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| Rossmoyne, Western Australia |
Rossmoyne, Western AustraliaRossmoyne is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, within the City of Canning. Its postcode is 6148.
Location
Rossmoyne is bounded by Leach Highway to the south, Bull Creek to the west, the Canning River to the north, and Shelley to the east.
Transportation
Rossmoyne is linked to Perth City, via the Kwinana Freeway, and to Fremantle, via Leach Highway.
Perth is serviced by Transperth, Perth's public transport network. Bus 170 runs from Rossmoyne east to Perth City, and west to Garden City, a major suburban shopping centre. Buses 877 and 878 run from stops on Leach Highway to Perth via the Kwinana Freeway, and to Cannington Interchange.
Amenities
Rossmoyne's shopping centre, Rossmoyne Village, includes a Dewson's supermarket, a liquor store, 'Rocs' Cafe, a Chinese restaurant, a hairdresser, a newsagency, a butcher, a real estate agent and Antonio's, a pizzeria. Public tennis courts and a bowling club are located nearby. Local students attend Rossmoyne Pre-Primary, Rossmoyne Primary School and Rossmoyne Senior High School.
Category:Suburbs of Perth
Perth, Western AustraliaPerth is the state capital and most populous city of Western Australia. In June 2004 the Perth Metropolitan Area had an estimated population of 1.5 million, making it the fourth largest city in Australia. Perth is located at .
History
Australia is an historically accurate reconstruction of the official ceremony by which Perth was founded.]]
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.
After a referendum in 1900, Western Australia joined the Federation of Australia in 1901. WA was the last of the Australian colonies to agree to join, and only did so after the other colonies offered several concessions, including the construction of a rail line to Perth (via Kalgoorlie) from the Eastern States. Since then, Perth has prospered as a result of repeated mining booms, especially for gold, iron ore, nickel, and alumina; Western Australia is rich with mineral resources.
Geography
Sand plain setting
alumina
alumina
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 sea water desalination plant in Kwinana (expected to be finished in late 2006). Due to the emission of large volumes of greenhouse gases involved in sea water desalination, this plan has been criticised by some as environmentally unfriendly. The state government is also 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
Traditionally, Perth and Perth Water have usually been viewed and photographed from Kings Park, situated on a hill 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 1960s. Since then, the filling in of the northern side of Perth Water and crowding of the skyline has continued unabated.
Perth's city skyline displays the economic prosperity the state currently enjoys. Its tallest building, Central Park, is by some measures the sixth tallest building in Australia.[http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/tp/co/?id=100012]
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). Most days a sea breeze, which locals refer to as "The Fremantle Doctor", blows from the south-west cooling the city, before temperatures climb too high.
Government and politics
Local government
The City of Perth is administered by a local government body called City of Perth.
The Perth metropolitan area includes over thirty local government bodies (cities, towns and shires). These include Fremantle, Bayswater, Canning, Stirling, Gosnells, Nedlands, Subiaco, Peppermint Grove, Claremont, Victoria Park, Joondalup, Wanneroo and Armadale.
See the list of Perth suburbs and the Local Government Areas of Western Australia for a comprehensive list.
Military Presence
Perth is a significant base of operations for the Australian military, since it is the largest city on the west coast. These bases include:
- The headquarters of the SAS (Australia's elite military unit), located at Campbell Barracks, Swanbourne
- Irwin Barracks Army base at Karrakatta
- HMAS Stirling at Garden Island, the largest Navy base in Australia
- A major RAAF base at RAAF Base Pearce, Bullsbrook, north of Perth.
Culture
Social structure
Bullsbrook]
Bullsbrook]
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 has contributed to the Western Australia not embracing Daylight Savings or Summertime, with some parts of the WA population resisting the idea of "conforming" to the eastern states.
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, although others (such as Honolulu) are clearly more isolated. Perth 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, Melbourne 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. The name of all migrants who arrived during this period are listed on an honour board outside the Maritime Museum. 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 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, India and Sri Lanka (Many of whom emigrate their home countries for educational purposes). 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.
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 (the "Fremantle Dockers"). The "home" of Australian Rules football in Perth is Subiaco Oval.
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.
Rugby league briefly maintained a Perth team in the national competition (1995-1997), known as the Western Reds (Perth Reds in the Super League season)
Perth is very conducive to an outdoors lifestyle, and this is reflected in the wide variety of sports available to citizens of the city.
sport]
Music
Perth has had connections to iconic segments of the Australian popular music scene being the hometown of INXS, and with Fremantle being the place Bon Scott grew up and is buried. More recently, several bands from Perth have gained recognition on the national music stage. The success of these bands, including Jebediah, Eskimo Joe, Little Birdy, End of Fashion and the Sleepy Jackson, have led to claims that Perth is the "new Seattle" of music.
