Perth () is the
capital city
A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...
of
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. It is the
fourth-most-populous city in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, with a population of over 2.3 million within
Greater Perth . The
world's most isolated major city by certain criteria, Perth is part of the
South West Land Division of Western Australia, with most of
Perth's metropolitan area on the
Swan Coastal Plain between the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
and the
Darling Scarp. The city has expanded outward from the original British settlements on the
Swan River, upon which its
central business district and port of
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
are situated.
Perth was founded by
Captain James Stirling in 1829 as the administrative centre of the
Swan River Colony. The city is situated on the traditional lands of the
Whadjuk Noongar
The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...
people, where
Aboriginal Australians have lived for at least 48,000 years. Perth was named after the city of
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 ...
in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. Initially established as a free settlement, the colony accepted
transported convicts from 1850 to supply labour for public works and construction. Perth was proclaimed as a city by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
in 1856. Substantial population growth occurred during the late 19th-century
Western Australian gold rushes, and the city has continued to expand, particularly after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
due to a high
net migration rate.
Post-war immigrants were predominantly from the British Isles and Southern Europe, while more recent arrivals see a growing population of Asian descent. During the late 20th and early 21st centuries, a series of mining booms in various regions of Western Australia propelled Perth into the role of the regional headquarters for significant
mining operations. It became Australia's fourth-most populated city in 1984, overtaking
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
.
Ranked as one of the world's
most liveable cities, Perth was classified by the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a Beta
global city in 2020. Perth is divided into
30 local government areas, comprising over
350 suburbs. The metropolitan contours span from
Two Rocks in the north to
Singleton in the south, and from the west coast to
Sawyers Valley in the east. Beyond the central business district, predominant urban centres within the metropolitan area include
Armadale,
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
,
Joondalup
Joondalup () is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, approximately north of Perth central business district, Perth's central business district. It contains the central business district of the regional City of Joondalup and acts as the primar ...
,
Midland and
Rockingham. Most of those were originally established as separate settlements and retained a distinct identity after being subsumed into the wider metropolitan area.
Mandurah, Western Australia's second-largest city, forms a
conurbation
A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...
with Perth along the coastline. Despite this, it is generally regarded as an independent city.
Perth is home to many parkland areas and nature reserves, the most-visited being
Kings Park and Botanic Garden, one of the world's largest inner-city parks. Other popular natural features include
Cottesloe Beach and
Rottnest Island. Notable
heritage buildings and cultural sites include
Perth Mint,
WA Museum Boola Bardip and the World Heritage-listed
Fremantle Prison. All five of Western Australia's universities are based in Perth. The city is served by
Fremantle Harbour and
Perth Airport
Perth Airport is an international airport, international, domestic airport, domestic and general aviation airport serving Perth, Western Australia.
It is the List of the busiest airports in Australia, fourth busiest airport in Australia meas ...
.
Toponymy
The name of the city is taken from
Perth, Scotland
Perth (; ) is a centrally located Cities of Scotland, Scottish city, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and is the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population of about ...
, in honour of the
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, and Member for
Perthshire in the
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...
,
Sir George Murray. Murray's association with the city was included in Stirling's proclamation of the colony, read in Fremantle on 18 June 1829, which concluded with the statement, "Given under my hand and Seal at Perth this 18th Day of June 1829. James Stirling Lieutenant Governor".
The only contemporary information on the source of the name comes from
Charles Fremantle's diary entry for 12 August 1829, which records that they "named the town Perth according to the wishes of Sir George Murray".
The
Noongar
The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...
name ''Boorloo'' is sometimes used to denote the
central business district area, the
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
, or the capital city in general. The name ''Boorloo'' was initially recorded by
Robert Menli Lyon as ''Boorlo'' in 1833, which was interpreted as "Perth, properly Point Fraser" (a location in
East Perth). He also gave the name ''Byerbrup'' for "the highland stretching along from Mount Eliza through the centre of the town of Perth". In 1947,
Ludwig Glauert posited that Lyon may have misunderstood his sources and that "boorloo" or "belo" (now transcribed as "bilya") is simply the Noongar word for "river". Another source has interpreted ''Boorloo'' to mean "big swamp", describing the chain of lakes where the
central business district and
Northbridge are situated.
In November 2024, when announcing the opening of
Boorloo Bridge, the
premier of Western Australia,
Roger Cook, and two of his ministers,
deputy premier Rita Saffioti and
John Carey, referenced "the Noongar name for PerthBoorloo",
and earlier in the year the Government of Western Australia stated "the name, Boorloo Bidee Mia, represents 'Perth pathway to housing' in Whadjuk Noongar language".
History
Prehistory

Archaeological evidence attests to human habitation in the Perth area for at least 48,000 years;
according to
Noongar
The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...
tradition, they have occupied the area since "time immemorial".
Noongar country encompasses the south-west corner of Western Australia, with particular significance attached to the
wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain, both spiritually (featuring in
local mythology) and as a source of food.
The current central business district location is within the traditional territory of the
Mooro, a Noongar clan, led by
Yellagonga at the time of the British settlement. The Mooro was one of several Noongar clans based around the Swan River, known collectively as the
Whadjuk. The Whadjuk themselves were one of a larger group of fourteen tribes that formed the south-west socio-linguistic block known as the Noongar (meaning 'the people' in
their language), also sometimes called the Bibbulmun.
On 19 September 2006, the
Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...
ruled in the case of ''Bennell v State of Western Australia''
006FCA 1243 that
Noongar native title persisted over Perth metropolitan area.
