Riverton Local Suburb Names

The Riverton electorate takes in the suburbs of Parkwood, Riverton, Rossmoyne, Shelley and Willetton. Some of our suburb names date back to the early days of settlement in this area and others have much more recent origins. The information on suburb names in this Electorate is provided courtesy of the Western Australian Land Information Authority (Landgate).

Parkwood

Previously part of Lynwood, Parkwood was approved as a suburb name in 1993. It is an estate name created by the developers in the early 1970s.

Riverton

This suburb derives its name from its location on the banks of the Canning River. The area was subdivided in 1914, and Riverton was referred to locally as Riverton Bridge in 1937 to avoid confusion with the South Australian suburb of Riverton. This name was never formally approved and officially the suburb has always been Riverton.

Rossmoyne

The name Rossmoyne derives its origin from the desire of a developer for a good promotional name. In 1937, the developer, V W Webb and his family made a trip to Scotland and on their return, sought a promotional name for some of their Rossmoyne land. Mrs Webb coined the name Rossmoyne, a euphonic name with no particular background, although connected with the trip to Scotland. The name was used for an estate put up for sale in 1955 and soon became the commonly used suburb name for this area. By 1959, development had progressed sufficiently for the Canning Road Board to seek official recognition for the name Rossmoyne. The name was approved in February 1960 and gazetted the following month.

Shelley

Formerly part of Riverton, Shelley was approved as a separate suburb in the mid 1960s. It is believed the name refers to shells found on the shores of the Canning River.

Willetton

In November 1964, the Shire of Canning proposed this area be named Burtsdale after Septimus Burt who purchased the land in 1882. The name Willetton was proposed for the adjoining Postal District, the bulk of which was in Canning Location 21 assigned to Henry Willett in June 1832. In August and September 1965, the Shire suggested that the name Lynwood replace Willetton and the name Willetton replace Burtsdale. These amendments were approved in December 1965.