Because of the 'tyranny of distance', many 'big name' acts, both of classical and popular music, do not regularly visit Perth, being confined to the eastern seaboard, and overseas artists often do not include Perth in their tour schedule. However, Perth is home to the West Australian Symphony Orchestra which performs a regular programme of orchestral music, usually from its base at the Perth Concert Hall; it also tours regional Western Australia. There are a large number of smaller professional, semi-professional and non-professional music groups and choral societies and choirs which perform in a variety of venues in and around Perth. Repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary. The Perth International Festival of the Arts also includes music in its schedule. Opera is provided by West Australian Opera.
Regular rock concerts held in Perth are the Big Day Out (nationwide) and Rock-It (Perth only). The city is also the setting to the Pavement song 'I love Perth'.
Education
See Western Australia for general information on education in Western Australia
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 1911, 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 UWA in the late 1970s. Edith Cowan University was established 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.
Tourist attractions in and around Perth
University of Notre Dame Australia]]
University of Notre Dame Australia
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.
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, close to the river, runs along St Georges Terrace and Adelaide Terrace and is the historical core of the city. It includes Government House and several office towers. 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 malls are interconnected by arcades and walk through shops. Over time the number of hotels in this area has declined, with new hotels being built at the eastern and western ends of the city. Forrest Place, connecting Wellington Street and Murray Street, is a popular meeting spot, and is the site of political rallies and public events. Closed to traffic and redeveloped in the late 1980s, it is flanked by the Commonwealth Bank and GPO buildings on the west, and the Forrest Chase retail development on the east.
- The entertainment and cultural precinct, known as Northbridge commences at the point where the railway land cuts through the city. It extends for at least four blocks north, and is bound at the east by the Library, Art Gallery and Museum, and to the west by the northern suburbs railway.
Kings Park
Kings Park occupies 1,003 acres (406 hectares) of the crest of a large hill (Mt Eliza) overlooking the CBD. Larger than New York's Central Park (843 acres (341 ha)), 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 620 m 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
Narrows Bridge]
The Swan Bells is a bell tower siting on the edge of the Swan River. It is a copper clad structure representing the sails of a ship. It houses bells from the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, which were a gift from the United Kingdom to the people of Australia on the occasion of Australia's 200 year anniversary of colonisation. The Swan Bells 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 health and education systems, and that the structure could have been better designed aesthetically.
The 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 which originally was intended to resemble a gum leaf.
Perth Mint
2004]
Perth Mint is the oldest still-operating mint in Australia. One of two legal tender mints in Australia, the other is in Canberra. It is open to the public 7 days a week and includes displays and the Perth Mint Shop which buys and sells precious metal proof quality gold and silver coins, bullion, nuggets and jewellery.
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. All of these Islands are 'A' class nature reserves with restricted access. 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 artifacts and part of the hull of the shipwrecked Dutch ship Batavia, from hundreds of years ago. A more recent vessel, the Oberon class submarine the HMAS Ovens has been retired next to the Maritime Museum.
The 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.
Whiteman Park
Whiteman Park is situated in picturesque bushland 25 minutes North East from the City Centre, it forms the western boundry of the Swan Valley wine region. The Park covers an area of more than 4200 hectares (over 10,000 acres) with nearly half of this classified as high value conservation bushland or wetland. The Park takes its name from Mr Lew Whiteman (1903-1994), a prominent local identity and enthusiastic collector of artifacts. His family settled in Guildford from England in the late 19th century and Lew acquired some land around Mussel Pool in the 1940s. This, and other land held by a variety of private owners, was purchased by the State Government in 1978 and combined to form Whiteman Park. The Park also protects the southern portion of the Gnangarra Water Mound - a large underground water source that supplies up to 40% of metropolitan Perth's drinking water. All native wildlife in the Park is protected and more than 100 Bird species have been identified. Along with 32 Reptile, 7 Amphibian and 8 Mammals. The Caversham Wildlife Park recently move into an area of park near the Village. There are also a number different collections of transport and machinary equipment as well as working historical Tram and Rail lines.
Transport
Rail]
Perth is served by Perth Airport for domestic and international flights and Jandakot Airport for general aviation.
Perth metropolian transport, including trains, buses and ferries are provided by Transperth network, and its greater suburbian transport services are provided by Transwa. Payment for travel is via tickets that need to be validated prior to commencing your journey. Validation machines are located at train stations and on buses. Tickets can be purchased from ticket offices at major stations as well as from ticket machines at train stations, or from bus drivers.
Currently a new railway is being constructed to Rockingham and Mandurah
The Indian Pacific passenger rail service connects Perth and the eastern states.
