Streets of Subiaco...Street Names (1938).
In 1938 there was an article in the West Australian newspaper about some of the problems with the repetitive names of streets in Perth for the local postman and tradesman.
The article made some interesting comments about the use of male and female street names at the time. "...Distribution of the names of men and women has been arranged fairly evenly; there are about 250 streets carrying masculine names and about 230 with feminine names..."
The most common street name in Perth at the time was Victoria, named after Queen Victoria with a total of 14. There were a number of streets with women's names that were used multiple times such as Kathleen, Elizabeth, Mary and Rose.
Subiaco followed this traditions with streets name after women that include Ada, Catherine, Bronte (now Sadlier), Cecelia, Ellen, Hilda, Jasmine, May, Roberta, Rosemary and Violet. According to the City of Subiaco Streets Name Report these streets are not associated with any person of significance. (Although Catherine and Cecelia were the names of sisters from local religious groups who worked with the needy and poor in the early years of Subiaco).
The article is from Trove, the database in the National Library of Australia. No copyright infringement intended. 
West Australian, 14 January 1938.
OUR 3,000 STREETS. REPETITION OF NAMES.
Traps for Postman and Tradesman (By S.D.W.)
It is not only for reasons of hot weather or excitable domestic dogs that butchers, bakers, candlestick-makers, postmen (particularly), and all whose job it is to spend much of their time travelling the streets of the metropolitan area and calling at houses, are scarcely to be envied. Indeed, the prevailing impression that these people are normally fairly happy, though busy, at their work, that their chief worries decline steadily after Christmas, and that generally their days pass smoothly enough, seems to call for slight revision.
The fact that in the metropolitan area (from Bellevue to Fremantle and from Osborne Park to Rivervale) there are, according to the revised edition of the Imperial Map directory, about 2,935 thoroughfares, is not likely to arouse in those who are not concerned daily with street names and localities undue sympathy for those who are. Probably few people have stopped to think how many miles and how many houses there are in nearly 3,000 streets. The facts that are more likely to cause reflection and perhaps a little surprise are those concerning the remarkable number of instances of duplication of street names, not only in the metropolitan area generally but within a number of districts separately.
Nine William-streets.
For instance, there are nine William streets in Perth, Fremantle and the suburbs nine possibilities for the postman or tradesman, created by those who forget to name the suburb when they address a letter or forward an order and four of these are divided equally between two suburbs. Belmont, which will be seen to be one of the most conspicuous offenders in the field of street name duplication, has two entirely separate William-streets within its boundaries, and so has Midland Junction.
Again, there are eight Brown-streets. Two of these are in Subiaco, and two more in Claremont, none of them, of course, connected in any way. There are 14 thoroughfares that take the name Victoria, and two of these are In Belmont, two in Tuart Hill, two in Claremont and two in Midland Junction, while of the six Briggs-streets in the metropolitan area, two are located in Bassendean.
It is calculated that the aggregate of suburbs that contain duplicated street names is about 40. Belmont has three of the four metropolitan thoroughfares carrying the name Ascot, although one is Ascot-drive and not Ascot-street. Bayswater in its apparent eagerness to have its name as a suburb perpetuated on street poles, has scorned half measures and has a Bayswater-street and a Bayswater-road, while Bassendean, running Belmont very closely for the title of chief offender, has two First-avenues, two Second-avenues and two Third-avenues. And, further complicating a very confusing locality, one set of these three avenues that duplicate are crossed by the Fourth, Fifth. Sixth and Seventh streets continuing on from Bayswater. Before Bassendean's maze of similarly named and numbered streets is complete, one must list its two thoroughfares taking the name of Kitchener and two more called Surrey.
There are plenty of other suburbs containing "street traps" for the new or careless postman and tradesman. Osborne Park has two of the metropolitan area's seven Albert-streets, two Orsova-streets and two White-streets; Bayswater two First-avenues, two Newton-streets and two Short-streets; Applecross two thoroughfares called The Strand; Victoria Park two of the five roads named Kathleen and two of the eight Government-roads; Cottesloe has a Broome-street and a Broome-avenue; Palmyra a High-street and a High-road; and South Perth two of the seven thoroughfares beginning with King. Belmont, in addition to its welter of duplication already noted, has two of the 10 streets named George, two of the five Rose-streets, a Boulder-avenue and a Boulder-street, and two Somers-streets, the last mentioned being the only ones so named in the metropolitan area. Even the two cities, where one would expect a studied avoidance of possible confusion, are not spared. Few people probably realise that Fremantle has two Sealy-streets, two of the general Smith-streets and two Stokes-streets, while further pitfalls may lie in the Croker-lane and Croker-street and the Lefroy-road and Lefroy-street that are within its boundaries. Perth is not quite so serious an offender, although within the whole area are two thoroughfares named Bulwer, two Adelaides and two Stuart-streets.
A Punn on Victoria.
The name that is borne by the greatest number of streets in the metropolitan area is Victoria, the total of 14 not including, of course, cases where a Victoria-street passes through one suburb to another. In second place is Park, which is prefixed to 13 thoroughfares, while Robinson (11) is third. Then follow George and Railway (10), Swan, James, Elizabeth, Forrest and View (9), York, Hill, Brown, Edward, Government, May, Stone, Hardy, Roberts, Alexander, Stirling and Esplanade (8), Stanley, Thomas, Florence, Mary, Johnson, North. Salisbury, Charles, King, Birdwood, John and Smith (7), the latter slipping from the "nines" because of the less-common Eymth that is preferred in two of the more self-conscious suburbs. There are too many sixes, fives, fours, threes and twos for mention; but surprisingly enough, only one solitary Jones amid the great assemblage of Browns and Smiths. The use of Scottish names on our streets is also appropriately thrifty; those start with Me and Mac total little over a score.
The Great War has left its mark on many metropolitan streets. There are seven thoroughfares named Birdwood and seven named Kitchener. Others are Haig (5), Anzac (4), Gallipoli (2), Monash (2) and Jutland, Mons and Verdun (one each). Prominent figures in history, such as Cleopatra, Napoleon, Washington and Drake, and public men, past aid present, at home and abroad, have numerous streets named after them. Mozart is the sole musician thus perpetuated, and the poets fare little better, for although Shakespeare's name rests on three streets, the only others who get a mention are Longfellow, Byron and Cowper, and only once each at that. Local politicians, civic fathers, etc, as reference to the directory will soon show, have done far better.
Odd Nomenclature.
Distribution of the names of men and women has been arranged fairly evenly; there are about 250 streets carrying masculine names and about 230 with feminine names. Many oddities in street naming are noticeable. One finds Cemetery, Grandstand, India, Music, Rob Roy, Money and Zebina, and wonders exactly how they and many others like them came to be so called, one also wonders, in thinking of the almost countless words in the English language, just why there has been the apparent lack of originality that has led to the remarkable amount repetition on our street signs.
