Long before North Lake was a quiet suburb of 1,300 people, “the North Lake” was Perth’s own patch of Wild West. Its thick bushland was a favoured hideout for men on the run: escaped convicts who broke into a settler’s hut in 1852 and forced the occupants to swap clothes, a gang of thieves tracked down by Aboriginal trackers after stealing a safe in 1872, and notorious murderer Thomas Hughes, who evaded police for days in 1887 by hiding in the bush between North and Bibra Lakes. None of that survives in the suburb today beyond the name and the lake itself, but it’s a genuinely striking backstory for a place now best known for a basketball stadium and a driving range.
Suburb Boundary Map
North Lake sits within the City of Cockburn, about 18 kilometres south of the Perth CBD. It’s bounded by Farrington Road to the north, the Kwinana Freeway to the east, the Roe Highway road reservation to the south, and North Lake Road to the west. The map below traces the suburb’s official boundary.
Key Facts
| Local Government Area | City of Cockburn |
| Postcode | 6163 |
| Area | 2.3 square kilometres |
| Population (2021 Census) | 1,299 |
| Suburb Gazetted | 1954 |
| Median House Price | Approximately $1,340,000 |
| Public Transport | Bus routes 512 and 514 connect to Murdoch, Fremantle and Cockburn Central |
Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census QuickStats, REIWA suburb data, City of Cockburn history site, Transperth, Wikipedia.
Who It Suits
North Lake suits buyers wanting a small, quiet, well-connected suburb close to Murdoch University, Fremantle and the Kwinana Freeway, without the density of larger neighbouring suburbs. It’s a strong fit for families and professionals who value proximity to recreation facilities and the Beeliar Regional Park lake chain, since North Lake itself and the surrounding wetlands sit right on the doorstep. It’s a weaker fit for families who want a school within walking distance; North Lake has no school of its own, and residents rely entirely on neighbouring Coolbellup and Kardinya for local schooling.
The Wild North: Outlaws, Escaped Convicts and a Century Before the Suburb
Long before European settlement, North Lake and its surrounding wetlands held great cultural significance for local Nyungar groups, who used the area for large campsites, food and medicine gathering, and important ceremonies. European settlement began in earnest in 1849, when the land was leased to Samuel Caphorn, an English farmer’s son who arrived with his wife and nine children and found the land well suited to dairy farming and market gardens. Settlers were recorded living around the lake as early as 1852, the same year a hut on its shore was broken into by three escaped convicts, who forced the inhabitants to swap clothes with them before stealing their guns and fleeing.
Through the 1860s and 1870s the land was used mostly for grazing horses and cattle, but few people actually settled there permanently, and “the North Lake” earned a genuine reputation as a hideout for men on the run. In 1872 a group of thieves who had stolen a safe and valuables from a wealthy Fremantle man hid out in the dense bush around the lake before being tracked down and caught by Aboriginal trackers. In 1887, notorious murderer Thomas Hughes evaded police for several days by hiding in the bush between North and Bibra Lakes. The area’s character shifted in the early twentieth century, when vineyards were established around the lake, visible in surviving photographs from 1910, and the lake areas were formally designated native game reserves. In 1921 the Bibra and North Lakes Progress Association formed to push for the extension of North Lake Road and to build the district’s first local primary school. The vineyards remained productive until the late 1970s, when the land was finally cleared for the residential suburb that exists today; North Lake had been officially gazetted as a suburb name back in 1954, well before the housing that would eventually fill it.
Is It Worth Visiting?
Yes, if you’re interested in Adventure World or the Cockburn Ice Arena, both of which sit technically within North Lake’s boundaries despite being almost universally associated with neighbouring Bibra Lake.
The adventure playground beside the lake at Progress Drive is a genuinely pleasant, low-key spot for families, and the lake itself offers an easy loop walk as part of the wider Beeliar Regional Park chain. Beyond these, North Lake isn’t a standalone destination; it works best as an easy detour if you’re already visiting Adventure World or exploring the Beeliar lakes.
Life in North Lake Day to Day
The 2021 Census recorded 1,299 residents in North Lake, with a median age of 41, older than the Western Australian median of 38 and consistent with a small, settled suburb rather than a growth corridor. Family households made up an unusually high 83.6 percent of the total, well above the state average of 71.2 percent, and median weekly household income reached $2,434, comfortably ahead of the broader WA figure. Occupied private dwellings numbered 450, or 93.8 percent of all dwellings, a high owner-occupation signature, and residents drive heavily: an average of 2.2 registered motor vehicles per dwelling, with 73.1 percent commuting to work by car.
