History
although the British Army had established a base at King George Sound (later Albany) on the south coast of Western Australia in 1826 — to forestall rumoured annexation by France — Perth was the first full scale settlement by Europeans in the "western third" of the continent. The town was established in 1829, as the capital of the Swan River Colony, a free settler colony. In 1850, as Western Australia, it became as a convict colony, at the request of farming and business people who wanted cheap labour.
Naming and founding
The name Perth was chosen in 1829 by James Stirling. Stirling, a Scot, implemented the wish of Sir George Murray, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, that the settlement be named after Perthshire, which was his birthplace as well as his parliamentary seat in the British House of Commons. On August 12 that year, Mrs Helen Dance cut down a tree to mark the day of the founding of the town.
In 1901, the colony joined the Federation of Australia. The city has prospered as a result of repeated mining booms, especially for gold, iron ore, nickel, and alumina: Western Australia is rich with mineral resources.
Sand plain setting
Perth is set on the Swan River, so named because of the native black swans. It is a city that fills the sandplain that lies adjacent to the Darling Scarp; extending to Joondalup in the north, Mandurah in the south and Mundaring in the east.
The coastal suburbs take advantage of Perth's oceanside location and clean beaches. To the east, the city is bordered by a low escarpment called the Darling Scarp. Perth is on generally flat, rolling land - largely due to the high amount of sandy soils and deep bedrock.
Water supply
In recent years, climate change has resulted in reduced rainfall in the region, reducing inflow into dams by two thirds over the last 30 years. The lower runoff into Perth's dams and groundwater supplies, coupled with Perth's relatively high population growth, has caused concerns that Perth will be "out of water" within ten years. The Western Australian State Government has responded by introducing mandatory household sprinkler restrictions in the city. The State Government has also begun the process of constructing a relatively expensive sea water desalination plant in Kwinana (expected to be finished in late 2006), and is considering other solutions including piping water from the Kimberley region or extracting water from the Yarragadee Aquifer in the southwest of the state.
City skyline
Perth and Perth Water have been viewed and photographed since settlement in the mid-nineteenth century from Kings Park which is on high ground to the south-west of the City. The historical record of the view, shows clear river banks close to the city and a low skyline through to the 1960's. At that point and to the present, the filling in of the northern side of Perth Water, and crowding of the skyline has continued unabated.
The current Perth city skyline displays the economic prosperity the state currently enjoys . The city's tallest building, Central Park, is according to some ranking systems the fourth tallest building in Australia. Australia's Tallest Buildings
Weather
Perth summers are generally hot and dry, with February generally being the hottest month of the year. The hottest ever recorded temperature in Perth was 46.2°C (115°F) on 23 February 1991. Winters are cool and moist, though winter rainfall has been declining in recent years. The official temperature for Perth has only twice reached 0°C, on 15 July 1997 and 27 July 1998. Even in mid-winter, maximum daytime temperatures only occasionally fall below 16°C (60°F).
Local government
The Perth metropolitan area includes over thirty local government bodies (cities, towns and shires). These include Fremantle, Bayswater, Canning, Stirling, Gosnells, Nedlands, Peppermint Grove, Claremont, Victoria Park and Armadale.
See the list of Perth suburbs and the Local Government of Western Australia for a comprehensive list.
Social structure
Many Perth residents consider their city to be egalitarian and relaxed, with a relatively large middle class and a suburban lifestyle; however, as with all large cities, Perth does have pockets of extreme wealth and poverty.
The "Western Suburbs" between Perth and the Indian Ocean, contain the highest income suburbs - notably the locations of homes of the wealthiest individuals becoming landmarks and tourist attractions.
In the suburbs well away from the city to the north and south, are the "Mortgage Belt" suburbs where the low to middle income population of Perth are often commented about during Federal and State Elections as to their collective responses to government policies that might affect their well-being.