Rail freight terminates at the Kewdale Rail Terminal, 15 km southeast of the city centre.
Perth's main container and passenger port is at Fremantle, 19 km southwest at the mouth of the Swan River. A second port complex is being developed in Cockburn Sound primarily for the export of bulk commodities.
Sister cities
Perth has a number of sister cities. They are:
- Kagoshima, Japan, established 1974
- Houston, Texas, USA, established 1984
- Rhodes, Greece, established 1984
- Megisti, Greece, established 1984
- San Diego, California, USA, established 1987
- Vasto, Italy, established 1989
External links
- [http://www.perthwesternaustralia.net/ Perth Western Australia - Portal]
- [http://www.perthwesternaustralia.net/perth_weather.html Perth Weather]
- [http://www.cityofperth.wa.gov.au/ City of Perth government website]
- [http://mirror.bom.gov.au/products/IDR123.shtml 128 km Radius, Perth Radar, Current Rainfall]
- [http://www.perthwesternaustralia.net/perth_street_directory_frset.html Perth Street Directory]
- [http://www.westernaustralia.net/discover/perth/index.shtml Western Australian Tourism Commission]
- [http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/oursites/maritime/maritime.asp Fremantle Maritime Museum]
- [http://www.kpbg.wa.gov.au/ King's Park and Botanical Gardens website]
- [http://www.perthcentre.com.au/ Perth Convention Exhibition Centre]
- [http://www.rottnest.wa.gov.au/ Rottnest Island website]
- [http://www.dpi.wa.gov.au/coastaldata/coastcam/live.html Webcams of Perth's most popular beaches]
- [http://www.perthwesternaustralia.net/newspapers_perth_australia_frset.html Perth Newspapers]
- [http://perthcam.bankwest.com.au/full.html Webcam from top of the city, looking down on the river]
- [http://flickr.com/photos/tags/perth Flickr: Photos tagged with perth]
- [http://flickr.com/photos/tags/perth,australia Flickr: Photos tagged with perth,australia]
- [http://www.ecoresearch.net/modules.php?set_albumName=Perth&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php Perth Photo Gallery (ECOresearch Network)]
Category:Australian capital cities
Category:Cities in Western Australia
Category:Coastal cities of Australia
Category:Local Government Areas of Perth
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ja:パース (オーストラリア)
Canning, Western Australia
The City of Canning is a Local Government Area of Western Australia. It covers an area of approximately 65.4 square kilometers in metropolitan Perth, the capital of Western Australia. The City of Canning maintains 545 km of roads and has a population of 87,754.
Suburbs
- Bentley
- Canning Vale
-
- Cannington
- East Cannington
- Ferndale
- Leeming
-
- Lynwood
- Parkwood
- Queens Park
- Riverton
- Rossmoyne
- Shelley
- St James
-
- Welshpool
- Willetton
- Wilson
(
- indicates suburb partially located within City)
External links
- [http://www.canning.wa.gov.au/ City of Canning Website]
Category:Local Government Areas of Perth
Shelley, Western AustraliaShelley is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Canning. Its postcode is 6148.
Category:Suburbs of Perth
Perth, AustraliaPerth is the state capital and most populous city of Western Australia. In June 2004 the Perth Metropolitan Area had an estimated population of 1.5 million, making it the fourth largest city in Australia. Perth is located at .
History
Australia is an historically accurate reconstruction of the official ceremony by which Perth was founded.]]
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.
After a referendum in 1900, Western Australia joined the Federation of Australia in 1901. WA was the last of the Australian colonies to agree to join, and only did so after the other colonies offered several concessions, including the construction of a rail line to Perth (via Kalgoorlie) from the Eastern States. Since then, Perth has prospered as a result of repeated mining booms, especially for gold, iron ore, nickel, and alumina; Western Australia is rich with mineral resources.
Geography
Sand plain setting
alumina
alumina
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 sea water desalination plant in Kwinana (expected to be finished in late 2006). Due to the emission of large volumes of greenhouse gases involved in sea water desalination, this plan has been criticised by some as environmentally unfriendly. The state government is also 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
Traditionally, Perth and Perth Water have usually been viewed and photographed from Kings Park, situated on a hill 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 1960s. Since then, the filling in of the northern side of Perth Water and crowding of the skyline has continued unabated.
Perth's city skyline displays the economic prosperity the state currently enjoys. Its tallest building, Central Park, is by some measures the sixth tallest building in Australia.[http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/tp/co/?id=100012]
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). Most days a sea breeze, which locals refer to as "The Fremantle Doctor", blows from the south-west cooling the city, before temperatures climb too high.