House Prices and What They Buy
REIWA’s most recent figures, updated 10 June 2026 for the twelve months to May, put North Lake’s median house price at approximately $1,340,000, a strong annual gain of around 29.6 percent, among the sharpest growth rates recorded anywhere in the wider Cockburn district over the period. The suburb’s small size, just 450 occupied dwellings, means price movements here can be more volatile than in larger neighbouring suburbs, and buyers should treat any single median figure with some caution given the limited number of annual sales it’s drawn from. Median monthly mortgage repayments of $2,167 sit above both the state and national medians, a reflection of the suburb’s above-average household incomes and the strong recent price growth flowing through to newer buyers.
Healthcare Nearby
North Lake has no medical centre of its own. Residents typically drive to Kardinya, Murdoch or Bibra Lake for GP clinics and pharmacies, with Fiona Stanley Hospital and St John of God Murdoch Hospital both a short drive north-east via the Kwinana Freeway for specialist and emergency care.
Schools and Education
There are no schools within North Lake itself. Most residents send children to state government primary schools in neighbouring Coolbellup and Kardinya, while Murdoch University and Kennedy Baptist College both sit directly north of the suburb, giving North Lake genuine proximity to tertiary and secondary education despite having no campus of its own.
Jobs, Industry and Work Life
North Lake is almost entirely residential and recreational, with its main local employment drawn from the Lakeside Recreation Centre, the Perth Spanish Club and nearby Adventure World rather than any industrial or commercial precinct. Most working residents commute out to Murdoch, Fremantle, Cockburn Central or the Perth CBD, with public transport accounting for a modest but slightly above-average 8.5 percent of the journey to work.
What You’ll Find Here
Despite its small size, North Lake punches well above its weight for local attractions. Adventure World, Perth’s largest theme park, and the Cockburn Ice Arena both sit within the suburb’s official boundaries, even though most Perth residents mentally file them under neighbouring Bibra Lake.
The Lakeside Recreation Centre on the corner of Farrington Road and Bibra Drive is home to four basketball courts, a gym, a creche and the State Basketball League team the Lakeside Lightning, making it a genuine sporting hub for the wider district. The suburb also hosts the Perth Spanish Club and a golf driving range, and the adventure playground beside the lake at Progress Drive is a popular, low-key spot for local families.
Parks, Greenspaces and Other Public Amenities
North Lake itself, the northernmost lake in the Beeliar Regional Park chain that also includes Bibra Lake, South Lake, Booragoon Lake, Yangebup Lake and Thomsons Lake, is the suburb’s main natural feature, with walking paths and the Progress Drive adventure playground providing family-friendly access to the water’s edge. The broader Beeliar Regional Park gives residents easy access to a much larger network of wetlands and bushland walking trails beyond the suburb’s own compact 2.3-square-kilometre footprint.
Getting There and Around
North Lake has no train station of its own, though Murdoch Station is only a short drive or bus ride away. Bus route 512 runs between Murdoch Station and Fremantle Station via Murdoch Drive, Bibra Drive and Farrington Road, while route 514 connects Murdoch Station to Cockburn Central Station along the same corridor. The Kwinana Freeway borders the suburb’s eastern edge, giving drivers fast access both north to Perth and south to the rest of Cockburn.
The Honest Verdict
North Lake is a small, quiet, well-connected suburb that punches above its weight on recreation, thanks to Adventure World, the Cockburn Ice Arena and the Lakeside Recreation Centre all sitting within its modest boundaries, but it offers no schools, no shops and no real town centre of its own. It suits buyers who want proximity to Murdoch, Fremantle and the Beeliar wetlands and who are happy to rely on neighbouring suburbs for daily errands and schooling. Its outlaw-hideout past is long gone, but it’s a genuinely fun piece of trivia for a suburb that today feels about as far from Wild West as Perth gets, and one worth knowing if you ever find yourself explaining to a visitor why a theme park and an ice rink share a postcode with a suburb most people have never heard of.
FAQ
Is Adventure World actually in North Lake?
Yes. Despite being almost universally associated with neighbouring Bibra Lake, Adventure World and the Cockburn Ice Arena both sit within North Lake’s official suburb boundaries.
When was North Lake gazetted as a suburb?
North Lake was officially gazetted as a suburb name in 1954, though the land itself wasn’t cleared for housing until the vineyards that had operated there since the early 1900s were removed in the late 1970s.
Are there schools in North Lake?
No. North Lake has no school within its own boundaries; residents rely on state government primary schools in neighbouring Coolbellup and Kardinya, with Murdoch University and Kennedy Baptist College just to the north.
References
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 Census QuickStats: North Lake
- Wikipedia, North Lake, Western Australia (research source)
- REIWA, North Lake Suburb Profile
- City of Cockburn, North Lake, City of Cockburn History Site
- City of Cockburn, Official City of Cockburn Website
- Bibra Lake Profile, perthinfo.net.au
- Coolbellup Profile, perthinfo.net.au
- Transperth, Bus Timetable 37 (Route 512)
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