Isolation and attitudes
The population is easy-going and friendly, but can be parochial, especially towards the "Eastern States" which are often viewed with deep, but usually jocular, suspicion. This attitude may be motivated by the feeling that the Eastern States' view Perth as a backward civilisation, but can mostly be attributed to Perth's isolation. It is often said to be the most remote major city on Earth, and it is very remote even within Australia, being closer to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta than it is to the Australian capital, Canberra, or the major cities of Sydney and Brisbane. Historically, Western Australia, of which Perth is the capital, was the most reluctant party to the Commonwealth, again due largely to its isolation.
Ethnicity
Because Fremantle was the first landfall in Australia for migrant ships coming from Europe in the 1950s and '60s, Perth experienced an influx of British, Italian and Greek migrants. More recently, large-scale immigration to Perth by air from the UK has continued, giving Perth the highest-proportion of British-born residents of any Australian city. In some suburbs in southern Perth, the populations of are up to 20 per cent British by birthplace.
There has also been substantial immigration from Eastern Europe, including former Yugoslavia and former Soviet republics. Perth also has substantial immigrant communities from South East Asia such as Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China and India. The Indian community includes a substantial number of Parsees who emigrated from Bombay. Another source of immigration has been Southern Africa, with many white South Africans and Zimbabweans settling in the city.
Many migrants are from New Zealand, due to the fact that New Zealanders, unlike other foreign nationals, are eligible for 'special category' visas, which allow them to live and work in Australia.
Sunset over Yanchep
Sports
The most popular spectator sport in Perth is Australian Rules football. Two teams in the Australian Football League (AFL) are based in Perth: the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Football Club (or "The Dockers").
Every summer the Australian cricket team plays a test match and one day international matches at the WACA ground, which is also home to the state cricket team, known as the Western Warriors.
Perth is also home to popular Football (soccer) team Perth Glory, which has recently been added to the potentially lucrative A-League after the re-formation of Association Football in Australia.
Perth is also home to the annual Hopman Cup tennis tournament, the annual Avon Descent whitewater event, and the annual Rally Australia. In 2006, Perth will be the home of the Western Force, a new franchise in the Super 12 rugby union competition (which will become the Super 14 with the addition of the Force and a team in South Africa).
Perth also sports a team in the National Basketball League, the Perth Wildcats, who are one of the most successful teams in the league's history. However, the popularity of basketball as a spectator sport in Australia has sharply declined since the early 1990's.
Perth is very conducive to an outdoors lifestyle, and this is reflected in the wide variety of sports available to citizens of the city.
Education
Perth is home to four public universities, and one private university: the University of Western Australia, Murdoch University, Curtin University of Technology, Edith Cowan University, and the University of Notre Dame Australia respectively.
The University of Western Australia, which was founded in 1913, in particular is renowned as one of Australia's leading research institutions. The university's monumental neo-classical architecture, most of which is carved from white limestone, is a notable tourist destination in the city. Curtin University of Technology is the successor to the Western Australian Institute of Technology WAIT. Murdoch University was created from land held by the UWA in the late 1970s. Edith Cowan University is the newest public university established back in the early 1990s to cope with tertiary education needs in the north west metropolitan area of Perth. The University of Notre Dame Australia was established in 1990 and was the first Catholic university in Australia.
Education in Western Australia consists of one year of pre-school, followed by seven years of primary school education, and five years of secondary education. The final two years of secondary education are not compulsory, and often students opt to substitute them for TAFE vocational education, or regular employment. The students that stay on in the final two years usually sit for the Tertiary Entrance Examination in order to be eligible to study at university.
Attractions in and around Perth
Over looking the Swan
River from Kings Park.
A sun-baked city that can go weeks or even months without substantial rainfall, one of Perth's main attractions lies in the pristine quality of its beaches. Unbroken stretches of white beaches run the entire length of the city's coastal suburbs.
Old Swan Brewery site viewed from Kings Park. The local Noongar Aboriginal people did not stand a chance against the WA government when they opposed the site's redevelopment.
An important site for the Indigenous people is the former Swan Brewery, a place attributed to Waugal (or Wagyl, Wagal, Wagul, Uocol), a Dreamtime ancestor who formed the bed and hills of the Swan River. The Swan Brewery is believed to be built on a sacred site known as Goonininup.
