Cottesloe
Cottesloe Beach is one of the most popular of all Western Australia s city beaches. It is located midway between the Perth central business district and the port of Fremantle in Perth s western suburbs, only 15 minutes from the city centre.
Cottesloe is renowned for its relaxed lifestyle and has been a popular seaside holiday destination for Perth locals for more than 100 years. Its village atmosphere and rich maritime heritage is sure to entice you to explore beyond its golden sands. It s also the perfect place to watch the sun set over the Indian Ocean while dining on fresh seafood.
Cottesloe Beach, located in Perth s western suburbs, is a one and a half kilometre stretch of golden sand which extends north from Mudurup Rocks to the southern rocks of Swanbourne Beach. It's one of the city's favourite beaches for swimming, snorkelling, surfing and watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean. Crystal clear waters and consistent waves make it a popular spot for swimmers, body boarders and surfers. In 2009 Lonely Planet named Cottesloe Beach the world's second best beach for families.
The wide grassy Cottesloe Esplanade, shaded by giant Norfolk Pines, offers lovely spots for family picnics, beach and cricket. Outdoor music concerts are often held there. There is a buzzing boulevard of restaurants, cafes and bars along Marine Parade where you can enjoy a delicious beachside meal. An oceanway allows pedestrians and cyclists to move between beaches easily. Look out for the Pylon, a landmark and popular diving platform for beach users. There is also a nine-hole golf course nearby.
Historically, the beach is a reflection of the past 110 years of Perth's history. In 1909 it became the birthplace of surfing and surf lifesaving in Western Australia, with the establishment of the Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club. The North Cottesloe club followed in 1912. Generations of Western Australians have spent summer days and evenings diving into the Indian Ocean from the distinctive floating bell in the ocean just offshore.
Cottesloe was home to John Curtin, Australia s 14th Prime Minister between 1941 -1945. The house he built still stands in Jarrad Street and is managed by the National Trust of Australia (WA) and Curtin University.
In the 1890s Cottesloe Beach was accessible to people by carriage and by train. From the station there was a short walk down Forrest Street to the Sea Beach which consisted of many sand dunes, an outcrop of rocks, a rocky cliff-face and an area appropriate for swimming.
The site of the present day Cottesloe Central was once the hub of community social and cultural life. The original two storey building, Wells Hall, was owned and constructed by Walter Wells, a builder and contractor. During the early 1920s an outdoor picture garden was created on land behind the Leake Street hall and the facility became known as Cottesloe Picture and Summer Gardens. Where is it? Cottesloe is is 11 km south west of the Perth central business district. By car: take stirling Highway from Perth. By train: Cottesloe station is on the Perth-Fremantle railway line. The beach is just over 1 km walk from the railway station.
The Rottnest Channel Swim is an annual open water swimming event from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island off the coast. It is one of the largest open water swimming events in the world, covering a distance of around 20 kilometres. The history of the race goes back to when Rottnest Island was used as a prison. It was rumoured that some of the prisoners swam back to the mainland, resting on Carnac and Garden Islands along the way.
Mudurup Rocks is the limestone promontory on the sea side of the Cottesloe Surf Club. The site is significant to the Nyungar people, and the name means "the place of the yellow finned whiting". The associated shoreline to the south is said to be associated with the half-human, half-crow, known as Kudjil (the Crowman) who protected the Nyungars and announced to them when the fish would run and when the storms would arrive.
Each year Cottesloe beach is transformed by the free public exhibition Sculptures by the Sea, featuring works by local artists. It is the sister event to Sculpture by the Sea held at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
South Cottesloe is the site of a memorial to 17th century mariner Willem de Vlamingh who, in 1696, commanded a rescue mission to Australia's west coast for survivors of the Dutch ships of La Perouse that had gone missing two years earlier. No survivors were found, but de Vlamingh did chart large stretches of the WA coast, included Rottnest Island, which he named. On 5 January 1697, Vlamingh and some of his crew landed on the mainland somewhere on Cottesloe Beach, trekked inland as far as Heirrison Island, before returning to his vessel and sailing away. Location: Marine Parade, Cottesloe.
There s long been conjecture over whether or not it is in the correct location. Some historians have gone to their graves believing it should be further north, others think it should be further south. That seasoned sailors would land a small wooden boat on the jagged limestone reef in front of the Cottesloe Cable Station does seem unlikely. That they would come ashore a little futher south below Buckland Hill, and scaled its heights to view the landscape is more logical.
Cottesloe Civic Centre was built in 1889. Under the ownership of Claude Albo de Bernales, it became a demonstration of the way of life of a wealthy and flamboyant mining speculator and became a large scale symbol of his success and wealth. Originally a Federation Queen Anne style house known as Overton Lodge, today is a substantial two-storey, Inter-War Spanish Mission style building of rendered stone, brick and concrete with a tiled roof, a single-storey brick and tile hall, a single-storey brick and tile dwelling and substantial walled gardens.
Celebration of the Motorcar at the Cottesloe Civic Centre
With its pleasing streetscape setting, buildings, landscaping, large individual trees and limestone walls, it has been accessible to the public for many years. Over the years Cottesloe Civic Centre has often played host to the Perth Motor Show and Perth's prestige and exotic car event, Celebration of the Motorcar. Location: 109 Broome Street, Cottesloe.
