near Kwinana which is very rough.

Re: wellard
 

I might point out that I chose not to comment any further other than what the houses are like - I have only ever driven through it a couple of times- yes, perhaps not the most desirable of locations in the surrounds

Re: wellard
 

Hence you have to be "well 'ard" to live in Wellard.

Re: wellard
 

That rules you out then;)

Re: wellard
 

ha ha ha! :rofl:

Re: wellard
 

I guess you're still looking for a town called Welldense? :lol:

Re: wellard
 

..and you can shut yer yap too.....:D

Re: wellard
 

[/QUOTE]

"Ricccccccccccccccccccccky "

Re: wellard
 

Ahhh Kwinana... I have lived here for eight years now, so I guess I can give you a true perspective on what the Town of Kwinana and the suburbs contained with in it are really like.

Kwinana used to be a low-income or State housing area, it was a very very troubled place, infact, 15 years ago I wouldn't have even stopped my car here if I was driving through at night it was that bad!

But that was in the past, around 10 years ago the state government sold off all its state housing interests in the area and state housing is now in more 'desirable' such as Mandurah, Shoalwater etc. The idea being that it is better to mix communities with low, middle and high income earners than to group, say, low income on their own.

Kwinana Township has and still is, having many millions of dollars spent on revamping and restructuring. They have just completed a brand new high school, Gilmore College, a new TAFE, the main shopping centre is about to be expanded. The whole townscape is under going change and the demographics are changing with it. In 2010 it is expected that Kwinana will go from town status to city status

In Wellard you have a choice of rural, special rural, large 1/4 - 1 acre blocks or small township blocks. The town blocks are in Wellard Village, a new area built around the train station. This development has won some awards for environmental design and is quite a nice little village.

Unfortunately I have to go to work but if you would like more info, let me know.:)

Re: wellard
 

Hello

Don't know if you've got kids but I hear that there's a fairly new school there Peter Carnley Anglican which has a very good rep (and is linked to Frederick Irwin Anglican in Mandurah which is older and has a very good rep).

Sorry don't know anything else apart from that my husband goes past it on the train every day and has a chuckle about Wellard the dog!!! At least that'd make you smile every day (as well as the blue skies and sunshine :thumbsup: )

Re: wellard
 

HI thanks for your help. We have looked around several areas because we are not city people, we wanted something a bit rural but not too rural. We had looked at Rockingham at first, and were convinced it was the one, but we had house details sent to us by the estate agent for wellard, and have fell for the place. I have two children, but the oldest will be 17, so I only need schooling for the 10 year old. Hubby is an engineer, but fancies a new career, prison officer. We are just on countdown now.:)

Re: wellard
 

Nope im looking for a town called Malice;)

Re: wellard
 

If you want it a bit rural and a bit of land around you, the old part of Wellard called "Homestaed Ridge" (http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1234908925) and "Sherwood Forest" in Baldivis (eg http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1234908465) would be the right area for you.

My preference would be Sherwood Forest because of the amenities such as shopping, freeway excess, beach and soforth.

The houses in Homestead Ridge are older, some really nice and often people move there from Perth because of it's rural character. The new Wellard has small blocks.

Re: wellard
 

You will need to send your child to Peter Carnley ACS (fees about $3500). I wouldn't even think about sending to them to the local school.

Re: wellard
 

Apart from Rastis who lives in Kwinana, there is not one person on this thread who actually lives in Wellard (except for myself) yet most feel the need to post derogatory comments about the place. :frown:

pailuk - I shall send you a pm.

Re: wellard
 

I've been there on 5 occasions - on the train and in the car.

I thought the houses around the station looked nice - and the plans for the community village and shops looked good. I drove around the part behind the station and thought that some of the blocks looked to be a good size - one on the edge of the rural area I remember being in the region of 2000 sq m..

I also know the two schools very well - and I wouldn't send my kids to the old Kwinana SHS - even though it has a new name.

OK, so I don't live there but I think I might be qualified to give an opinion.

Re: wellard
 

I don't send my kid to Kwinana High either but living in Wellard hasn't stopped me from sending him to another state school in the area where he has done very well indeed. My nephew went to Kwinana High and was the 3rd top student in WA in his year and had tea with the Premier where he was given a grant for Uni. I am happy to admit that Kwinana is not the most salubrious of places (although it is most certainly not the worst area around Perth) but I live in Wellard and not Kwinana and I do most of my shopping in Baldivis which is just as close as Kwinana. I am also more than happy to go to Kwinana hub for bits and pieces and there is every amenity there. I hear more reports of crime, on the news, happening in Port Kennedy and Joondalup.

Wellard village is beautiful, is completely segregated from Kwinana and it looks like building works are about to commence on the shopping centre which is central to the village. There are still loads of established trees in the village as well as the rural aspect of Homestead Ridge. The village was allowed to retain its natural undulations and parks/bushland and not be totally flattened and sterilised like other new suburbs around Perth.

Whilst I totally agree that each individual is entitled to an opinion on an open forum I'm really not too sure that being 'qualified' comes from just 5 visits.

Re: wellard
 

Kwinana, city status. Oh please!!

Even Perth can barely be classed as city!!

To the OP, please do your research carefully, Kwinana has a very bad reputation even with the Australians. I have family that lived in Kwinana for many years (from the 60's to the 90's) and have now all moved because of how bad it is. All the money in the world will not make it a nice place.

