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The area developed as a fruit and poultry growing zone. The demand for chickens and eggs was very high in the 1900s and the area around the railway became widely
known as the major poultry producing centre in the state.
There was a need to get the produce to market easily so a small shed and finally a small station were established on the Mundaring loop railway line.
It was given the name Zamia (after a type of native palm that grows in the south west) and operated from 1913 to 1954.
Although it is quite an unusual name there is also a Mt. Zamia in Queensland, a Zamia Street in Redfern, Sydney and there is the Zamia Cafe in King's Park.
The location itself no longer seems to appear on maps. It is only listed on this website because it is one of the very few places in W.A. that ever started with a 'Z'.
Zamia Palm (Macrozamia riedlei)
The zamia paln is a type of cycad that is endemic to the south-west part of Western Australia.
The seed pods were a source of food for the Aborigines but they had to be prepared correctly to make them edible. A number of early
European expoloers knew the Aborigines ate the seeds but did not know the proper way to prepare them and became ill after eating them.
Zamia can grow up to 3 metres tall but are more often about .5 of a metre. They usually flower between September and October and when fertilised,
the female cones develop they can weight up to 14 kilograms.
The male cones remain green while the female ones gradually become reddish.
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