Midland - Culture and History

In 1881 the railway from Perth reached the Swan Valley. The railway terminus inevitably became an important transportation centre as people and goods had to be transferred from the train to the drays and wagons which came from the east. In 1886 the Midland Railway Company built a railway line to take the goods further east. The point where the two railway lines met became known as Midland Junction, later to be reduced to Midland. It was here that the Government railway built its workshops and the Midland Railway Company established its head office. Inevitably a township grew up to service the railway workers and the people who passed through the junction.

In her excellent book, The Swan Valley: A Perspective in Time and Place, Dorothy B. Robinson notes that the rise of Midland was as a direct result of the arrival of the railway line. Basically Midland took over from Guildford as the Swan Valley's major transportation centre.

'Midland, just upstream from Guildford, developed as a trading and regional centre, based on railway activities. The Railway Workshop and the freight handling yards were established here where plenty of suitable flat land was available, to be followed, shortly afterwards, by the abattoir, close to the railway line for ease of stock transport. These formed the early focus of Midland's activities, though now only the Workshop remains.'

Today Midland (now an outer suburb of Perth) lies in the heart of the Swan Valley vineyards. Grapes have been grown in the area since the beginning of European settlement. The first vineyard was established in 1829 at Olive Farm near Guildford. The first serious vineyard was established in 1859 when Dr John Ferguson planted grapes at the Houghton homestead (see Guildford).

A subsequent major boost to this small, low key industry occurred in the 1920s when an influx of Yugoslav migrants from the Dalmatian coast ensured that the industry expanded rapidly. Today the heirs of these settlers still run many of the vineyards in the valley. There is still a sense that the vineyards in the Swan Valley are family affairs. Few of the vineyards are major producers. The bulk of the manufacturers often produce less than 100 000 litres per vintage.