Government and politics
Local government
The City of Perth is administered by a local government body called City of Perth.
The Perth metropolitan area includes over thirty local government bodies (cities, towns and shires). These include Fremantle, Bayswater, Canning, Stirling, Gosnells, Nedlands, Subiaco, Peppermint Grove, Claremont, Victoria Park, Joondalup, Wanneroo and Armadale.
See the list of Perth suburbs and the Local Government Areas of Western Australia for a comprehensive list.
Military Presence
Perth is a significant base of operations for the Australian military, since it is the largest city on the west coast. These bases include:
- The headquarters of the SAS (Australia's elite military unit), located at Campbell Barracks, Swanbourne
- Irwin Barracks Army base at Karrakatta
- HMAS Stirling at Garden Island, the largest Navy base in Australia
- A major RAAF base at RAAF Base Pearce, Bullsbrook, north of Perth.
Culture
Social structure
Bullsbrook]
Bullsbrook]
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 has contributed to the Western Australia not embracing Daylight Savings or Summertime, with some parts of the WA population resisting the idea of "conforming" to the eastern states.
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, although others (such as Honolulu) are clearly more isolated. Perth 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, Melbourne 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. The name of all migrants who arrived during this period are listed on an honour board outside the Maritime Museum. 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 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, India and Sri Lanka (Many of whom emigrate their home countries for educational purposes). 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.
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 (the "Fremantle Dockers"). The "home" of Australian Rules football in Perth is Subiaco Oval.
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.
Rugby league briefly maintained a Perth team in the national competition (1995-1997), known as the Western Reds (Perth Reds in the Super League season)
Perth is very conducive to an outdoors lifestyle, and this is reflected in the wide variety of sports available to citizens of the city.
sport]
Music
Perth has had connections to iconic segments of the Australian popular music scene being the hometown of INXS, and with Fremantle being the place Bon Scott grew up and is buried. More recently, several bands from Perth have gained recognition on the national music stage. The success of these bands, including Jebediah, Eskimo Joe, Little Birdy, End of Fashion and the Sleepy Jackson, have led to claims that Perth is the "new Seattle" of music.
Because of the 'tyranny of distance', many 'big name' acts, both of classical and popular music, do not regularly visit Perth, being confined to the eastern seaboard, and overseas artists often do not include Perth in their tour schedule. However, Perth is home to the West Australian Symphony Orchestra which performs a regular programme of orchestral music, usually from its base at the Perth Concert Hall; it also tours regional Western Australia. There are a large number of smaller professional, semi-professional and non-professional music groups and choral societies and choirs which perform in a variety of venues in and around Perth. Repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary. The Perth International Festival of the Arts also includes music in its schedule. Opera is provided by West Australian Opera.
Regular rock concerts held in Perth are the Big Day Out (nationwide) and Rock-It (Perth only). The city is also the setting to the Pavement song 'I love Perth'.
Education
See Western Australia for general information on education in Western Australia
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 1911, 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 UWA in the late 1970s. Edith Cowan University was established 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.
Tourist attractions in and around Perth
University of Notre Dame Australia]]
University of Notre Dame Australia
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.
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, close to the river, runs along St Georges Terrace and Adelaide Terrace and is the historical core of the city. It includes Government House and several office towers. 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 malls are interconnected by arcades and walk through shops. Over time the number of hotels in this area has declined, with new hotels being built at the eastern and western ends of the city. Forrest Place, connecting Wellington Street and Murray Street, is a popular meeting spot, and is the site of political rallies and public events. Closed to traffic and redeveloped in the late 1980s, it is flanked by the Commonwealth Bank and GPO buildings on the west, and the Forrest Chase retail development on the east.
- The entertainment and cultural precinct, known as Northbridge commences at the point where the railway land cuts through the city. It extends for at least four blocks north, and is bound at the east by the Library, Art Gallery and Museum, and to the west by the northern suburbs railway.
Kings Park
Kings Park occupies 1,003 acres (406 hectares) of the crest of a large hill (Mt Eliza) overlooking the CBD. Larger than New York's Central Park (843 acres (341 ha)), 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 620 m 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
Narrows Bridge]
The Swan Bells is a bell tower siting on the edge of the Swan River. It is a copper clad structure representing the sails of a ship. It houses bells from the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, which were a gift from the United Kingdom to the people of Australia on the occasion of Australia's 200 year anniversary of colonisation. The Swan Bells 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 health and education systems, and that the structure could have been better designed aesthetically.
The 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 which originally was intended to resemble a gum leaf.
Perth Mint
2004]
Perth Mint is the oldest still-operating mint in Australia. One of two legal tender mints in Australia, the other is in Canberra. It is open to the public 7 days a week and includes displays and the Perth Mint Shop which buys and sells precious metal proof quality gold and silver coins, bullion, nuggets and jewellery.
