Cooloongup is an outer southern suburb of Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, the capital city of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, located within the City of Rockingham

City of Rockingham

The City of Rockingham is a Local Government Area in the far southern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth.-History:In 1896, residents of Rockingham petitioned to establish a road board, which they proposed be called "Clarence" which was the name of the failed settlement of...

. It is principally a suburb of residential dwellings.

History

The suburb of Cooloongup, first named in 1974, is named after Lake Cooloongup. The name Lake Cooloongup was first recorded by Surveyor AC Gregory in 1843. While Landgate has noted that it is an Aboriginal name, it has also claimed that the meaning of the name is not known. An elder of the Nyungar

Noongar

The Noongar are an indigenous Australian people who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the south coast...

 people, the traditional Aboriginal occupants of the area, has said that Cooloongup means place of children.

On 7 May 2009, a boundary realignment of Cooloongup and Hillman

Hillman, Western Australia

Hillman is an outer southern suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, located within the City of Rockingham. It is principally a suburb of residential dwellings, and is the location of Hillman Primary School....

 approved by the Minister for Lands incoporated the Rockingham railway station

Rockingham railway station, Perth

Rockingham Station is a bus and railway interchange located in the Rockingham suburb of Cooloongup, Western Australia. Situated near the intersection of Rae Road and Ennis Avenue in Cooloongup, east of Rockingham Shopping Centre, it is served by the interurban Mandurah line, with services to both...

 into Rockingham

Rockingham, Western Australia

Rockingham is a suburb and primary centre in Western Australia south-west of the Perth city centre and south of Fremantle. It has a beachside location at Mangles Bay, the southern extremity of Cockburn Sound. To its north stretches the maritime and resource-industry installations of Kwinana and...

.

Geography

Lake Cooloongup dominates the Eastern portion of Cooloongup. The lake and its immediate environment, together with Lake Walyungup and Lake Richmond, is incorporated into Rockingham Lakes Regional Park. The Park is managed by the Government of Western Australia via its Department of Environment and Conservation. The lake is shallow and water in the lake is saline. The lake is described as "seasonable" because the lake is dry of surface water the majority of the year. The dry white salt residue gives this lake, together with its neighbour Lake Walyungup, the title "White Lakes" which was the name used to refer to the locality before the lake was incorporated into Cooloongup.

Transport

Ennis Avenue (National Highway 1

Highway 1 (Australia)

Australia's Highway 1 is a network of highways that circumnavigate the Australian continent, joining all mainland state capitals. At a total length of approximately it is the longest national highway in the world, longer than the Trans-Siberian Highway and the Trans-Canada Highway...

) bisects Cooloongup; this road provides vehicle access to Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, Fremantle

Fremantle

Freemantle is a suburb of Southampton in England.Fremantle or Freemantle may also refer to:- Places :* Fremantle, the port city to the capital Perth, Western Australia...

 and Mandurah.

The eastern part of Cooloongup, known as Woodbridge, currently has only one vehicle access point (Elanora Drive). The Rockingham Kwinana Development Office is progressing plans to construct a second access road to Woodbridge.

A number of Transperth

Transperth

Transperth is the brand name of the public transport system in Perth, Western Australia. It is operated by the Public Transport Authority.-History:...

bus routes service Cooloongup; all buses operate from Rockingham Train Station.

Facilities

Rockingham General Hospital, a major regional public hospital, is located on Elanora Drive. The hospital is owned and operated by the State Government of Western Australia via its Department of Health.

Rockingham Golf Club, first established in 1947, is located in Cooloongup at the East end of Elanora Drive. The club was re-located there in 1985 from its previous location on Patterson Road (Corner Read Street), Rockingham. The Rockingham site was redeveloped and sub-divided into residential lots.

Hour Glass Reserve, so named because of its shape, has been developed as a purpose built baseball park (north portion) and athletics field (south portion) servicing the local region.