Hampton's Cheeses
Hampton’s Cheeses, built by convicts
In August 2012, several large wooden discs were discovered under Great Eastern Highway in Belmont. These jarrah blocks, covered in debris and crumbling away after decades in darkness, became a discovery with local and state-wide significance.
Hampton’s Cheeses are the last known remnants of a 19th century convict-built road.
These discs were named “Hampton’s Cheeses” because of their round cheese-like shape and their association with the historical era of Governor Hampton.
It was believed that convicts working in the 1860s had cut down 300-year-old jarrah trees to create the important road that would become Great Eastern Highway, guiding people from Perth to Guildford and beyond. It followed a well-worn Aboriginal track.
Visit the Belmont Museum to see the Hampton’s Cheeses, a real example of the work of the convicts in our local area.
The journey into Belmont Hub