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. All of these Islands are 'A' class nature reserves with restricted access. 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 artifacts and part of the hull of the shipwrecked Dutch ship Batavia, from hundreds of years ago. A more recent vessel, the Oberon class submarine the HMAS Ovens has been retired next to the Maritime Museum.
The 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.
Whiteman Park
Whiteman Park is situated in picturesque bushland 25 minutes North East from the City Centre, it forms the western boundry of the Swan Valley wine region. The Park covers an area of more than 4200 hectares (over 10,000 acres) with nearly half of this classified as high value conservation bushland or wetland. The Park takes its name from Mr Lew Whiteman (1903-1994), a prominent local identity and enthusiastic collector of artifacts. His family settled in Guildford from England in the late 19th century and Lew acquired some land around Mussel Pool in the 1940s. This, and other land held by a variety of private owners, was purchased by the State Government in 1978 and combined to form Whiteman Park. The Park also protects the southern portion of the Gnangarra Water Mound - a large underground water source that supplies up to 40% of metropolitan Perth's drinking water. All native wildlife in the Park is protected and more than 100 Bird species have been identified. Along with 32 Reptile, 7 Amphibian and 8 Mammals. The Caversham Wildlife Park recently move into an area of park near the Village. There are also a number different collections of transport and machinary equipment as well as working historical Tram and Rail lines.
Transport
Rail]
Perth is served by Perth Airport for domestic and international flights and Jandakot Airport for general aviation.
Perth metropolian transport, including trains, buses and ferries are provided by Transperth network, and its greater suburbian transport services are provided by Transwa. Payment for travel is via tickets that need to be validated prior to commencing your journey. Validation machines are located at train stations and on buses. Tickets can be purchased from ticket offices at major stations as well as from ticket machines at train stations, or from bus drivers.
Currently a new railway is being constructed to Rockingham and Mandurah
The Indian Pacific passenger rail service connects Perth and the eastern states.
Rail freight terminates at the Kewdale Rail Terminal, 15 km southeast of the city centre.
Perth's main container and passenger port is at Fremantle, 19 km southwest at the mouth of the Swan River. A second port complex is being developed in Cockburn Sound primarily for the export of bulk commodities.
Sister cities
Perth has a number of sister cities. They are:
- Kagoshima, Japan, established 1974
- Houston, Texas, USA, established 1984
- Rhodes, Greece, established 1984
- Megisti, Greece, established 1984
- San Diego, California, USA, established 1987
- Vasto, Italy, established 1989
External links
- [http://www.perthwesternaustralia.net/ Perth Western Australia - Portal]
- [http://www.perthwesternaustralia.net/perth_weather.html Perth Weather]
- [http://www.cityofperth.wa.gov.au/ City of Perth government website]
- [http://mirror.bom.gov.au/products/IDR123.shtml 128 km Radius, Perth Radar, Current Rainfall]
- [http://www.perthwesternaustralia.net/perth_street_directory_frset.html Perth Street Directory]
- [http://www.westernaustralia.net/discover/perth/index.shtml Western Australian Tourism Commission]
- [http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/oursites/maritime/maritime.asp Fremantle Maritime Museum]
- [http://www.kpbg.wa.gov.au/ King's Park and Botanical Gardens website]
- [http://www.perthcentre.com.au/ Perth Convention Exhibition Centre]
- [http://www.rottnest.wa.gov.au/ Rottnest Island website]
- [http://www.dpi.wa.gov.au/coastaldata/coastcam/live.html Webcams of Perth's most popular beaches]
- [http://www.perthwesternaustralia.net/newspapers_perth_australia_frset.html Perth Newspapers]
- [http://perthcam.bankwest.com.au/full.html Webcam from top of the city, looking down on the river]
- [http://flickr.com/photos/tags/perth Flickr: Photos tagged with perth]
- [http://flickr.com/photos/tags/perth,australia Flickr: Photos tagged with perth,australia]
- [http://www.ecoresearch.net/modules.php?set_albumName=Perth&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php Perth Photo Gallery (ECOresearch Network)]
Category:Australian capital cities
Category:Cities in Western Australia
Category:Coastal cities of Australia
Category:Local Government Areas of Perth
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ja:パース (オーストラリア)
Fremantle, Australia
Fremantle () is a city located within the Perth metropolitan area on Australia's western coast, at the mouth of the Swan River, 19 kilometres southwest of Perth's Central Business District. It was established by British settlers as part of the Swan River Colony in 1829. It was declared a city in 1929, and has a population of approximately 25,000.
