Most Perth suburbs grow the way cities usually do: piecemeal, one subdivision at a time, shaped as much by market conditions as by any master plan. Ellenbrook is different. Since 1994, it has been built out as eight distinct, purpose-designed villages, each with its own theme, street-naming convention and architectural identity, wrapped around a central town centre. It’s an unusually deliberate way to build a suburb, and more than three decades on, Ellenbrook has grown into one of the largest and most self-contained communities in the Perth metropolitan area, home to more than 22,000 people, now with a rail connection.
Ellenbrook Boundary Map
Quick Facts
| Local Government Area | City of Swan |
| Distance from Perth CBD | Approx. 24km northeast |
| Postcode | 6069 |
| Population | 22,681 (REIWA, 2026) |
| Median House Price | $825,000 |
| Annual Growth | 18.0 percent (sales); 7.1 percent (rental) |
| Known For | Master-planned “eight villages” design; Ellenbrook Central; self-contained community facilities |
| Train Access | No station within the suburb; bus connections to Bassendean Station |
Who It Suits
Ellenbrook suits families who want a genuinely self-contained community, with shops, schools, sport and recreation largely available within the suburb itself rather than requiring a drive elsewhere. It works well for buyers who value strong recent price growth and a clear master-planned structure over the character of an older, more organically grown suburb. Its new train station changes the area’s dynamic completely.
Eight Villages, One Vision
Ellenbrook takes its name from the nearby Ellen Brook, itself named by Captain James Stirling after his wife, Lady Ellen Stirling (née Mangles). The suburb was declared a growth corridor for Perth under the state’s 1990 Metroplan policy, with the name Ellenbrook approved by the Department of Land Administration that same year and the suburb formally gazetted in 1992. Development began in earnest under the Ellenbrook Joint Venture, a partnership between the state’s Department of Housing and Works and private landowner Morella Pty Ltd, with the master-planned town later continued by developer Satterley.
What makes Ellenbrook genuinely distinctive is its structure: rather than one continuous subdivision, the suburb was designed from the outset as eight self-supporting villages, each launched years apart and each with its own architectural theme, landscaping style and even street-naming convention. Woodlake, launched in 1995, was built on a former sand quarry and rehabilitated with more than 10,000 planted trees, its streets named after native plants and birds. The Bridges, launched in 1997, draws on Mediterranean design themes around Lake Fresca, with streets named after towns along the French and Italian coastline. Coolamon, launched in 1999, takes its name from the Aboriginal word for a carrying vessel and was the first village in Ellenbrook designed around solar-efficient lot orientation.
Later villages continued the pattern: Morgan Fields, launched in 2000 on former horse-agistment land, carries an equestrian theme; Charlotte’s Vineyard, launched in 2003, honours Charlotte Davis, said to have been part of the first white family to settle the Swan River Colony as a two-year-old carried ashore by a sailor; Malvern Springs, launched in 2006, takes its name and healthy-living theme from the English spa town of Great Malvern; Lexia, launched in 2011, is named for the nearby wetlands and the Lexia grape variety, reflecting its Swan Valley setting; and Annie’s Landing, launched in 2013 as the eighth and final village, honours Anne “Annie” Hamersley, wife of pastoralist William Brockman, who helped discover the Avon Valley in 1830. That final village has now largely sold out, marking the practical completion of the original eight-village master plan more than three decades after it began.
Ellenbrook sits within Noongar Whadjuk country, part of the broader Swan Valley landscape with a documented Aboriginal connection to the region stretching back tens of thousands of years before European settlement. Today the suburb sits within the City of Swan local government area.
Attractions and Things to Do
Ellenbrook was deliberately designed to function as a largely self-sustaining community, and its attractions reflect that ambition. Ellenbrook Central, the suburb’s town centre, hosts around 100 stores, anchored by Dewson’s and Woolworths supermarkets, giving residents a genuinely comprehensive retail offering without needing to travel elsewhere for everyday shopping. Beyond retail, the suburb includes two community centres, a public library, a skate park, and a large water park, along with sporting facilities catering to tennis, basketball, netball, cricket and swimming.