Aboriginal history: Perth - Western Australia
While not unlike the beach setting of the Gold Coast in Queensland, Perth has not experienced the same level of beachfront and riverfront development of other similar naturally rich Australian urban environments.
Perth City
The centre of Perth is located on the northern bank of the Swan River, a part of the River known as 'Perth Water' and is roughly divided into three parallel sections.
- The Central business district, closest to the river, and which runs along St Georges and Adelaide Terraces, this is the historical core of the city and includes Government House. Parliament House is on the hill to the west looking along St Georges Terrace towards the Darling Scarp.
- The retail district, which has its focus on the Hay and Murray Street Malls.
- The entertainment and cultural precinct, known as Northbridge.
Perth has many attractive suburban parks.
Kings Park
Kings Park occupies 1,003 acres (4 km²) of the crest of a large hill (Mt Eliza) overlooking the CBD. Larger than New York's Central Park 843 acres (3.4 km²), Kings Park contains Perth's botanical gardens as well as tracts of natural bushland. During spring, Kings Park bursts into a world-class display of wildflowers, which is a popular tourist attraction. In August 2003, the Lotterywest Federation Walkway was opened in Kings Park. It is a 620m long elevated walkway through the treetops, providing a remarkable bird's eye view of the park and gardens as well as sweeping views of the Swan River.
Perth is a very green city, with an abundance of parks and tree-lined boulevards.
Perth Zoo
The Perth Zoo is across the Swan River in South Perth, accessible from the city by either the Narrows Bridge or by ferry from the Barrack Street Jetty.
Swan Bells
The Swan Bells is a bell tower siting on the edge of the Swan River. A copper structure representing the sails of a ship, it houses old bells from the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields (of nursery rhyme fame), which were a gift from the United Kingdom to the people of Australia on the occasion of Australia's 200 year anniversary of colonisation. It was opened to the public in 2001. The government of Western Australia took a significant amount of criticism for creating the Bell Tower; it was said that the significant funding allotted for the project (millions of dollars) could have been better placed into the faltering health and education systems, and that the structure could have been better designed aesthetically.
Perth Convention Exhibition Centre
The Perth Convention Exhibition Centre opened in September 2004. Situated on the river foreshore, only a short walk from the CBD, the Centre is WA's only purpose built convention, exhibition and meeting centre. It can cater for functions of up to 2500 delegates. The Centre is expected to attract increased tourism for the state. It is jocularly referred to as 'The Hayshed', because of its flat and extended design.
Islands
There are a few islands off the coast of Perth, notably Rottnest Island, a significant tourist attraction. Other nearby islands include Garden Island (home to a naval base), Carnac Island, Seal Island and Penguin Island. The deep shipping channel between Perth and these islands is called Gage Roads, the site of the America's Cup yachting challenge in 1987.
Fremantle
The historical port city of Fremantle is located at the mouth of the Swan River, and is home to many attractions. Most notable of these is the mammoth newly-constructed Western Australian Maritime Museum. Located on the dock at Victoria Quay, the museum houses Australia 2, the yacht which won Australia the America's Cup in 1983. Also in Fremantle is the Maritime Museum shipwreck galleries, with recovered artefacts and part of the hull of the shipwrecked Dutch ship Batavia, from hundreds of years ago.
Aquarium of Western Australia
Perth is home to Australia's largest underwater walk-through aquarium, AQWA (The Aquarium of Western Australia). Located at Hillarys Boat Harbour, this attracts large numbers of international tourists.
Transport
Perth is served by Perth Airport and Jandakot Airport.
Perth metropolitan transport, including trains, buses and ferries are provided by Transperth network, and its greater suburban transport services are provided by Transwa.
The Indian Pacific is connected between Perth and other eastern states.
Sites to Visit
Fremantle Prison This vast, austere 19th century gaol, built by convict labour from limestone rock quarried on site, was used as a maximum security prison from 1855 till 1991 Protected under the State Heritage Act, this once-grim bastion is now open for the public to explore. A 1.5 hour guided tour includes cells, chapels, the exercise yard, kitchens and gallows.