I have also lived in the surrounding area so feel qualified to give an opinion on Kwinana.

If you are looking for something semi rural, then Sherwood, Baldivis is nice or maybe look at the hills to the East. Depends how far you want to be from the beach. Both are much better options than Wellard. The house in Wellard are cheap for a reason!!

Re: wellard
 

Please don't look to the hills in the East

They are horrible to live in... you wouldn't want to live there at all



(plus we have enough poms up here now... we don't want any more)

Re: wellard
 

Ha ha, you know that's going to get all the undecided looking at the hills now!!:rofl:

Re: wellard
 

To be fair your earlier comment about feeling the need to post derogatory comments about the place was pretty off the mark also.

Your nephew did remarkably well - I assume at Gilmore College? Most other kids do not - less than 12 students followed TEE courses at that school last year - one of the lowest participation rates in the state. Anecdotally, bullying is a problem - and I know of kids who have sought shelter at other schools having tried Gilmore.

Most people who live in WA will have an opinion about Kwinana and the surrounds. There are also some telling stats - the school achievement data being one and the significant drop in house values being another. Whilst your opinion may be valuable, it could also be argued that you are biased because you have invested there. I don't think there are many posters who slate the area in which they have bought.
Opinions of people who live in WA, who read the newspapers, who watch the news are also valuable - even if they have never lived there. They will certainly help the OP make a more informed decision.

Re: wellard
 

Investing in a half acre block in Wellard was a great thing to do. Would I invest in Kwinana? No. The op asked about Wellard. Where people ask about Port Kennedy I don't see anyone saying don't buy there cos it's next to Warnbro, yet Warnbro has its own bad reputation.

Re: wellard
 

Personally to the original poster I would say wait til you get here - and have a look for yourself and speak to people who actually live in the area. After all opinions are like arseholes - everyone has one. Although I`ve never lived in Wellard I have a friend who lived in the older part and I can honestly say I was very jealous as it had quite a rural feel to it, though saying that having lived in both Warnbro & Port Kennedy I`ve been very happy there and never encountered any problems, finding them both nice areas to live ( I like the older houses - just personal choice)but that is perhaps slightly off the original topic.

Re: wellard
 

It's terrible in the hills, loads of flies, mossies, snakes, scorpions etc. Can't wait to move out of this hell hole and try one of the northern suburbs.









Sam - do you think that'll keep them away?

Re: wellard
 

I know it is a bit ridiculous I thought the same way when Rockingham was given city status.

I'm not going to argue with anyone on here about their opinions of Kwinana (my opinion is obviously going to differ). It has as I stated, had a very rough past, there is no getting away from that, and unfortunately the stigma from its past will take decades to remove. Like every where, Kwinana has good areas and not so good areas, Wellard is a good area. I live in what would be classed as the best part of a bad area! I can put my hand on my heart and say I have never in my time here had any problems. My neighbours are fantastic, all are long time residents and there is a real sense of community. I think the community aspect of it stems from the fact that this was such a bad place, that people (in my street) tend to look after each other a little more.

And your right, if I lived here in the 60's to 90's I would have wanted to get out as well. My neighbours tell me that during the 80's they all had their houses broken into at least 5 times, but again that was in the past.

The biggest problem I find in this area (kwinana) is graffiti, its at epidemic proportions. I'm the president of a local sport club here and our club rooms get hit every weekend. Once I painted all the doors on the club house to cover up the tagging and it was back six hours later!

The reason I moved here was because it was the closest thing I could find to a country town, close to the beach, the city, Fremantle and Rockingham where the majority of my family lived (most live in Kwinana now). It has some great parks, heaps of tree's, fantastic bird life and doesn't have that suburbia feel.

Not having kids, I can't comment on the schools. The new Gillmore College looks great, but what its like, I have no idea...

Some trivia... Medina was designed by a woman in the 1950s, Margaret Feilman, She designed it so that if you look down on the town from the highest point (Chalk Hill) you can't see roof tops only trees and its now heritage listed.

Here is a link to the Kwinana Town Council web site http://www.kwinana.wa.gov.au/

Re: wellard
 

Thanks for everyone's comments. I know you can't judge a place unless you actually see it for yourself and ask the people who are already living there. Everyone's tastes and opinions are different, if they weren't it would be a very boring world. At the moment i living in Northumberland and i know some people wouldn't dream living there because its too quiet and need the excitement of Newcastle. I don't ready care how far i am from the beach, i am about a ten minute drive away from it at the moment, so its there when and if i need it. Nice home, area, good schools and new friends for ourselves and my children are more important.:D

Re: wellard
 

Fair point.

Re: wellard
 

Affordable suburb within easy reach of the city (Good transport links) ... well priced land.

Worth a look ...

Re: wellard
 

Hope so ;)

Re: wellard
 

what street or area in Port Kennedy do you live? I'm in St Clair.

Re: wellard
 

This is the really nice thing about Kwinana, it's amongst the trees, huge open spaces and wide roads. If it hadn't a bad reputation, it would be a great place to live. It's the opposite of the new suburbs popping up everywhere.

Re: wellard
 

I have a friend that lives in Wellard, seemed like a nice area from what I saw... like everywhere else you are probably best to rent for a few months so you can see if it's for you or not.