Duncraig is a large northern suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, and is located north of Perth's central business district (CBD) between Marmion Avenue and Mitchell Freeway. Its Local Government Area is the City of Joondalup.

History

Not much is known about Duncraig before the residential settlement boom - the majority of land in the area remained largely undeveloped until the 1960s. In 1969, the name Duncraig was approved, and was first used as a promotional name. It is of Scottish origin.

In 1967, planning stages commenced for a Marmion Town Centre with 17,000 m² of retail space by 1986 in the southwestern corner of the suburb to be developed by the Lands Department in conjunction with the Rural and Industries Bank. A mining lease for sand and limestone was held by Thiess Brothers over part of the land in question (Reserve 8018), so the Lands Department suggested a road (now Burragah Way) be built to separate the proposed centre from the lease. A detailed submission for the centre was made in 1977 by T.S. Martin and Associates, but Warwick, Karrinyup and small local centres had filled the retail need in the area and population had developed somewhat differently to original expectations, so the plan was shelved. Plans to develop a large retail centre were resurrected in the late 1980s to local protest, after which the area was the last to be developed for residential use.

The bulk of the suburb was built in the mid-1970s, with infrastructure being built almost at the same time - Davallia Primary School (February 1974), Duncraig Library (July 1974) and Duncraig Primary School (February 1975). In 1979, the Carine Glades tavern on Beach Road (now "The Carine"), Glengarry Private Hospital and Duncraig Senior High School all opened.

In 1984, the Uniting Church in Australia opened St Stephen's School, a secondary, co-educational day school, in the northeastern corner of the suburb, which expanded to include a primary school in 1993. In 1986, the suburb was finally linked directly to the CBD via the Mitchell Freeway.

Geography

Duncraig is bounded by Beach Road to the south, Mitchell Freeway to the east, Hepburn Avenue to the north and Marmion Avenue to the west, and Warwick Road runs through the centre of the suburb. Almost all of Duncraig is residential, although many small parks and bushland areas can be found throughout.

At the ABS 2006 census, Duncraig had a mostly above-average-income white population of 15,325 people living in 5,384 dwellings. The ABS identified many managers and professionals living within the suburb.

Facilities

Duncraig is a residential suburb, although has numerous small parks and bushland areas, and the Percy Doyle Reserve which contains a library and recreation centre. It also contains a multipurpose sports complex including several football fields and soccer pitches, lawn bowl greens and over 20 tennis courts. Several neighbourhood shopping centres are dotted throughout the suburb, the largest of which are Glengarry and Carine Glades, each of which also has a tavern offering pub meals.

Nearby the Centro Warwick to the southeast, Karrinyup Shopping Centre to the south and Westfield Whitford City to the northwest provide for a wide range of retail shopping. Glengarry Private Hospital, together with a number of specialist medical centres/services are located on Arnisdale Road behind the Glengarry shopping area.

Just beyond Duncraig's southern boundary is Carine Regional Open Space, a wetland reserve centred on two large swamps which is home to many rare waterbirds, frogs, turtles and other wildlife. The space is served by walking and bicycle tracks and also offers AFL and soccer fields, and tennis courts.

Education

Duncraig contains Duncraig Senior High School (Years 8-12) and a private school operated by the Uniting Church, St Stephen's School (Years P-12). As well, it contains four state primary schools:

• Davallia (1974)
• Duncraig (1975)
• Glengarry (1980)
• Poynter (1980)

Transport

Duncraig is served by the Warwick train/bus interchange at its southeastern corner, and Greenwood train station at its northeastern corner, linking the area to the Perth CBD. The suburb is also served by Transperth buses along Beach Road, Glengarry and Poynter Drives, Davallia, Lilburne and Readshaw Roads, and Marmion Avenue (423, 441, 442, 443, 444, 452). All bus services are operated by Path Transit.

Politics

Duncraig is a reasonably affluent suburb with many "mortgage belt" families. It consistently supports the Liberal Party at both federal and state elections, with the strongest support located in the southeastern part of Duncraig, served by the Davallia Primary polling booth.

2004 Federal Election   Liberal 61%   Labor 27%   Greens 7.0%   CDP 2.2%   One Nation 1.5%	2001 Federal Election   Liberal 56%   Labor 28%   Greens 5.3%   Democrats 5.1%   One Nation 3.2%
2005 State Election   Liberal 49%   Labor 35%   Greens 8.6%   CDP 4.0%   Independent 2.1%	2001 State Election   Liberal 46%   Labor 25%   Independent 10.5%   Greens 6.2%   One Nation 5.6%

References