Bungee West Experience an awesome adrenalin rush as you bungee jump off Australia's first T-shaped sports tower. Safety was Bungee West's prime consideration when developing the sports tower.
Cables Water Ski Park This water ski fun park offers skiing, surfing, water slides and swimming pools. Other attractions include volleyball, mini golf and children's playgrounds. Barbecue facilities, snack bar and licensed restaurant on site
Adventure world Adventure World is Western Australia's biggest water-based fun park, it incorporates lakes, gardens, an island castle and around 30 different rides and attractions for young and old. Spectacular rides include Rocky Mountain Rapids, Alpine Toboggan, Sky Rail and the Sky flyer chairlift. Shaded picnic areas, food and refreshments available. Bring your bathers and sun protection!
Baldivis Estate Winery This modern boutique winery is located at 249a River Road, Baldivis.
Garden Island There are some pleasant bays the public can reach by private boating craft during daylight hours only.
Penguin Island The island supports one of the most northerly colonies of Fairy Penguins, Ferry services operate daily Closed during breeding season June to August.
Seal Island Watch a colony of Sea Lions basking on the beach. A ferry will take you to within 10m of them.
Lake Richmond- Anne Mueller Environmental 'Walk around this deep freshwater lake and look at the many interesting plants, birds and other wildlife. Domed stromalites, one of the earliest forms of life on earth, can be seen in the water around the edge of the lake. A self-guided walk with brochure starts at the observation platform at the corner of Safety Bay Road and Lake Street.
Rockingham Art Gallery The new Rockingham Art Gallery is on the first floor of the Art and Craft Centre in the City Civic Centre, Civic Boulevard.
Cape Peron Visitors to the lookout will be rewarded with a commanding view of Cockburn Sound and a look at World War II gun emplacements. Ideal for diving and swimming.
Rockingham Museum Located at the corner of Flinders Lane and Kent Street. Museum housing display of district artefacts and photographs.
Heritage Trails Discover local history and follow the Old Rockingham or the Rockingham-Jarrahdale Heritage Trails.
Peel Estate Winery Located 10km south of Rockingham off Mandurah Road. Open daily 10am-5pm for wine tastings and sales.
Water Ski Park St Albans Road, Baldivis. Australia's best man made water skiing complex using boats. Come and experience the thrill and excitement of skiing behind a powerful boat.
Serpentine Falls Located on Falls Road, at the base of Serpentine National Park, these majestic falls flow all year round. Enjoy swimming and walk tracks with picnic and barbecue facilities available.
Cohunu Koala Park Located on Mills Rd East (near Armadale) with magnificent views to Perth the park houses Koalas, Kangaroos, Emus, and other native animals. See the Jurassic park creations, and be photographed with a koala. Restaurant facilities available.
Araluen Botanic Park The Park located on Gardiner Rd, (near Armadale) Roleystone is a memorial garden set among waterfalls, rook pools and varieties of tall timber species. There are lake and walk trails along streams and picnic, barbecue and restaurant facilities. Noted for its tulip display in springtime.
History House and Historical Precinct In Jull Street, Armadale the complex is set in attractive Minnawarra Park Historical Precinct with restored 1900 school and 1902 church. It features Aboriginal history, early agricultural machinery, and memorabilia of Military barracks, agriculture, timber cutting. Free entry.
Mandurah Community Museum Situated on rear Pinjarra Road. Original brick school built in 1898. Named after Dalrymple, the first teacher. Contains many other attractions of historical significance, including a scale model of 'James Service, a barque which was. wrecked off Robert Point, Mandurah.
King Carnival Amusement park Situated on the western foreshore, a well established part of Mandurah's holiday atmosphere.
Castle Water Gardens Features various theme landscaped gardens including Japanese, Tropical and Cottage gardens. Also contains a nursery.
Art Studio Ulrich (Mandurah) Located on Marlock Way Parklands, the studio features changing exhibitions of sculptures, paintings and original prints. Also has a barbecue area within the grounds of the studio.