The village structure also gives Ellenbrook a genuinely varied landscape to explore, from Woodlake’s rehabilitated former quarry lake to The Bridges’ Mediterranean-styled crossings over Lake Fresca, giving the suburb a level of designed visual variety unusual for a single, continuous residential area.
Life in Ellenbrook Day to Day
Realty Market
REIWA data current to July 2026 puts Ellenbrook’s median house price at $825,000, with strong annual sales growth of 18.0 percent and rental growth of 7.1 percent against a median rent of $750 a week, figures that place Ellenbrook among the stronger-performing suburbs in the wider City of Swan growth corridor. Price breakdowns by bedroom count show two-bedroom homes at a median of $658,000, three-bedroom homes at $775,000, and four-bedroom homes at $870,000. Houses typically sell within 17 days. Nearby suburb growth confirms the strength of the surrounding area: Henley Brook recorded 23.0 percent annual growth, Bullsbrook 20.9 percent, and Aveley 13.6 percent, while The Vines, a more established golf-course community, grew a more modest 5.4 percent.
Ellenbrook’s scale gives it one of the largest and most liquid property markets in the City of Swan, with a consistently high volume of sales and rentals reflecting its status as one of Perth’s most populous master-planned communities. That scale can be an advantage for buyers, offering a genuinely wide range of housing stock across eight distinctly themed villages, from Woodlake’s older, established 1990s homes to Annie’s Landing’s brand-new builds.
Upper and lower quartile figures of $910,000 and $755,000 respectively show a genuinely wide spread in Ellenbrook’s housing market, a natural consequence of its thirty-year construction timeline. Buyers hunting for value tend to look toward the earlier villages like Woodlake and The Bridges, where established gardens and slightly smaller, older homes can offer a more accessible entry point, while those chasing brand-new construction gravitate toward the recently completed Annie’s Landing, Ellenbrook’s final and most contemporary village.
Hospitals and Healthcare Nearby
Ellenbrook has a range of local medical centres and pharmacies within Ellenbrook Central and across the suburb’s villages, giving residents genuine day-to-day healthcare access without needing to travel elsewhere for routine care. For more comprehensive hospital care, residents rely on St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals, a drive of around 20 minutes.
Schools and Education
Ellenbrook is genuinely well served by its own schools, a direct result of its master-planned design. Ellenbrook Secondary College, a government school, sits just 0.9 kilometres from the town centre, alongside Ellenbrook Primary School around 1.2 kilometres away and Ellenbrook Christian College, a non-government combined school, just 0.8 kilometres away. That combination of government and non-government options across primary and secondary levels, all within the suburb itself, is a genuine point of difference from many comparably sized outer-Perth suburbs that rely on neighbouring areas for schooling. To find your school catchment zone check: det.wa.edu.au/schoolsonline/
Industry and Work Life
Ellenbrook Central and the suburb’s broader commercial precincts provide a genuine local employment base in retail, hospitality, healthcare and education, a rarity for a suburb of its size and age. Many residents nonetheless commute toward Midland or the Perth CBD for work, a trip made longer by the suburb’s lack of a direct rail connection, though Ellenbrook’s scale means a meaningful share of its workforce can find employment without leaving the local area entirely.
Parks and Greenspaces
Each of Ellenbrook’s eight villages was designed with its own dedicated public open space, from Woodlake’s rehabilitated lake and 10,000-plus planted trees to Malvern Springs’ wetland-themed streets and Lexia’s network of natural trails connecting to the nearby Lexia wetlands. That village-by-village approach to greenspace gives Ellenbrook a genuinely high ratio of parks, lakes and reserves relative to its overall footprint, a deliberate outcome of the master plan rather than an afterthought. The most popular and attractive areas are Woodlake Park, nearby Aveley Central Park, and Egerton Park.
There are several sports grounds too Turkich Parade Oval, Woodlake Sports Ground, which includes a skate park, Coolamon Oval, Charlottes Vineyard Oval, and you start to get the picture that this is a very sports oriented community.
