City Beach
The suburb of City Beach, which encompases the ocean beaches, is one of the most expensive in Perth. All of the homes located in City Beach are expensive, modern, and contemporary.
Almost completely surrounded by a green belt, City Beach is cocooned by the natural buffer of Bold Park, the Golf course, Army Reserve and the sparkling Indian Ocean and internally interwoven by a network of parks many of which meander all the way from one end of the suburb to the other without even crossing a road.
City Beach is Central to all of Perth s most exclusive private schools (Hale and St Mary s to the north and Scotch, MLC, PLC, and Christchurch to the south) with regular bus services to all. Within its boundaries are the City Beach International School, and three primary schools, City Beach, Kapinara, and Holy Spirit all of which are very highly regarded.
The Games Village today - Beecroft Park and shopping area, Cnr. Oban Road and Gayton Road, City Beach
The suburb consists of three sections: a northern section (bordering Scarborough), a central section (bordering Wembley Downs and Floreat) and a southern section (bordering Bold Park). The northern part was built immediately prior to the 1962 Commonwealth Games (then called the Empire Games) as an athletes' village due to its proximity to Perry Lakes Stadium in neighbouring Floreat.
The dedicated Athletes Village consisted of 150 new houses in a garden setting that were converted to private housing post-Games. The northern coastal area had been laid out some forty years previously by a 1925 master-plan for organic dormitory communities collected around open green spaces and shared facilities. The master-plan's garden-city model was realised in the layout of the Athletes Village with its a sinuous road pattern across the sandy contours of the site, grouping two main zones of housing around a central node of temporary facilities. The village remains essentially intact today.
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City Beach is the closest ocean beach to the Perth city centre. City Beach is a beautiful beach with good facilities. The water is crystal clear, the sand so clean and because of its location, tends not to get too busy. The surf is good for beginners usually, but can be treacherous. City Beach is close to Floreat Beach, another suburban beach. There is also a dog friendly section of the beach, a good play ground for the kids and plenty of parking. All in all, one of the best spots to view one of the west coast's iconic sunsets.
Besides enjoying the surf and beach, there are now new restaurants with fantastic ocean views, or grassed areas if you prefer to picnic. A must to visit and dine when in Perth. City Beach is easily accessible by bus from Perth.
In 1917, the Perth City Council purchased the Lime Kilns Estate of 1,290 acres (522 ha), situated between the Endowment Lands and the City, thus linking the City with the ocean beach. The Council proposed to lay out an up-to-date seaside town near the ocean beach on garden city lines, embodying approved Town Planning principles, and making ample provision for recreation purposes. By 1928, the Council had allocated finance to commence work, and also referred to the beach as "City Beach". It appears this name developed because it was an area developed by the City Council and much more acceptable than "Ocean Beach" which was even more descriptive than City Beach.
On 9 December 2005, City Beach Senior High School was officially closed by the Department of Education and Training due to a lack of new student enrollments and the opening of Shenton College 5 kilometres away in 2000.
