White City, also known as Cooee City or Ugly Land, was an amusement park that existed on the
Perth foreshore in
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Western Australia between
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and 1929.
Location
It was originally located where the current
Supreme Court Gardens are located, but in 1922 was moved into the space now occupied by the Elizabeth Quay
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
and
train
A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
stations.
It was often referred to being located at the foot of
William Street.
Uglieland
The name Ugly Land (also seen as Uglieland) was used in the era between the World War I and the
Centenary of Western Australia
In 1929, Western Australia (WA) celebrated the centenary of the founding of Perth and the establishment of the Swan River Colony, the first permanent European settlement in WA. A variety of events were run in Perth, regional areas throughout the ...
in 1929 due to the
Ugly Men's Association being involved with management of various events at the park in its history. It also was considered as a significant entertainment venue for poorer sections of the community. The Ugly Men's Association lost an income generator when White City was closed.
Many different facilities were provided at different stages in the park, including the more unusual eventssuch as
goat racing
Goat Racing is a sport that originated in Buccoo, Tobago, which is part of the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The sport has been continued by some legends in Townsville. Started in 1925 by a Barbadian, Samuel Callendar, goat racing ...
events.
Controversy
In the 1920s the amusement park caused
moral panic
A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usually perpetuated by moral e ...
due to the allegations of gambling and other activities deemed unsuitable.
[
There had been calls for it to be closed long before its eventual closure.
It was closed in 1929 after pressure from various groups for it to be removed before the Western Australian centenary celebrations in Perth.]
See also
* White City (amusement parks)
References
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Defunct amusement parks in Australia
Perth waterfront