The Friends of Wireless Hill Park is a community group dedicated to conserving and protecting the bushland of Wireless Hill Park.  The group was established in 1987.  The Friends group aims to revegetate and rehabilitate the bushland and maintain its biodiversity values.
The Friends work with other groups including the City of Melville and the Wildflower Society of Western Australia to enhance the Park for visitors, for example through the development of a signposted wildflower walk and through guided walks for the community, held in spring.

New members are always welcome to attend the meetings and/or working days.

The group meets in the meeting room at 7 pm on the second Monday of each month.

The group meets at the main car park for weeding and planting activities on the second and fourth Sundays of each month at 8.30 am.

Upcoming events may also be seen on the SERCUL Events Page.

LATEST NEWSLETTER

CONTACT FRIENDS OF WIRELESS HILL

For further information contact:
Margaret Matthews (Chair)
Phone: (08) 9315 9075
Email: s3mmatthews@hotmail.com

ABOUT WIRELESS HILL PARK
Wireless Hill was once known as “Yagan’s Lookout”, providing perfect views of the surrounding area. Yagan was born in 1810 and was the son of MIdgegooroo, the leader of the Beeliar tribe who were custodians of the Melville, Fremantle and Cockburn districts. Yagan was a well known figure in the early days of the Swan River colony, respected by the settlers for his strong personality and independence.  He also advocated peace, believing blacks and whites could live in harmony.
In 1912 the facilities at Wireless Hill enabled wireless communication to be carried out for the very first time between the east and west coasts of Australia, between the mainland of Australia and shipping up to 1,600km into the Indian and Southern Oceans, and between Australia and the rest of the world.

The Park played a significant role in the security and defence of the Australian coastline from 1912 through to 1968.  During World War I, the Applecross Wireless Station received an emergency signal from the Cocos Islands giving the position of the German light cruiser, SMS Emden. The station relayed the information to the HMAS Sydney, which was escorting a troop convoy close to the Cocos Islands. The Sydney gave chase and captured the Emden in one of Australia’s most famous sea battles of the First World War.
Wireless Hill station was officially decommissioned in 1967.  It was vested in the City of Melville in August 1969 for the purposes of developing it as an urban bushland reserve, and was named Wireless Hill Park in February 1971. The Wireless Hill Telecommunications Museum was officially opened in 1979.  Together with the bushland reserve it is listed on the Register of the National Estate, West Australian Heritage list and City of Melville Municipal Inventory.

The Park has vehicle parking facilities, picnic areas and extensive walking trails throughout the bushland making it a popular destination for families and community groups for bushwalking, bird watching and photography.

Wireless Hill Park is a regionally significant area of bushland listed as Bush Forever Site, No 336.  The bushland includes Banksia and Eucalypt woodlands as well as shrublands and provides habitat for many species of birds and reptiles. In Spring, the Park provides extensive displays of native wildflowers, including outstanding examples of the Western Australian floral emblem, the Red and Green Kangaroo Paw, Anigozanthos manglesi and many species of orchid. 

In 2006, the Western Australian State Government announced plans to change the classification of Wireless Hill Park from Public Open Space and Recreation, to Conservation Parklands, Recreation, Communications and Heritage Precincts to more accurately reflect the uses that occur at the Park. Public comment has been sought about this proposal but to date, the change has not been gazetted.

In 2012 the Park will celebrate its 100th anniversary and community plans are well underway to mark this historic occasion.