Bushmead Army Transport Division

The military presence in the Bushmead area stretches back more than a century. The land was first reserved for defence purposes in the early 1900s and by 1915, part of it had been set aside as the Bushmead Rifle Range, a training ground for Australian troops to practise marksmanship and battlefield skills.

The rifle range was a well-used facility through both WWI and in later years, even into the mid-20th century as it was an important part of soldier training in Western Australia.

Army transport and support

By the mid-20th century, the Bushmead site had developed beyond just a rifle range and also consisted of:

• an Army transport depot

• a driver training track

• defence housing, and

• associated operational buildings.

These facilities were part of the Army logistics infrastructure used for vehicle maintenance, storage, training and movement control. Because the site was near the city but also had plenty of space, it was ideal for vehicle manoeuvring and transport operations.

The Army’s transport and logistics functions eventually consolidated here, which over time became known informally as the Bushmead Army Transport Division or transport depot. It was the place soldiers and Army drivers would go to learn vehicle handling, storage and transport procedures. Army transport assets were also kept and managed here.

Although records of the precise units and names vary over time, this activity was part of the Army’s transport services that eventually formed the official Royal Australian Corps of Transport after 1973, which remains the national corps responsible for military transport and logistics.

A new housing estate

By the late 20th century, the Australian Army no longer required the Bushmead site for its transport and training functions. As part of a national effort to rationalise and modernise surplus defence land, the Commonwealth sold the property and it was purchased for redevelopment.

In 2010, the land was purchased by Cedar Woods and included the remains of the rifle range and transport depot. The site was subdivided and remediated for a new residential community now known as the Bushmead Estate. The development process involved removing old defence infrastructure, dealing with any potential unexploded ordinance from its days as a rifle range and converting the terrain into a mix of housing, bushland reserves and parks.

The suburb of Bushmead was officially established in 2017 on land previously part of Hazelmere, just 16 km from Perth’s central business district. As part of the development, more than 185 hectares of bushland was set aside as a permanent reserve to preserve natural landscape alongside the new community.