1829
In 1891, Irish-born engineer C. Y. O'Connor deepened the harbour and removed the limestone bar and sand shoals across the entrance to the Swan River, thus rendering Fremantle a serviceable port for commercial shipping. Fremantle still serves as the main port for Western Australia. During World War II it was the 2nd largest base for Allied submarines operating in the Pacific Theater. There were up to 125 US, 31 British and 11 Free Dutch Submarines operating out of Fremantle, until the American moved forward to the Philippines.
Fremantle is considered to be one of Perth's cultural centres, with convict-built colonial era buildings, the old jetty and port, the maritime museum, and many other buildings of general historical interest.
maritime museumOne of these is the Round House, the oldest remaining building in Western Australia, built as a gaol in 1830 - 1831. The Round House had eight cells and a gaolers residence which all opened up into a central courtyard. In the 1800s, bay whaling was carried out from Bathers Beach below the Round House. As part of the whaling operations a tunnel was constructed under the Round House to provide whalers with access to the town from the jetty and Bathers Beach. When the first 75 convicts arrived from Britain in 1850 to support the colony's dwindling population, it became apparent that the Round House was inadequately small to house them. The convicts built a new gaol which was completed in the 1850s and continued to be used as Fremantle prison through until 1991.
1991Fremantle Prison was once one of the most notorious prisons in the British Empire. It housed British convicts, local prisoners, military prisoners, enemy aliens and prisoners of war. It is now one of the state's premier heritage sites.
The Round House is located in what is now known as Fremantle's West End: a collection of streets containing colonial buildings at the tip of the southern end of the port, which is vaguely reminiscent of Stockholm. A process of gentrification in the early 1990s was accelerated by the establishment of the University of Notre Dame Australia, which has restored and occupies many of the buildings in the West End.
The majestic Fremantle History Museum is another building constructed in the 1860s by convicts from indigenous limestone: it is a former asylum building on Ord Street and is one of Fremantle's most significant landmarks. This building was the land base of the Us Navy during WWII. It now also house the Immigration Museum which is dedicated to preserving the history and stories of all immigrants who arrived in Western Australia.
asylum
The Fremantle Markets are a notable tourist attraction, located in the centre of Fremantle on its "Cappuccino Strip" (so named because of the abundance of restaurants and cafes). The Premier of Western Australia, Sir John Forrest, laid the foundation stone for the markets on Saturday 6 November, 1897. Over 150 stalls are housed in its old Victorian-era building, which was listed by the National Trust and Heritage Council in 1980.
Fremantle was the host city for the America's Cup yachting race in 1987. The unsuccessful cup defense was conducted on the waters in Gage Roads, off Fremantle.
Fremantle is notable for its large ethnic communities of Italian, Portuguese and Greek immigrants, which have all contributed to the distinctive heritage and culture of the city. Fremantle also has a role in Nyoongar Aboriginal mythology.
Fremantle and Perth have often had a light, humorous antagonism, which extends to the rivalry between local AFL team known as the Fremantle Football Club (colloquially known as The Dockers) and the Perth team, the West Coast Eagles.
The name of the city is universally pronounced as "FREE-mantle", not "Fre-MAN-tel" as one might erroneously assume. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for Fremantle is "Freo" (FREE-oh). The cooling breeze blowing from Fremantle to Perth during the hot summer is colloquially known as the "Fremantle Doctor".
West Coast Eagles
Suburbs
- Beaconsfield
- Fremantle
- Hilton
-
- North Fremantle
- O'Connor
- Samson
- South Fremantle
- White Gum Valley
(
- indicates suburb partially located within City)
See also
- Fremantle Prison
- Fremantle Hospital
- Fremantle railway station
External links
- [http://www.westernaustralia.net/fast_facts/download/pdf/fremantle_brochure.pdf Tourist Information on Fremantle]
- [http://www.calm.wa.gov.au/tourism/freo_ab_heritage_walk.html Information on Fremantle Aboriginal Heritage Walks]
- Satellite image from [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=canberra&ll=-32.056900,115.743885&spn=0.028472,0.049087&t=k&hl=en Google Maps]
Category:Cities in Western Australia
Category:Fremantle
Category:Local Government Areas of Western Australia
Category:Suburbs of Perth
Category:Towns in Western Australia
Transperthright
Transperth controls the public transport (by contracting other companies) in Perth, Western Australia. It is run by the Public Transport Authority.
Serving areas
Transperth currently serves the Perth metropolitan area from the Perth City, east to Chidlow, west to Fremantle, south to Mandurah and north to Two Rocks. These suburbs are divided into nine fare-zones, by the distance from the Perth city centre.
Free Transit Zone
In Perth central areas, Free Transit Zone is provided for free travel in Perth City. Also inside this area, three bus routes are provided for free travel between streets in Perth. See Perth Central Area Transit for more details.
