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Darling Scarp
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== Land use == The Darling escarpment has been exploited for stone [[mining|quarries]], [[forestry]] and [[bauxite]] mining. Extensive [[timber]] railways and timber mills and the supporting communities existed along the escarpment because of the high quality [[Eucalyptus marginata|jarrah]] forests.<ref>Darling Range Study Group & Benson, W. D (1982). Land use in the Darling Range, Western Australia : a report to the Premier of Western Australia The Group], Perth, W.A</ref> === Dams === In the early twentieth century, most of the main rivers flowing off the escarpment had mainly been used for dams for water supply for metropolitan Perth. The dams on the scarp include: {{Div col |colwidth=20em}} * [[Mundaring Weir]] (on the [[Helena River]]) * [[Serpentine Dam (Western Australia)|Serpentine Dam]] and Pipehead (Serpentine River) * Wungong Dam * [[Churchman Brook Dam]] * [[North Dandalup Dam]] * [[South Dandalup Dam]] (on the two Dandalup branches) * [[Canning Dam]] (on the [[Canning River]]) {{Div col end}} The only free flowing water from the Darling Range in the Peel Region is the Dirk Brook in [[Keysbrook, Western Australia|Keysbrook]] and the [[Murray River (Western Australia)|Murray River]]. The scarp also defines the easternmost limit of the various [[aquifer]]s present in the Perth Basin sediments, most notably the Southwest [[Yarragadee Aquifer]]. The scarp forms a divide between the hypersaline groundwaters typical of the Yilgarn craton basement from the fresh ground waters of the Perth Basin. Some dams along the scarp are contaminated by seepage of saline water from the granite into the base of the dam's water column and must be periodically flushed to preserve water quality. === Rock quarries === Also in the early to mid-twentieth century numerous rock quarries existed on the edge of the escarpment - visible and affecting both the aesthetics and the environment of the escarpment. In the area where the [[Helena River]] emerges from its valley to the [[Swan Coastal Plain|sandplain]], there are still four quarries evident, despite being unused as quarries for fifty years or more. Mountain<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.climberswa.asn.au/climbwa/crags.asp?region=Around+Perth&crag=Mountain_Quarry&sort=NAME |title=Climbs in WA |date=2005-08-15 |access-date=2010-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091005024313/http://www.climberswa.asn.au/climbwa/crags.asp?region=Around%20Perth |archive-date=5 October 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Stathams<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.climberswa.asn.au/climbwa/crags.asp?region=Around+Perth&crag=Stathams_Quarry&sort=NAME |title=Climbs in WA |date=2008-07-20 |access-date=2010-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091005024313/http://www.climberswa.asn.au/climbwa/crags.asp?region=Around%20Perth |archive-date=5 October 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> quarries are now managed as rock climbing locations. * ''Bluestone quarry'' (1850s name), later known as ''Greenmount Quarry'' (1850s to 1920s), at [[Greenmount Hill]] on the west side of [[Greenmount National Park]]. * ''Mountain Quarry'' (now usually signed as ''Boya Quarry''), south of Greenmount Hill, which ceased operation in 1963. * ''Byford brickworks (State Brickworks)'', shale scar visible from early 20th century to WW2 quarrying. * ''[[Fremantle Harbour]] Works Quarry'' (sometimes, ''[[C. Y. O'Connor]]'s Mole Reconstruction Quarry'', and later known as the ''Public Works Quarry''), now ''Hudman Road Amphitheatre'' at edge of [[Darlington, Western Australia|Darlington]] - [[Boya, Western Australia|Boya]] localities border, operated from the 1900s to the 1930s. * [[Statham's Quarry]] at [[Gooseberry Hill, Western Australia|Gooseberry Hill]] at northern edge of the [[Kalamunda Zig Zag]] formation. * ''Armadale brickworks (State Brickworks)'', Bedfordale Hill, shale scar visible from 20th century quarrying, with an underground rail bypassing the [[South Western Highway]] to transport the ore. There have also been visible quarries on the scarp in the [[Gosnells, Western Australia|Gosnells]] and [[Herne Hill, Western Australia|Herne Hill]] areas. Legislative restrictions upon such developments were initiated in the late twentieth century to prevent further visible scars on the western face of the scarp. === Bauxite mining === {{See also|Bauxite mining in Australia}} In the late twentieth century, the proving of bauxite deposits correlating to the extensive [[jarrah forest]]s saw wide-ranging protests against the proposals to mine the forests. [[Campaign to Save Native Forests]] was one group to oppose the activity. The lengthy process of protest forced the government and miners to check their original proposals, and wide-ranging processes to guard segments of the jarrah forests from mining ensued. The current mining activity in the region is extensive - the main mines being Huntly and Willowdale.