A well-known bronze sculpture that is located at the site of the former Crawley Baths – Eliza is displayed just offshore from Mounts Bay Road and depicts a woman preparing to dive.
Matilda Bay Reserve is a recreational parkland between Hackett Drive and the river. It includes Pelican Point, which is an important breeding sanctuary for migratory birds.
Matilda Bay is believed to have been named after the wife of John Septimus Roe, Matilda (née Bennett).[4]
History
Captain Currie was the first colonial owner of the 13-hectare (32-acre) estate surrounding the bay, at that time known as Currie's Bay. Pelican Point was then known as Point Currie. The estate was sold in 1832 to the Assistant Surveyor and Colonial Treasurer, Henry Charles Sutherland for £100. Sutherland named the property Crawley Park after his mother's maiden name[5][6] and the bay became known as Sutherland's Bay. In 1876 Crawley Park was sold to Sir George Shenton, and the bay was known generally as Crawley Bay. After Shenton's death in 1909, the estate was acquired by the Government in 1910[7] and vested in the University of Western Australia in 1912.[8]
Some of the present foreshore, west of Crawley Baths, was created by land reclamation to allow Mounts Bay Road to be widened.[9]
In 1943, Qantas operated five Catalina flying boats between Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and Matilda Bay in what was known as the Double Sunrise service.[11]
Image gallery
Ducks fly over the water at Matilda Bay during sunset
^"The University Site". Western Mail. Perth, WA. 7 September 1912. p. 31. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
^"Crawley Foreshore". The West Australian. Vol. 50, no. 9, 941. Western Australia. 11 May 1934. p. 23. Retrieved 27 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"The Catalina Base". The University of Western Australia, Archives and Records Management Services. Retrieved 25 August 2013.