[2][3] Before development, Hamersley was a remote district covered in jarrah, marri, banksia and other vegetation typical of the Swan Coastal Plain, with small areas cleared for small-scale agriculture such as market gardening and poultry farming.

[8] A real estate magazine remarked in 1994 that "homes around the Rannoch circle enjoy some spectacular views to the city and the hills", and that "a few lucky householders... could even catch ocean glimpses, despite being more than six kilometres from the water.

The main shrub species would have been Jacksonia sternbergiana (Stinkwood), J. furcellata (Grey Stinkwood), Acacia cyclops (Coastal Wattle), Acacia saligna (orange wattle), Hibbertia species, Allocasuarina humilis (dwarf sheoak), Calothamnus quadrifidus (one-sided bottlebrush) and Grevillea thelemanniana (spider net grevillea).

There is no evidence they ever visited modern Hamersley, but in 1869 they built a summer home in what is now North Beach, 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) to the west, and bought considerable holdings in the area over the following years.

[17] As a result, many facilities in North Beach, including a primary school, a golf course, several sporting clubs and residents' and seniors' associations, were called Hamersley.

Southern Hamersley became part of Location K, a 2,585-hectare (6,390-acre) strip of land extending 19 kilometres (12 miles) west from Caversham on the Swan River to Big Carine Swamp, which was granted to Robert Ansell Partridge in September 1829.

Chauncy in 1843,[22] remained fairly inaccessible, and the only development in the area was the construction of the Daviot Park cottage on Old Balcatta Road 500 metres (0.31 miles) southwest of Hamersley.

[21][23] By the late 1930s, portions in the far west and south-east of the suburb had been cleared for small-scale agriculture such as market gardening,[24] and in 1939 the Department of the Interior constructed a 180-metre (590-foot) tower and other facilities for ABC AM and shortwave radio broadcasts on Wanneroo Road.

[4] Northern Hamersley, meanwhile, became part of Swan Location 1315, which extended north to Lake Goollelal and west to the coast and was granted in the 1890s to the Midland Railway Company[25] after being surveyed by Crossland & Co. in 1892, and by N. Lymburner in 1894.

[22] It appears that no development occurred in northern Hamersley, other than the construction of Beach and Carine Roads in 1900, and the State Housing Commission resumed the land in November 1950.

[29] On 13 December 1967, the Metropolitan Region Planning Authority decided to rezone as urban all land bounded by Hepburn Avenue, Marmion Avenue, North Perimeter Highway and Wanneroo Road, on the condition that subdivision would be approved when "Town Planning (Development) Scheme(s) have been approved with the general object of serving the best possible development at the least cost to the community".

[3][32] By July, however, negotiations between the councils broke down, and the Shire of Perth (now City of Stirling) decided to administer its own part of the scheme independently.

[34] The first auction of 80 lots on Saturday, 14 December 1968 was anticipated on the front page of The West Australian, with Premier Brand advising intending buyers to be cautious about their bids.

[35] At the auction, 76 lots were sold at an average price of $4,784, compared to $6,700 at a recent R&I Bank sale in the nearby suburb of Karrinyup, with newspapers agreeing that the Premier's warning had been heeded by bidders.

[36] The western portion of Hamersley grew steadily over the following months and years, with segments being released, auctioned and developed by the R&I Bank, T&S Plunkett Homes and Parkland Housing.

Disagreements over issues such as undergrounding of power and the time limit clauses between the Town Planning Board and the Shire of Perth had caused delays in the scheme's approval.

[41] Residents in the region were at this time on the fringe of Perth's suburban area, relying on partly built main roads, distant shopping centres and overstretched local facilities for several years after the suburb's construction.

It included activities for children, marching bands provided by The Salvation Army and the Australian 10th Light Horse Regiment, and a parade along Glendale Avenue and Beach Road at 10:30 am.

[44] Other events included the grand opening of Warwick Grove Shopping Centre on 13 November 1974,[45] the greening of Aintree-Eglinton Reserve[46] and the activities of the Hamersley Progress Association.

In 1973 Project Homes acquired a poultry farm and agricultural holding, and completed the construction of Vickers Street and adjoining roads, with Don Place becoming a display village.

[48] By July 1975, 200 defence service homes were under construction on land immediately to the east of Erindale Road, to be made available to veterans from March 1976.

[53] On 23 January 2006, a large scrub fire caused the closure of Reid Highway and delays in rail line services during the afternoon rush hour.

Aintree-Eglinton Reserve, a grassed area covering 3.38 hectares (8.4 acres), contains a cricket pitch, several practice runs and night lights for Australian rules football, which are utilised by local amateur and junior clubs.

Some residents argue that electromagnetic interference from the towers is adversely affecting their television and telephone reception,[4] with the issue taken up in Federal parliament by local MPs.

The school and neighbouring kindergarten quickly became overcrowded as their catchment area initially extended to Hepburn Avenue, taking in Warwick and Greenwood to its north.

[citation needed] {{cnspaPublic transport in Hamersley is generally in the form of Transperth buses operated by Swan Transit from the Warwick railway station at its northwestern corner, linking via the Yanchep line to the Perth CBD.}}

[68] In 1987, following the construction of the Warwick Transfer Station and the Mitchell Freeway, services along Glendale Avenue and through East Hamersley ceased, with two new routes – the 347 and the Freeway-bound 387 – being created to serve Eglinton Crescent.

[72] Bus routes serving Beach Road: Hamersley has consistently favoured the centre-right Liberal Party at both federal and state elections throughout its history.

In both the 2001[89] and 2005[90] elections, polling places in Hamersley, as with those in many northern Perth suburbs, switched to the Australian Labor Party at state level.

[93] In 1999, the Hamersley Reference Group was formed to advise then-Federal Member for Stirling Jann McFarlane MHR on issues related to the ABC radio transmission towers and their effect on local residents.