SmartRider
The Public Transport Authority and Transperth plan to introduce a smartcard-based system in 2005 named SmartRider, replacing the existing MultiRider. Some students in high schools have already
been issued these cards, although they have not been introduced to the general public. This is set to happen by 2006. The student SmartRiders feature a picture of the student, their name and address of their school. On October 16, 2005, 2000 people will trial the SmartRider system for one month.
The smartcard-based system is based on software and hardware from the UK company Wayfarer [http://www.wayfarer.co.uk/].
TravelEasy
The TravelEasy is a Transperth's email update service that send notifications to the users, which this service is introduced in 2003. Users can opt-in to this service to receive the service changes, disruptions and special events on selected railway lines and bus routes through email. Later on, the TravelEasy account can be used to link the SmartRider card for account balances or other operations.
Perth's fuel cell bus trial
The Department of Planning and Infrastructure and Transperth are running the Perth part of the fuel cell bus trial. The buses are operated by Path Transit.
Operators
Path Transit
Bus
- Path Transit
- Swan Transit
- Southern Coast Transit
Train
- Transperth Trains
Ferry
- Captain Cook Cruises
Call Centre
- Serco Australia
See also
- List of Perth railway stations
- List of Perth bus stations
- Transwa - also run by the Public Transport Authority, controls public transport in Western Australia, outside Perth.
- New MetroRail - in charge of doubling Transperth's rail network.
External links
- [http://www.pta.wa.gov.au/ The Public Transport Authority's website]
- [http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/ Transperth's website]
- [http://www.newmetrorail.wa.gov.au New MetroRail]
- [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Transperth_bus_spotters Yahoo! Groups (Transperth Bus Spotters)]
- [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/western_australian_government_railways Yahoo! Groups (Western Australian Government Railways)]
Category:Intermodal transportation authorities
Perth, AustraliaPerth is the state capital and most populous city of Western Australia. In June 2004 the Perth Metropolitan Area had an estimated population of 1.5 million, making it the fourth largest city in Australia. Perth is located at .
History
Australia is an historically accurate reconstruction of the official ceremony by which Perth was founded.]]
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.
After a referendum in 1900, Western Australia joined the Federation of Australia in 1901. WA was the last of the Australian colonies to agree to join, and only did so after the other colonies offered several concessions, including the construction of a rail line to Perth (via Kalgoorlie) from the Eastern States. Since then, Perth has prospered as a result of repeated mining booms, especially for gold, iron ore, nickel, and alumina; Western Australia is rich with mineral resources.
Geography
Sand plain setting
alumina
alumina
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 sea water desalination plant in Kwinana (expected to be finished in late 2006). Due to the emission of large volumes of greenhouse gases involved in sea water desalination, this plan has been criticised by some as environmentally unfriendly. The state government is also 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
Traditionally, Perth and Perth Water have usually been viewed and photographed from Kings Park, situated on a hill 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 1960s. Since then, the filling in of the northern side of Perth Water and crowding of the skyline has continued unabated.
Perth's city skyline displays the economic prosperity the state currently enjoys. Its tallest building, Central Park, is by some measures the sixth tallest building in Australia.[http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/tp/co/?id=100012]
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). Most days a sea breeze, which locals refer to as "The Fremantle Doctor", blows from the south-west cooling the city, before temperatures climb too high.
Government and politics
Local government
The City of Perth is administered by a local government body called City of Perth.
The Perth metropolitan area includes over thirty local government bodies (cities, towns and shires). These include Fremantle, Bayswater, Canning, Stirling, Gosnells, Nedlands, Subiaco, Peppermint Grove, Claremont, Victoria Park, Joondalup, Wanneroo and Armadale.
See the list of Perth suburbs and the Local Government Areas of Western Australia for a comprehensive list.
Military Presence
Perth is a significant base of operations for the Australian military, since it is the largest city on the west coast. These bases include:
- The headquarters of the SAS (Australia's elite military unit), located at Campbell Barracks, Swanbourne
- Irwin Barracks Army base at Karrakatta
- HMAS Stirling at Garden Island, the largest Navy base in Australia
- A major RAAF base at RAAF Base Pearce, Bullsbrook, north of Perth.
Culture
Social structure
Bullsbrook]
Bullsbrook]
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 has contributed to the Western Australia not embracing Daylight Savings or Summertime, with some parts of the WA population resisting the idea of "conforming" to the eastern states.
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, although others (such as Honolulu) are clearly more isolated. Perth 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, Melbourne 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. The name of all migrants who arrived during this period are listed on an honour board outside the Maritime Museum. 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 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, India and Sri Lanka (Many of whom emigrate their home countries for educational purposes). 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.