<ref>'Alcoa has two bauxite mines operating in the Darling Range in Western Australia: Huntly, which has been operating since the early 1970s and is the world's biggest bauxite mine, producing 20 million tonnes per annum; and Willowdale, established in 1984 and currently supplying 8.5 million tonnes per annum to Alcoa's Wagerup alumina refinery. source: {{cite web |url=http://aluminium.org.au/australian-bauxite/bauxite-jarrahdale-huntly-willowdale |title=Jarrahdale, Huntly, and Willowdale Mines |access-date=2014-04-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302094013/http://aluminium.org.au/australian-bauxite/bauxite-jarrahdale-huntly-willowdale |archive-date=2 March 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> [[File:Darling Scarp from Serpentine Dam.jpg|thumb|600x600px|Darling scarp from Serpentine Dam]] === Railways === The building and developing of rail access across the scarp developed three separate main routes over eighty years.<ref>Higham, G.J.(1968) ''Over the range:railways across the Darling range of Western Australia:Midland to Northam and York'' Bassendean, [[Rail Heritage WA|W.A. Australian Railway Historical Society, W.A. Division]]</ref> * The [[Eastern Railway (Western Australia)|Eastern Railway]] first traversed the Darling Scarp in the 1880s along its ''first route'' through Greenmount (where three of the above quarries were later able to use the railway). * By the 1890s, the ''second route'' passed through [[Swan View Tunnel]] and [[John Forrest National Park]]. * In the 1960s, the ''third route'' used easier grades through the [[Avon River (Western Australia)|Avon Valley]] * The [[Kalamunda Zig Zag]] or [[Upper Darling Range railway]] ran up the southern steep side of the Helena Valley entrance until 1949. * The [[Millars Karri and Jarrah Forests Limited|Millars]] timber lines operating south to Yarloop, north through Jarrahdale up to Jarrahglen east of Byford and the Chandler mill. === Perth suburbs on the scarp === The localities or suburbs on the "edge" of the scarp are those that sit at its western edge, and in most cases command excellent views of the [[Swan Coastal Plain]]: The suburbs near Midland and Kalamunda are often referred to as the [[Perth Hills]]. {| class="wikitable" style="width:600px;" |- ! Near [[Midland, Western Australia|Midland]] ! Near [[Kalamunda, Western Australia|Kalamunda]] ! Near [[Armadale, Western Australia|Armadale]] |- style="text-align:center;" | [[Stratton, Western Australia|Stratton]] | [[Carmel, Western Australia|Carmel]] | [[Martin, Western Australia|Martin]] |- style="text-align:center;" | [[Swan View, Western Australia|Swan View]] | [[Gooseberry Hill, Western Australia|Gooseberry Hill]] | [[Roleystone, Western Australia|Roleystone]] |- style="text-align:center;" | [[Greenmount, Western Australia|Greenmount]] | [[Lesmurdie, Western Australia|Lesmurdie]] | [[Karragullen, Western Australia|Karragullen]] |- style="text-align:center;" | [[Darlington, Western Australia|Darlington]] | [[Walliston, Western Australia|Walliston]] | [[Bedfordale, Western Australia|Bedfordale]] |- style="text-align:center;" | [[Boya, Western Australia|Boya]] | [[Bickley, Western Australia|Bickley]] | [[Jarrahdale, Western Australia|Jarrahdale]] |- style="text-align:center;" | [[Helena Valley, Western Australia|Helena Valley]] | [[Pickering Brook, Western Australia|Pickering Brook]] | [[Wungong, Western Australia|Wungong]] |} === Television transmission towers === The suburbs to the south of Kalamunda are the locations of the main Perth Metropolitan television station transmission towers. There is also another site at Mount Lennard near [[Collie, Western Australia|Collie]] that Services the Southwest areas including [[Bunbury, Western Australia|Bunbury]].
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