The suburb known as Carlisle today was originally settled as part of a land allocation to early Western Australian settlers after 1829. Swan Location 35 was granted to Henry Camfield and Canning Location 2 was granted to James Macdermott, and these land allocations made up the suburb as well as many of the surrounding suburbs.[2]
Despite several changes of land ownership in the area little development was made until after the 1890s. The neighbouring suburb of Victoria Park experienced rapid growth around this time that was mostly focused around Albany Road (later to become Albany Highway). This growth eventually spread east as part of the Bickford development. Bickford was a name chosen by real estate company Peet and Co (now Peet Limited) for the sale of residential land in the area. On 23 May 1919, a meeting of ratepayers in the area elected to change the name of the suburb to Carlisle.[2]
Bickford State School (renamed Carlisle Primary School in 1922) was opened in 1919, and this was followed by a Methodist church in 1927 and then a Catholic church in 1937. Other infrastructure soon followed.[2]
Geography
Carlisle is bordered by Orrong Road to the north, Briggs/Planet/Kew streets to the east, Rutland Avenue and the Armadale railway line to the south, and Roberts Road to the west.
Streets in Carlisle are constructed in the traditional grid formation representative of the early planning style of Perth. The typical width of a road reservation in Carlisle is 20 metres (66 ft).[3] The reservation consists of a footpath on at least one side (some streets have paths on both sides), 4-metre-wide (13 ft) landscaped verges and a 7-metre-wide (23 ft) carriageway that can support on-street parking and the passing of vehicles.
Most of the streets in Carlisle are lined with established trees. Common tree species for the suburb include:[3]
There are five parks: Fletcher Park, Carlisle Reserve, Parnham Park, Koolbardi Park and Millers Crossing. The Carlisle Hotel and TAB are opposite Carlisle train station. Other facilities include Holy Name Primary School, Lathlain Nursing Home, Windsor Park Nursing Home, Harold Hawthorne Seniors Centre, Town of Victoria Park Council Depot, and the City of Belmont Operations Centre.