Point Belches

Point Belches is a small point on the south side of Swan River, Western Australia, about 250 metres (820 ft) east of The Narrows within the area known as Perth Water.[1][2] The land is part of the South Perth Esplanade, and the water off the point is used as a commercial water skiing area.[1]

Captain James Stirling discovered Point Belches during the Swan River expedition of 1827. He named it in honour of Peter Belches, a member of the exploring party who was Third Lieutenant on Stirling's ship, HMS Success.[2][3]

Plan of Perth townsite from 1838 showing Point Belches situated north of Miller's Pool, opposite Point Lewis.

While Point Belches now refers to a small feature on the eastern side of the peninsula, Stirling almost certainly intended the name to refer to the entire peninsula.[1][2][4] The Old Mill on the peninsula is identified in early sources as being on Point Belches.[2][5][6] Furthermore, historic plans mark Point Belches north of Miller's Pool on the opposite side of Pool Neck to its contemporary location east of Miller's Pool.[4][7][8] The peninsula itself is now commonly referred to as Mill Point, although strictly speaking this name also refers to a smaller feature, on the western side of the peninsula.[1][2]

The peninsula during the 1926 floods. Miller's Pool is just left from the centre of the image.[4]

Notes
  1. "Swan Canning Riverpark Boating Guide" (PDF). Department of Transport. Government of Western Australia. December 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  2. "Swan River System Landscape Description, Precinct 7 (South Perth – Canning Bridge to the Causeway)" (PDF). Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Government of Western Australia. September 1997. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  3. Stirling, James (1827). An Account of the Expedition of H.M.S. "Success," Captain James Stirling, RN., from Sydney, to the Swan River, in 1827  – via Wikisource.
  4. "Swan River, sheet 16, by R. Clint, Point Belches and Millers Pool [Tally No. 005127]". Department for Culture. Government of Western Australia. 1 January 1831. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  5. Parsons, Alan (2006), Construction of Shenton's mills on Point Belches 1833-1837, A. Parsons, retrieved 3 June 2012
  6. "The Old Mill". Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 4 July 1929. p. 32 Edition: The Western Mail CENTENARY NUMBER. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  7. "File 020 - Survey of Mill Point, South Perth [Tally No. 005129]". Department for Culture. Government of Western Australia. 15 March 1833. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  8. Engineering Heritage Western Australia (October 2012). "Recognition of Perth's First Public Water Supply Scheme for an Engineering Heritage Marker" (PDF). Engineers Australia. Retrieved 18 August 2018.

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