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 (the "Fremantle Dockers"). The "home" of Australian Rules football in Perth is Subiaco Oval.
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.
Rugby league briefly maintained a Perth team in the national competition (1995-1997), known as the Western Reds (Perth Reds in the Super League season)
Perth is very conducive to an outdoors lifestyle, and this is reflected in the wide variety of sports available to citizens of the city.
sport]
Music
Perth has had connections to iconic segments of the Australian popular music scene being the hometown of INXS, and with Fremantle being the place Bon Scott grew up and is buried. More recently, several bands from Perth have gained recognition on the national music stage. The success of these bands, including Jebediah, Eskimo Joe, Little Birdy, End of Fashion and the Sleepy Jackson, have led to claims that Perth is the "new Seattle" of music.
Because of the 'tyranny of distance', many 'big name' acts, both of classical and popular music, do not regularly visit Perth, being confined to the eastern seaboard, and overseas artists often do not include Perth in their tour schedule. However, Perth is home to the West Australian Symphony Orchestra which performs a regular programme of orchestral music, usually from its base at the Perth Concert Hall; it also tours regional Western Australia. There are a large number of smaller professional, semi-professional and non-professional music groups and choral societies and choirs which perform in a variety of venues in and around Perth. Repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary. The Perth International Festival of the Arts also includes music in its schedule. Opera is provided by West Australian Opera.
Regular rock concerts held in Perth are the Big Day Out (nationwide) and Rock-It (Perth only). The city is also the setting to the Pavement song 'I love Perth'.
Education
See Western Australia for general information on education in Western Australia
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 1911, 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 UWA in the late 1970s. Edith Cowan University was established 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.
Tourist attractions in and around Perth
University of Notre Dame Australia]]
University of Notre Dame Australia
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.
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, close to the river, runs along St Georges Terrace and Adelaide Terrace and is the historical core of the city. It includes Government House and several office towers. 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 malls are interconnected by arcades and walk through shops. Over time the number of hotels in this area has declined, with new hotels being built at the eastern and western ends of the city. Forrest Place, connecting Wellington Street and Murray Street, is a popular meeting spot, and is the site of political rallies and public events. Closed to traffic and redeveloped in the late 1980s, it is flanked by the Commonwealth Bank and GPO buildings on the west, and the Forrest Chase retail development on the east.
- The entertainment and cultural precinct, known as Northbridge commences at the point where the railway land cuts through the city. It extends for at least four blocks north, and is bound at the east by the Library, Art Gallery and Museum, and to the west by the northern suburbs railway.
Kings Park
Kings Park occupies 1,003 acres (406 hectares) of the crest of a large hill (Mt Eliza) overlooking the CBD. Larger than New York's Central Park (843 acres (341 ha)), 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 620 m 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
Narrows Bridge]
The Swan Bells is a bell tower siting on the edge of the Swan River. It is a copper clad structure representing the sails of a ship. It houses bells from the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, which were a gift from the United Kingdom to the people of Australia on the occasion of Australia's 200 year anniversary of colonisation. The Swan Bells 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 health and education systems, and that the structure could have been better designed aesthetically.
The 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 which originally was intended to resemble a gum leaf.
Perth Mint
2004]
Perth Mint is the oldest still-operating mint in Australia. One of two legal tender mints in Australia, the other is in Canberra. It is open to the public 7 days a week and includes displays and the Perth Mint Shop which buys and sells precious metal proof quality gold and silver coins, bullion, nuggets and jewellery.
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. All of these Islands are 'A' class nature reserves with restricted access. 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 artifacts and part of the hull of the shipwrecked Dutch ship Batavia, from hundreds of years ago. A more recent vessel, the Oberon class submarine the HMAS Ovens has been retired next to the Maritime Museum.
The 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.
Whiteman Park
Whiteman Park is situated in picturesque bushland 25 minutes North East from the City Centre, it forms the western boundry of the Swan Valley wine region. The Park covers an area of more than 4200 hectares (over 10,000 acres) with nearly half of this classified as high value conservation bushland or wetland. The Park takes its name from Mr Lew Whiteman (1903-1994), a prominent local identity and enthusiastic collector of artifacts. His family settled in Guildford from England in the late 19th century and Lew acquired some land around Mussel Pool in the 1940s. This, and other land held by a variety of private owners, was purchased by the State Government in 1978 and combined to form Whiteman Park. The Park also protects the southern portion of the Gnangarra Water Mound - a large underground water source that supplies up to 40% of metropolitan Perth's drinking water. All native wildlife in the Park is protected and more than 100 Bird species have been identified. Along with 32 | | |
