Lake Gwelup Story Trail

The City of Stirling sits on land known as Mooro Country, home to Wadjak Nyoongar people for more than 40,000 years. Mooro Country extends from the Indian Ocean in the west to beyond the City’s boundary in the east, and from the Swan River on the banks of Perth’s CBD south of the City of Stirling to the boundary of Perth’s metropolitan northern border in Yanchep. A coastal wetlands trail for Nyoongar people begins at the Swan River and follows a chain of lakes through to Yanchep. The Nyoongar community regards this chain of lakes as ‘all the same water’ and shares the ideal ‘one water, many lakes’. Today, Aboriginal heritage sites are registered at each of the lakes in this chain, making Gwelup, Star Swamp and Herdsman significant sites within the City of Stirling for Nyoongar people.

Lake Gwelup has been transformed over the years through urban development and is now a permanent lake that hosts extraordinary wetland ecology and biodiversity.  Today the lake includes a viewing platform and pedestrian paths for people to explore the bushland and wetland environments.  

The Story Trail will offer an interactive experience, celebrating Nyoongar culture, environmental and historical stories of Lake Gwelup. The City in partnership with Rotary Club Karrinyup will construct its first Story Trail to celebrate Karrinyup Rotary’s 50th anniversary. This trail will help strengthen connection with place and shape how visitors experience Lake Gwelup.  

The City is undertaking local engagement, to gain a deeper understanding of how our community engages with Lake Gwelup to inform the development of the Story Trail. To support the project and bring the local community together, the City, in partnership with Rotary, hosted a free BBQ and Walkshop event in September 2023 at Lake Gwelup Regional Open Space.