Serpentine Things to Do

The prison opened in 1963 and plays an important part in the WA prison system. It provides work for male minimum-security prisoners and food for the entire prison system. The prison is laid out on 370 hectares of hilly terrain in the Keysbrook State Forest and is one of 3 prison farms in Western Australia.

The prisoners can either choose to work or study. They are employed for general farm, dairy work or for work in the abattoir. There are also apprenticeships available in the areas of the butchery, slaughtering, smallgoods manufacture, motor mechanics and metalwork. Karnet prisoners also do work in the local community and are involved in upgrading the Bibbilmun track, other walk trails and maintenance work in local parks.

Within the bush there is an abundance of plant and bird life. You will find around 70 different species which include red-capped parrots, western rosellas, red-tailed and white-tailed black-cockatoos, and yellow robins. You might also glimpse Kangaroos, wallabies, possums and many other animals within the park.

The two streams that flow into the Serpentine above the falls were named Carralong and Gooralong.

The Serpentine National Park covers more than 4,300 hectares of land and is better known for Serpentine Falls. The park is made up of steep slopes of the Serpentine River valley. In the early days of the area, European settlers populated the park to swim, picnic and just enjoy the beauty of the bush.

There is only one close area for parking and that is on the east side of the dam wall. You can get quite a good view there however if you choose to park on the other side near the picnic and playground area, you will have quite a walk.

There are Tea rooms on the hill by the Rangers Quarters which over look parts of the dam. The tea rooms have just been refurbished and reopened.

The idea of the Serpentine Dam was created back in the 1950’s when industrial growth was on a rapid include in Perth. The project aimed to increase the storage capacity in the hills by 170 percent which made the scheme the biggest construction project undertaken by the Water Authority (as it was then) since 1940.

Serpentine Dam is probably one of the main attractions in the are and is part of the Western Australian Scheme Water system. The dam sits within the scenery of the beautiful Darling Scarp. The dam’s capacity of 137.7 million cubic metre makes it one of Perth’s largest suppliers of water in the metropolitan area.

The old fashioned general store is not out of place in downtown Serpentine. The store comprises a newsagency, hardware, groceries, fruit and vegetables, videos an cards and of course the post office agency. One stop shopping.

The Pipehead dam travels through the spillway and empties out into the Serpentine River. There are several bbq and picnic spots near the spillway and a playground. Both the Pipehead and Main dams have excellent spots for picnics and bbqs.