For golfers, in the adjacent suburb, there is the sprawling Vines Resort Golf Course, which has three course options: 9, 14 or 27 holes.
Transport
Ellenbrook station opened on 8 December 2024, as part of the new Ellenbrook line (formerly known during construction as the Morley–Ellenbrook line). It’s the north-eastern terminus of that line, which also includes new stations at Morley, Noranda, Ballajura, and Whiteman Park, connecting through to Bayswater and on to the Perth CBD.
From Ellenbrook station to the Perth CBD takes around 35 mins. The station is around 5 mins walk from Ellenbrook Central and can also be reached by buses 310, 340, 341, 342, 343, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349, 455, and 903. The station sits at the southern end of the suburb, and residents at the northern end have a 10-15 min bus ride, depending on their location.
Road access runs primarily via Gnangara Road and Tonkin Highway, giving reasonable, if not especially fast, connections to the wider metropolitan area.
What Locals Know
Locals know each of Ellenbrook’s eight villages has its own genuine character, and that mentioning you live in Woodlake versus The Bridges versus Annie’s Landing tells other Ellenbrook residents something real about your part of the suburb, not just an address. They know Ellenbrook Central genuinely functions as a full town centre rather than a token shopping strip, covering most day-to-day needs without a drive elsewhere. And they know the lack of a train station is the suburb’s most consistent frustration, a trade-off residents weigh against the benefits of a large, well-resourced, master-planned community with strong recent price growth.
Trade-Offs to Weigh
Ellenbrook’s strengths are substantial: a genuinely self-contained town centre, a new train station, strong and varied local schooling, a wide range of housing stock across eight distinct villages, and strong recent price growth. Even with the station, people groan about commute times, but find it an acceptable trade-off. For buyers who value community infrastructure and are comfortable with a slightly longer commute, Ellenbrook delivers scale and amenity few comparably priced Perth suburbs can match.
The Honest Verdict
Ellenbrook is one of the most ambitious and successful master-planned communities in the Perth metropolitan area, its eight-village structure having genuinely delivered a self-contained town of more than 22,000 people over three decades. Strong price growth, comprehensive local schooling and a substantial town centre make it a compelling option for families, provided they’re comfortable with the suburb’s most persistent limitation: no direct rail access. For buyers prioritising community infrastructure and variety of housing stock over a fast CBD commute, Ellenbrook remains one of the City of Swan’s standout options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Ellenbrook called Ellenbrook?
The suburb takes its name from Ellen Brook, itself named by Captain James Stirling after his wife, Lady Ellen Stirling, with the suburb name approved in 1990 and gazetted in 1992.
What are the eight villages of Ellenbrook?
Ellenbrook was master-planned as eight distinct villages launched between 1995 and 2013: Woodlake, The Bridges, Coolamon, Morgan Fields, Charlotte’s Vineyard, Malvern Springs, Lexia and Annie’s Landing.
What is the median house price in Ellenbrook?
REIWA data current to July 2026 puts the median at $825,000, with strong annual sales growth of 18.0 percent.
Does Ellenbrook have a train station?
No. Ellenbrook has no train station within the suburb, with bus services connecting residents to Bassendean Station on the Midland line.
References
Historical details, including the 1990 Metroplan growth corridor declaration, the 1992 gazettal, and the naming and development of each of the eight villages, drawn from Wikipedia’s entry on Ellenbrook, Western Australia and developer Satterley’s own history of the estate (research source only for Wikipedia content, not linked here per site policy), and cross-checked against Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au) 2021 Census SAL data for Ellenbrook. Current property market figures and community facilities sourced from the REIWA suburb profile for Ellenbrook. Village history and naming detail confirmed via the official Ellenbrook estate history of its eight villages. Local government context confirmed via the City of Swan’s history of post-settlement Swan Valley. Resident sentiment checked against Homely’s Ellenbrook community page. For the two most recently published suburb profiles in this series, see the Caversham Profile and the Dayton Profile.