Perth At A Glance: Capital city of Western Australia, a busy, go-ahead city that is an attractive gateway to Australia's biggest state.

Perth is set on the Swan River, so named because of the native black swans. It is a city that fills the sandplain that lies adjacent to the Darling Scarp; extending to Joondalup in the north, Mandurah in the south and Mundaring in the east. The coastal suburbs take advantage of Perth's oceanside location and clean beaches. To the east, the city is bordered by a low escarpment called the Darling Scarp. Perth is on generally flat, rolling land - largely due to the high amount of sandy soils and deep bedrock.
Perth was established in 1829, as the capital of the Swan River Colony, a free settler colony. In 1850, as Western Australia, it became as a convict colony, at the request of farming and business people who wanted cheap labour. Perth's first boom period came in the 1890s after the discovery of gold in and around Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie. Another boom began in the 1960s with the commencement of iron ore mining in the state's Pilbara region. These and other mining activities brought an influx of wealth to the state, which is reflected in Perth's changing skyline of the last few decades. The wealth and prosperity continues to flow today from a variety of mineral resources that are exported from around the mineral rich state.
Many Perth residents consider their city to be egalitarian and relaxed, with a relatively large middle class and a suburban lifestyle. The region between Perth and the Indian Ocean contains the highest income suburbs - the homes of the state's business high flyers have become landmarks and tourist attractions in their own right.
The population is easy-going and friendly, but can be parochial, especially towards the Eastern States which are often viewed with deep, but usually jocular, suspicion. This attitude is fuelled by the Eastern States' view of Perth as a "backward" civilisation, but can be mainly attributed to Perth's isolation - reflected in the widely-held belief that Perth is the world's most isolated capital city. This attitude is similar to relationship between, say, California and New York in USA.
Because Fremantle was the first landfall in Australia for post-World War II migrant ships coming from, Perth experienced an influx of British, Italian and Greek migrants. More recently, large-scale immigration to Perth by air from the UK has continued, giving Perth the highest-proportion of British-born residents of any Australian city.

Climate; Best Time to Visit

Perth summers are generally hot and dry, with February generally being the hottest month of the year. The hottest ever recorded temperature in Perth was 46.2C on 23rd February 1991. Winters are cool and moist, though winter rainfall has been declining in recent years. The official temperature for Perth has never quite reached zero Celsius, and even in winter maximum daytime temperatures only occasionally fall below 16C.
Rainfall is infrequent from October to March so a visit to Perth in those months is rarely affected by rain, though it can get quite hot during the day. As winter temperatures are mild, a winter visit to Perth need never be out of the question as it is unlikely to be ruined by ongoing inclement weather as are some Australian destinations.
In the hotter months, flies can be an irritating problem, particularly in the bush and surrounding country towns, though their numbers decline dramatically from March onwards as maximum temperatures fall. From August to October, Western Australia's wildflowers are in full bloom. During these months the weather is also pleasant around much of the state (though still quite cold in the far south), and are therefore popular times to travel to Perth and the regions around it where wildflowers are prolific.

The Names of Perth

The origins of the names of Perth

Geographical Features
Websites About Perth

Tourism related

Regions of Perth



Perth For Everyone has been compiled from material supplied to us, and all information is published as information only. The publishers are not responsible for its accuracy and inclusion of information about travel and holiday destinations within Australia on this site or other sites linked to it does not constitute any representation or offer by the businesses, services or organisations contained therein, nor are the views or opinions expressed therein necessarily those of this website's publishers.
Perth For Everyone is published by Stephen Yarrow © Stephen Yarrow 2011 | Email us