Perth: Australia’s Wild West is Worth a Visit

Perth may be Australia’s fourth largest city, but it is better known as “one of the most isolated big cities in the world.” It’s not true, of course. Perth’s location on the coast of Western Australia puts it more than 1,300 miles from it’s closest major Australian city, Adelaide. But Honolulu, Hawaii, located almost 2,400 miles away from San Francisco, is much more remote. Still, Perth has a distinct “feel” of remoteness, akin to the vastness still found in areas of the American west. That boundless frontier feeling, along with its stunning waterfront, exquisite Kings Park, vibrant arts and entertainment scene, and access to some of the world’s most intriguing geological formations, definitely makes visiting Perth Australia highly recommended.

One morning, with hours to fill before my late afternoon Pinnacles stargazing tour, I spent hours exploring the city center. I began at Forest Place, home to the historic Post Office; meandered through the Hay Street pedestrian mall; and turned down Barrack Street to view the city’s handsome brick Town Hall. Further along Barrack Street I found St. George’s Cathedral; the Supreme Court of Western Australia; and the Old Courthouse, which is the oldest building in Perth.

At the end of Barrack Street lies Elizabeth Quay. Conceived in 2012 and opened to the public in January of 2016, Elizabeth Quay reconnected what had been an underused swathe of waterfront to the city proper. The mixed use project surrounds an artificial inlet that opens to the Swan River. Today it is a lively center of retail, residential, and office space that includes high-end hotels and numerous restaurants. Dotted among the high rises are whimsical outdoor sculptures including First Contact by Laurel Nannup, which was inspired by the Noongar people’s first contact with European settlers; and Spanda by Christian de Vietri. Spanda, a Sanskrit word that means ‘divine vibration,’ perfectly describes the series of oblong rings that represent rippling water heading skywards.

But the undisputed star of Elizabeth Quay is the Bell Tower, a 271-foot tall glass pinnacle with a spiral walkway leading to the top. The tower is home to St Martin-in-the-Fields, a set of 12 royal bells that were cast in England prior to the 14th century. They are one of only a few sets of royal bells, and the only ones known to have left England. The original dozen were supplemented by an additional six bells that were cast in 1988 and 1998 and installed in the tower, bringing the total to 18. Alas, my bad knees did not allow me to climb to the top to see the bell ringing in action – the only place in the world where this is possible. However just sitting at the base of the Bell Tower when the bells are ringing raised goosebumps.

The next day I hopped aboard Perth’s free CAT tourist bus. Twenty minutes later I stepped out into the wonderland that is Kings Park. This is the largest city park in the world, just beating New York’s Central Park by a smidge. For my taste it’s better than Central Park because it sits on a high limestone escarpment that overlooks the Swan River and the skyline of Perth. I spent three delicious hours walking around the park, clocking nearly three miles past monuments, overlooks, lakes, and botanical gardens.

Perth had so much to offer that I couldn’t see it all before I flew off to Kalgoorlie, located in the center of Western Australia, to explore the goldfields. Fortunately, I had a few days more on the backside of that trip, so I moved to a hotel in the Northbridge neighborhood. This neighborhood is the entertainment and cultural center of Perth. Just outside my hotel’s front door I found the Western Australia Museum of Boola Bardip, the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, and the State Library of Western Australia. Even better, Northbridge is home to they city’s Chinatown as well as being ground zero for pubs, restaurants, and nightlife.

On my final full day in Perth I visited the Perth Mint, which began operations in 1899. Prospectors and miners brought their gold to this facility to be smelted for nearly 100 years until refining activities outgrew the original building. Although smelting operations were moved to a new facility near the Perth Airport in 1990, the historic Perth Mint still displays the largest nuggets ever found in Western Australia and offers several demonstrations a day of pouring a 99.99% gold bar. 

Googly-eyed from all that gold, I stepped into the mint’s shop with visions of buying a souvenir gold bar…until I learned the price. Yikes! Somehow I doubted my credit card company would approve that charge. I left with no gold – just golden memories.