Perth is one of the most isolated state capitals in the world. Located in the south west area region of the vast state of Western Australia, with 1.5 million residents, it contains around 70% of that state’s population. Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. With a population of 1,554,769 (2007), Perth ranks fourth amongst the nation’s cities, with a growth rate consistently above the national average.
Perth was founded on 12 June 1829 by Captain James Stirling as the political centre of the free settler Swan River Colony. It has continued to serve as the seat of Government for Western Australia to the present day. The metropolitan area is located in the south west of the continent between the Indian Ocean and a low coastal escarpment known as the Darling Range. The central business district and suburbs of Perth are situated on the Swan River. Perth is ranked 4th on The Economist’s 2008 list of the World’s Most Livable Cities.
Perth became known worldwide as the “City of Light,” as city residents lit their houselights and streetlights as American astronaut John Glenn passed overhead while orbiting the earth on Friendship 7 in 1962. The city repeated its feat as Glenn passed overhead on the Space Shuttle in 1998.
Perth is generally a good place to visit any time of the year, being in a temperate/Mediterranean climate zone, however those sensitive to the heat may like to refrain from visiting Perth during January and February, typically the hottest months, when the temperature can break the 40 degree Celsius/104 degrees Fahrenheit mark. In the winter months (June to August) temperatures are usually around 20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit.
Although Western Australia has many public holidays during the year, most of these are not celebrated, with the exception of New Years’ Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday and Christmas Day. Most shops are closed on days like Labour Day (first Monday of March), Queen’s Birthday (uniquely in Western Australia this is held near the end of September or at the beginning of October and different to the other states of Australia) and Foundation Day (first Monday in June).
For those who like fairs, the Perth Royal Show is held to coincide with the local school holidays. In 2008 the dates are 27 September – 4 October. As it is held by the WA Agricultural Society (RASWA), farm animals feature prominently at the Show along with the typical show fare (i.e. ferris wheels, a sideshow alley, etc.).
Perth is one of the most isolated metropolitan areas on Earth. The nearest city to Perth with a population over 1 million is Adelaide in South Australia, which is 2,104 kilometres (1,307 mi) away. Perth is geographically closer to East Timor, Singapore and Jakarta, Indonesia, than it is to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. It is the antipode of Hamilton, Bermuda.
Perth is set on the Swan River, named after the native black swans in 1697 by Willem de Vlamingh, captain of a Dutch expedition. Traditionally, this water body has been known by local inhabitants as Derbal Yerrigan. The city centre and most of the suburbs are located on the sandy and relatively flat Swan Coastal Plain, which lies between the Darling Scarp and the Indian Ocean. The soils of this area are quite infertile. The metropolitan area extends to Yanchep in the north, Mandurah in the south, total distance of approximately 125 kilometres (78 mi) by road. From the Coast in the west to Mundaring in the east, a total distance of approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi) by road. This means that the area of Perth is over 1.5 million acres (6,100 km²).
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. This abundance of sand has resulted in West Australians’ being given the nickname sandgropers by the rest of the country. The Perth metropolitan area has two major river systems; the first is made up of the Swan and Canning Rivers. The second is that of the Serpentine and Murray Rivers, which discharge into the Peel Estuary at Mandurah.
The centre of the Perth metropolitan area is the Perth CBD located on the Swan River around 10 km inland. The CBD is the premier business and shopping centre, and together with the adjacent Northbridge, the entertainment centre as well.
The CBD is about 1 km North-South but 2 km East-West and is centred on the pedestrianised Forrest Place. In or adjacent to Forrest Place you will find the General Post Office (GPO – open Monday – Friday 9-5 and Saturday 9-12), the Tourist Information Centre, Perth Train Station and the Forrest Chase shopping centre including Myer Department store.
The main East-West streets are Wellington Street (northern boundary), Murray and Hay Streets (which become pedestrianised shopping malls in the centre), St Georges Terrace/Adelaide Terrace and Riverside Drive (which runs along the Swan River and forms the southern boundary of the CBD). The main northbound street is Barrack Street which runs along the eastern end of the central shopping district and the main southbound street is William Street to the west.
Perth receives moderate though highly seasonal rainfall. Summers are generally hot and dry, lasting from late December to late March, with February generally being the hottest month of the year, making Perth a classic example of a Mediterranean climate. Summer is not completely devoid of rain with sporadic rainfall in the form of short-lived thunderstorms, weak cold fronts and on very rare occasions decaying tropical cyclones which can bring significant falls. The hottest ever recorded temperature in Perth was 46.2 °C (115 °F) on 23 February 1991. Winters are relatively cool and rather moist, though the once reliable winter rainfall has been declining steadily in recent years.
The coldest temperature recorded was -0.7 °C (30.7 °F) on 17 June 2006, and the only temperature ever recorded below the freezing point. The coldest temperature recorded in the Perth metropolitan area was -3.4 degrees Celsius on 17 June 2006 at Jandakot airport. Even in mid-winter, maximum daytime temperatures only occasionally fall below 16 °C (60 °F). Though most rainfall occurs during winter, the wettest day ever was unusually on 9 February 1992 when 121 millimetres (4.75 in) fell. On most summer afternoons a sea breeze, also known as “The Fremantle Doctor”, blows from the south-west, cooling the city by up to 15°C.
Perth Cultural Centre is both an area of central Perth and the collective name for the main buildings of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum, Alexander Library, State Records Office and Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA).
The Western Australian Museum holds an extensive display of Aboriginal artefacts as well as numerous zoological and social exhibits. The new (2002) Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle displays maritime objects from all eras and includes a former Royal Australian Navy submarine. It also houses Australia II, the yacht that won the Americas Cup in 1983.
The West Australian Art Gallery houses the state’s premier art collection and hosts numerous impressive visiting exhibitions, like the 2006 Norman Lindsay exhibition. Additional exhibits occur at PICA and many other smaller venues on a regularly across Perth.
Perth is served by Perth Airport in the city’s east for regional, domestic and international flights and Jandakot Airport in the city’s southern suburbs for general aviation and charter flights. Perth has a road network with three freeways and nine metropolitan highways. The Northbridge tunnel, part of the Graham Farmer Freeway, is the only significant road tunnel in Perth.
Perth metropolitan public transport, including trains, buses and ferries, are provided by Transperth, with links to rural areas provided by Transwa. There are 59 railway stations and 15 bus stations in the metropolitan area. The rail system has recently undergone significant redevelopment, with a new railway line built between Perth and Mandurah which doubled the length of Perth’s railways. The railway was opened on 23 December 2007, a year after the original deadline.
Recent initiatives include progressive replacement of the bus fleet and the SmartRider contactless smartcard ticketing system. Perth provides zero-fare bus and train trips around the city centre (the “Free Transit Zone”), including three high-frequency CAT bus routes. Additionally, the rail network has been expanded in the northern and southern suburbs as part of the New MetroRail project.
The Indian Pacific passenger rail service connects Perth with Adelaide and Sydney via Kalgoorlie. The Transwa Prospector passenger rail service connects Perth with Kalgoorlie via several Wheatbelt towns, while the Transwa Australind connects to Bunbury, and the Transwa Avonlink connects to Northam.
Rail freight terminates at the Kewdale Rail Terminal, 15 kilometres south-east of the city centre. Perth’s main container and passenger port is at Fremantle, 19 kilometres south west at the mouth of the Swan River.[46] A second port complex is being developed in Cockburn Sound primarily for the export of bulk commodities.
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