This week we are looking at the last of Australia’s capital cities and that city is Perth, capital of Western Australia. It sits where the Swan River meets the southwest coast. Sandy beaches line its suburbs, and the huge, riverside Kings Park and Botanic Garden on Mount Eliza offer sweeping views of the city. The Perth Cultural Centre houses the state ballet and opera companies, and occupies its own central precinct, including a theatre, library and the Art Gallery of Western Australia. 

It was named after the Scottish city of Perth. The name was chosen by Governor Charles Fremantle, who was instructed by the British Secretary for the Colonies, Sir George Murray, who was a native of Perthshire, Scotland. 

It was founded by Captain James Stirling as the capital of the Swan River Colony in 1829. It was the first free-settler colony in Australia established by private capital. From 1850, convicts began to arrive at the colony in large numbers to build roads and other public infrastructure.

The Traditional Owners of Perth are the Whadjuk Nyoongar people. They are part of the larger Noongar nation and have been the custodians of the land and waters for at least 45,000 years. The town recognizes the Whadjuk people as the Traditional Owners.

The river is a sacred place for Nyoongar peoples and they preserved many stories of the Waugal, a water-serpent understood to be responsible for the creation and maintenance of the river and most of the water features around Perth. The Nyoongar peoples moved with the seasons, travelling inland in winter, then returning in late spring to capture game such as wallabies, kangaroos and possums. A main camp site was at what is now known as Kings Park (Mooro Kaarta). Aboriginal peoples also frequented the mud flats (Matagarup) which later became Heirisson Island as it was a productive fishing spot.

The Nyoongar peoples had contact with various seafaring visitors including the Dutch and the French before the arrival of Captain James Stirling who colonised the region for the British in 1829. Relations between the settlers and the Aboriginal peoples were not always harmonious as the latter were dispossessed of their land and subjected to sometimes harsh and unsympathetic colonial rule. Fast forward to December 2009 when the State Government signed a framework agreement with the representative body, the South West Aboriginal and Land and Sea Council, aimed at resolving through negotiation six Nyoongar Native Title claims over Perth and the south-west of Western Australia. The city is working closely with its Aboriginal community to deliver 71 actions in the City’s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan which aim to build respect, relationships and opportunity with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. 

Since water transport was vital to communications in the new colony before roads were built, the meanderings of the Swan River determined the site of the first towns. Governor Stirling decided that the site for the colony’s capital would be sited on the river 18km from the sea port of Fremantle. On 12 August 1829 Mrs Helen Dance, wife of the commander of HMS Sulphur, drove an axe into a tree (near the current Perth Town Hall) to mark the colony’s foundation.

The city site was mid-way between the sea and the farming areas of the Upper Swan. However, the early years were difficult financially for the colony and in 1850 it was decided that convict labour would be beneficial in that regard. Between 1850 and 1868 almost 10,000 convicts were transported from Britain. Due to the influx of convicts, many public works were completed during the period from 1856-79, notably the Perth Town Hall. It was not until 1856 that Perth officially gained ‘city’ status when it was declared a Bishop’s See by Queen Victoria.

The first meeting of the Perth City Council was held on 10 December 1858. Rich gold discoveries in the Kalgoorlie region in the early 1890s brought a new era of prosperity for the city and many impressive buildings, some of which still grace the streets to this day. The city also experienced significant population growth. Representative government evolved in Western Australia in the second half of the 19th Century and in 1901 Western Australia federated with the other Australian States to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Perth experienced another mining boom in the 1960s and the wealth it generated could be evidenced by the city’s changing CBD skyline.

Perth became widely known as the City of Lights when U.S. astronaut John Glenn told the world he had seen the city’s lights during his historic orbit around the Earth in February 1962. There was also international attention on Perth later that year when the British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in the city.

The City of Perth is the fastest growing local government area with a population approaching 20,000. It has ranked consistently among the Top 10 most liveable cities in the world, as surveyed by the highly regarded The Economist Intelligence Unit. Once again, wealth generated by the State’s natural resources is driving development of the city, with the difference being that many companies and businesses are choosing to make Perth their home.