At its June Ordinary Council Meeting, Council approved three new road names; Three Penny Avenue, Kite Street, and Makuru Loop, from a submission made by DevelopmentWA for the former Princess Margaret Hospital site of the Subiaco East development area.
As part of the approval, DevelopmentWA have been requested to display the reasons for the new street names at appropriate locations within the precinct.
The first two names, Three Penny Avenue and Kite Street, relate to the history of the site as the former home of Perth’s first children’s hospital.
Three Penny Avenue is inspired by a story from May 1897, when a little girl entered the establishment of Messrs. Chas. Moore & Co, and put three pennies into an animated moneybox. When she discovered the coins were irrecoverable, Mr Charles Moore asked what the child would like in lieu of the pennies, to which she replied, “Give them to the children’s hospital.” When she learnt there was no children’s hospital, she asked “Then why not have one?”, to which Charles replied, “Yes, we will have one, and we will start with your pennies.”
Charles garnered public support for the hospital, and along with other influential supporters including Henry Daglish and Sir George Shenton, became one of the first members of the Board of Subscribers, who contributed generously to the cause. In 1909, the Perth Children’s Hospital opened to the public. The hospital was renamed Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) for Children in 1949.
Kite Street refers to the logo of PMH, which featured a kite icon. The hospital had an iconic, large kite sculpture at its entrance, making Kite Street a recognisable reference to the former land use of the site.
This sculpture was first unveiled at the hospital in March 1992, and was relocated to Subiaco Library in September 2016 when the children’s hospital was relocated.
Makuru Loop refers to the Noongar season that occurs between June and July. A key part of the Subi East redevelopment is the Six Seasons Bidi Trail, which continues through to the PMH precinct along the proposed Makuru Loop.
The use of the name Makuru was supported by cultural consultant Kaarda, and also aligns with the City’s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan.
The new road names have been reviewed and supported by the Subi East Elders Reference Group, and their selection was made in accordance with the government of Western Australia’s Landgate Policies and Standards for Geographical Naming in Western Australia. As part of this process, DevelopmentWA will now formally request Landgate to approve these names.
More information on this decision by Council can be found here.
