PerthBrief History of the City of Perth Perth, the capital city of Western Australia,
was officially founded on the 12th of August, 1829, by
Lieutenant Governor James Stirling on King George IV's
67th birthday and was later proclaimed a city in 1856.
Prior to settlement Aboriginal tribes were custodians of the land. The first known Europeans to have explored the Perth area prior to settlement were firstly the Dutch in 1697 lead by Willem de Vlamingh and then over a hundred years later by the French in 1801, lead by Nicolas Baudin. In 1829, soon after Captain Stirling and the first settlers landed in the new colony, John Septimus Roe (Surveyor General) laid out the first initial plans for Perth. He envisiaged St George's Terrace as being the main street of the colony, being idyllic located near the Swan River foreshore. The street would in time feature some of the city's grandest commercial buildings. Many of the important settlers also laid claim to the street and built their residences along the terrace including John Septimus Roe. Click here for more History of Perth. Things You May Not Know About Perth Originally Perth was to be established at
Cockburn Sound or alternatively Point Heathcote, however,
Lieutenant Governor Stirling, disobeyed the advise.
Engineer-in-Chief, C.Y.O'Connor , had his office in the Barracks Arch looking down St George's Terrace. It was from the office above the arch where much of his planning for the Goldfields Pipeline was carried out. The Swan River's shoreline was originally located on The Esplanade. All the land (which is now mostly parkland) was reclaimed.
Rumour has it that when St George's terrace was extended to Adelaide Terrace, it was directly in the path of John Septimus Roe's house and one of his prized trees. Being the Surveyor General at the time, he simply made ammendments to the plans, hence the small kink in the road near Victoria Avenue.
The City of Perth is divided into five precincts: The Central Business District (CBD), Riverside, West Perth, East Perth and Northbridge. The City of Perth is the most isolated Capital
City in the World. Things Are Looking Up In Perth When the City of Perth was first settled
there was nothing more than tents for the settlers to
live in, however it wasn't long before construction of
buildings and houses began. Until the 1880's Perth's town
centre consisted mainly of small cottages, shops and
small businesses. In fact the town centre of Perth had a
rural atmosphere. It was really due to the discovery of
gold in Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie in the 1890's, that Perth began
to expand in business & commerce. This put pressure
on land in the town centre as more entreperneurs began
seeking commercial development properties. The result was
most residential properties were pushed out of the
central city area to make way for commercial development.
During the 1890's to the early 1900's the centre of Perth
was practically rebuilt. While Western Australia was
experiencing the gold boom other States of Australia were
experiencing a depression. Many people including
architects and businessmen from the Eastern States
(especially Victoria) migrated to Western Australia
seeking work. They had a great influence in the
establishment of Perth.
Today the streets of the CBD have a unique mix of both old and new architecture. Interesting architectural areas of note can be found along, St Georges Terrace , Hay Street, Hay Street Mall , King Street, Murray Street, Murray Street Mall, Barrack Street, Victoria Square, Wellington Street, the Esplanade and Beaufort Street. Public Art of PerthSometimes hidden, sometimes right under your nose, the statues and sculptures of Perth add a certain drama to the cityscape. If you would like to know more about the sculptures and statues just click here Public Art of PerthSister Cities of PerthThe Sister City movement was established shortly after World War II as a way of developing communication and relationships between cities around the world.Australia adopted the concept during the 1930's when the Shire of Parkes in New South Wales affiliated with Coventry in England to become sister cities. The main theme of the sister city program is "International Understanding and Friendship". Perth has eight Sister City agreements with Kagoshima, Japan (1974), Houston, Texas (1984), Rhodes, Greece (1984), Megisti, Greece (1984), San Diego, California (1987), Vasto, Italy (1989), Nanjing, China (1998) and Taipei, Taiwan (1999).For more information visit the Australian Sister City website. Important Links to PerthCity of PerthCelebrate WA Cinema City Piccadilly Cinema Transperth The West Australian Newspaper Online |
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On the corner wall of the Treasury building
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