Perth
Trip Start
Jun 06, 2009
1
Trip End
Jun 09, 2009
Perth,
Western Australia,
Australia
Monday, June 15, 2009
Perth, the fifth most liveable city in the world. Well that's according to a report we heard on the radio while we were in town. You don’t have to look too hard to work out that this statement is pretty much right on the money. When approaching the city from the south it looks a lot like Brisbane as far as size and layout are concerned. Situated on the banks of the Swan River it is flanked on the southern side by the Town of Victoria Park and Burswood Casino, on the northern side by the extrodinary Kings Park and a little harbour complex to the west. The city and the surrounding suburbs contain many lovely parks and open spaces which to us gave it a feeling of vitality, cleanliness and user friendliness.
We arrived to some good weather and so had a perfect day to spend exploring. We decided to drive into the city from where we were staying and after only two times around the same block we scored an excellent and cheap parking spot. A stroll into the heart of the city to check out the Hay and Murray Street Malls and some historic buildings was first on the agenda. We stumbled upon a little treasure, London Court, which is a quaint English Tudor themed arcade with some quirky little shops.
In Barrack Square, down at the harbour precinct stands the Swan Bell Tower. The tower is one of the world’s largest musical instruments, standing at 82 metres tall and housing 12 bells. The bells chimed away almost continuously and so we spent some time listening to them and relaxing in the park lands, soaking in the sun and the views.
The magnificent Kings Park is described as the jewel in the city’s crown, and one of the largest inner city parks in the world. We spent the afternoon hear and wish we could have spent longer. The park overlooks the city and provides excellent views. It is meticulously maintained with cultivated gardens and natural bushland along with many grassy lawns, all featuring grass like that of a golf course. A feature of the park is Federation Walk which includes a walkway above the tree tops, not on par with the one we recently experienced near Pemberton, but still a good effort.
A day in Fremantle was also on the agenda for our time in Perth. Renowned as an outstanding example of a preserved 19th century port seascape, Fremantle boasts W.A’s largest collection of heritage listed buildings. This may be the case, however we felt the town was unkept, dirty and lacking atmosphere. Quite sad really as while we were walking through the streets we noticed there are many beautiful old buildings that have been left to fall into disrepair. We didn’t even feel like stopping for a coffee.
On the upside though we spent time wandering through the very impressive building of the Maritime Museum which is home to the famous Australia II yacht (on display with full mast and sail) and other boats of notoriety. Along side the museum building sits an Australian Submarine, Ovens, in dry dock upon which you can take a guided tour (unfortunately we missed out as the tours were already fully booked for the day).
The Shipwrecks Gallery, part of the Maritime Museum but in a different location, was the highlight of our day. We were really impressed by the quality and quantity of artefacts and information displayed in the gallery and all for the entry fee of a $2 donation. The western coastline of Oz is regarded as the shipwreck coast, as it is responsible for the demise of the earliest explorers to our country and many of them.
The building was built by convicts in the 1850’s and is now home to hundreds of relics from W.A’s maritime history, from the 17th century. Tales of exploration, survival, mutiny and rebellion are told of the early European explorers and spice traders. Some of the original timbers from one of the earliest ships wrecks, the Batavia in 1629, have been reclaimed from the sea, put back together and are on display along with its precious cargo.
Our stay in Perth has been short and sweet and we are now off to visit some of the areas to the east of the city, so until then its bye for now.
