Perth Western Australia: Encyclopedia II - Perth Western Australia - Tourist attractions in and around Perth

Perth Western Australia - Tourist attractions in and around Perth

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 along much 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 Western Australia - 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. These pedestrian 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 mid-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.

Perth Western Australia - Kings Park

Kings Park occupies 1,003 acres (4.06 km²) 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 relatively green city, with an abundance of parks and tree-lined boulevards.

Perth Western Australia - 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.

Perth Western Australia - Swan Bells

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.

Perth Western Australia - 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 Western Australia - Perth Mint

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.

Perth Western Australia - 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.

Perth Western Australia - Fremantle

The historical port city of Fremantle is located at the mouth of the Swan River, and is home to many attractions including Fremantle Prison and the mammoth newly-constructed Western Australian Maritime Museum. Located on the dock at Victoria Quay, the museum houses 'Australia II, 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.

Perth Western Australia - 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.

Perth Western Australia - Whiteman Park

Whiteman Park is situated in picturesque bushland 25 minutes North East from the City Centre, it forms the western boundary of the Swan Valley wine region. The Park covers an area of more than 42 square kilometres (16 mi²) 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 Gnangara 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 moved into an area of park near the Village. It contains over 2000 animals and birds of 200 different species. There are also a number different collections of transport and machinary equipment as well as working historical tram and Rail lines.

Perth Western Australia - Swan Valley Wine Region

The Swan Valley wine region is approximately 16km East of Perth and is Western Australia's oldest established wine region. It is home to over 35 wineries, many of which have restaurants or cellar-door facilities that are open to the public. Bus and boat tours of the swan valley run regularly from the city.

Perth Western Australia - Beaches

Locals argue that Perth has some of the best beaches in the Australia. Clean white sand, relatively warm clear blue water and mild swells make beach-going a popular activity for the warmer months of the year. Popular swimming beaches include Cottesloe, City Beach, Scarborough, Trigg and Hillarys. All of these have car parking, landscaped reserves, public amenities, picnic and barbeque facilities and nearby retail outlets.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Tourist attractions in and around Perth", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki