- Take a walking tour of Perth from the banks of the Swan River to the city's historic buildings and on to the malls and gardens.
A number of Perth's standing fine buildings were built by convict labor in the second half of the 1800s (and add considerably -- despite the harshness surrounding their construction -- to the city's charm) but a West Australian economic boom and the growth of an aggressive entrepreneurial spirit brought wealth and more modern edifices to Perth.
The Perth city centre is relatively small and its attractions can certainly be discovered on a day’s walking tour.
There is the Swan River on the south and the railroad tracks on the north. East extends to the environs of Wellington Square and west — southwest to be more precise — is the rising slope to Kings Park on Mt Eliza which overlooks the city.
Let's start at the Swan
But let’s start our Perth walking tour at the Swan River, say the Barrack St Jetty, and you can see the esplanade on your north across Riverside Dr.
To the east of the Esplanade are the Supreme Court Gardens, and beyond the Supreme Court building at the northern edge lie the Stirling Gardens where Government House is located, close to the Concert Hall.
Don’t forget to visit the old Georgian-style courthouse by the Supreme Court which is one of Perth’s oldest buildings (built 1836).
Perth's main street
The main street running roughly northwest to southeast just north of the gardens is St Georges Terrace which is the hub of the Perth business district.
If you walked west on your Perth sighteeing tour, you’d find the Cloisters (built 1858) which was originally a school but has now become part of a modern office complex.
A bit further west across Narrows Bridge is the Old Flour Mill, a distinctive Perth sightseeing landmark with its four-bladed windmill. It was built in 1835 but restoration has kept it intact.
Now it’s time to look at your map to decide where next to go.
Take time for a cuppa
If you walk north on Barrack St, for instance, you’ll find Perth Town Hall, another fine old building (circa 1867), on your right. (If you’re thinking of a quick getaway, Qantas is just across the street.)
Walk just over two blocks north and you’ll be in the vicinity of the Perth Cultural Centre and the modern Art Gallery of Western Australia on Roe St with its splendid permanent exhibition of European, Australian and Asian-Pacific art.
Backtrack a bit on your Perth sightseeing tour and stop at one of the pedestrian malls in and around Hay St and have a cuppa while you rest your feet. The tourist centre is at Forrest Place and you can get ideas here on where else to go.
If you feel like a flutter on the gaming tables, or wish to dine with a spot of entertainment, head out to the Burswood Casino on the Great Eastern Highway.
Huge 400-hectare park
In the course of your Perth sightseeing tour, you may wish to veer northwest from the environs of Hay St to the Entertainment Centre on Wellington St, then south and west to Harvest Terrace for Western Australia’s Parliament House, where tours can be arranged.
Somehow you’ll have to get to Mount St, but needing a few turns from Parliament House, if you then wish to proceed to Kings Park and the 17-hectare Botanic Garden there.
If nothing else, they say you must visit this mammoth 400-hectare park for its views of the city, its walking and bike tracks, vast and leafy picnic grounds, and the splendor of Nature at her finest.
September festival
If you’re in Perth in September you can catch the Wildflower Festival at Kings Park.
The next day, you may want to travel south to the Perth Zoo or north to the Aquarium of Western Australa (formerly Underwater World), or simply go to the beaches and enjoy the Western Australia sun.
Take time to visit the port of Fremantle which is practically a Perth suburb, and drop by the Maritime Museum, or travel much farther north to Money Mia, wade out to sea and cavort with the dolphins.
Life. Live it.
Next page: Map of Perth