An appeal was subsequently filed, and in 2008, the Full Court of the Federal Court upheld parts of the appeal by the Western Australian and Commonwealth governments. Following this appeal, the
Western Australian Government and the
South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council negotiated the South West Native Title Settlement. This settlement, including the Whadjuk Indigenous Land Use Agreement over the Perth region, was finalised by the Federal Court on 1 December 2021. As part of this agreement, the ''Noongar (Koorah, Nitja, Boordahwan) (Past, Present, Future) Recognition Act'' was passed in 2016, officially recognising the Noongar people as the
traditional owners of the south-west region of Western Australia.
European exploration
On 10 January 1697, Dutch Captain
Willem de Vlamingh conducted the first documented exploration of the present-day Perth region. His crew initially explored the area on foot, leading them to what is now central Perth. Vlamingh's expedition also ventured far up the Swan River, in search of native inhabitants.
They named the river ''
Swarte Swaene-Revier'', a reference to the
black swan
The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent ...
s prevalent in the region.
[ After Vlamingh's expedition, other Europeans conducted further voyages of exploration in the period between 1697 and 1829. However, as with Vlamingh's assessments, they judged the area inhospitable and unsuitable for the agriculture necessary to sustain a European-style settlement.
]
Swan River Colony
Despite the Colony of New South Wales establishing a convict-supported settlement at King George's Sound (called ''Frederick Town'', renamed to '' Albany'' upon becoming part of Western Australia) on the south coast of the continent in 1826, responding to rumours of potential French annexation, Perth marked the first comprehensive European settlement in the western portion of the continent in 1829. Officially designated as ''Western Australia'' in 1832, the colony retained the informal moniker "Swan River Colony" for many years, after the area's major watercourse.
On 4 June 1829, newly arriving British colonists had their first view of the mainland. Captain James Stirling, aboard , noted that the site was "as beautiful as anything of this kind I had ever witnessed". On 12 August that year, Helen Dance, wife of the captain of the second ship, ''Sulphur'', felled a tree to commemorate the town's founding. From 1831 onward, confrontations between British settlers and the Noongar people escalated due to conflicting land-value systems and increased land use as the colony expanded. These confrontations resulted in multiple events, including the murder of settlers (such as Thomas Peel's servant Hugh Nesbitt), the execution without trial of Whadjuk elder Midgegooroo, the killing of his son Yagan in 1833, and the Pinjarra massacre in 1834.
The strained relations between the Noongar people and the Europeans arose due to these events. Agricultural development on the land restricted the traditional hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...
practices of the native Whadjuk Noongar, compelling them to camp in designated areas, including swamps and lakes north of the European settlement. Third Swamp, known to them as ''Boodjamooling'', remained a primary campsite for the remaining Noongar people in the Perth region, also accommodating travellers, itinerants, and homeless individuals. During the gold rush in the 1890s, miners on their way to the goldfields joined this community.
Convict era and gold rushes
In 1850, at a time when penal transportation
Penal transportation (or simply transportation) was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies bec ...
to Australia's eastern colonies had ceased, Western Australia was opened to convicts at the request of farming and business people due to a shortage of labour. Over the next eighteen years, 9,721 convicts arrived in Western Australia aboard 43 ships, outnumbering the approximately 7,300 free settlers.
The designation of Perth as a city was formally announced by Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
in 1856. However, despite this recognition, Perth remained a tranquil town. A description from 1870 by a Melbourne journalist depicted it as:
With the discovery of gold at Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie in the late 19th century, Western Australia experienced a mining boom. Perth became a key hub for supplying the goldfields, and the newfound prosperity helped finance the construction of important public buildings, roads and railways. Perth's population grew from approximately 8,500 in 1881 to 61,000 in 1901.
Federation and beyond
After a referendum in 1900, Western Australia joined the Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Wester ...
in 1901, and "became a founding state of Australia". It was the last of the Australian colonies to agree to join the Federation, and it did so only after the other colonies had offered several concessions, including the construction of a transcontinental railway line from Port Augusta
Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...
in South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
to Kalgoorlie to link Perth with the eastern states.
In 1927, Indigenous people
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
were prohibited from entering large swathes of Perth under penalty of imprisonment, a ban that lasted until 1954.
In 1933, two-thirds of Western Australians voted in a referendum to secede from the rest of Australia. However, the state general election held at the same time as the referendum had voted out the pro-independence government, replacing it with a government that did not support the independence movement. Respecting the result of the referendum, the new government nonetheless petitioned the Imperial Parliament at Westminster. The House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
established a select committee to consider the issue but after 18 months of negotiations and lobbying, finally refused to consider the matter, declaring that it could not legally grant secession.
Perth entered the post-war period with a population of approximately 280,000 and an economy that had not experienced sustained growth since the 1920s. Successive state governments, beginning with the Willcock Labor Government (1936–1945), determined to change this. Planning for post-war economic development was initially driven by Russell Dumas, who as Director of Public Works (1941–1953) drew up plans for Western Australia's major post-war public-works projects, including the raising of the Mundaring and Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
dams, the development of the new Perth Airport, and the development of a new industrial zone centred on Kwinana. The advent of the McLarty Liberal Government (1947–1953) saw the emergence of something of a consensus on the need for continuing economic development. Economic growth was fuelled by large-scale public works, the post-war immigration program, and the success that various state governments had in attracting substantial foreign investment into the state, beginning with the construction of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Refinery at Kwinana in 1951–52.
The result of this economic activity was the rapid growth of the population of Perth and a marked change in its urban design. Commencing in the 1950s, Perth began to expand along an extensive highway network laid out in the Stephenson-Hepburn Report, which noted that Perth was beginning to resemble a pattern of development less in line with the British experience and more in line with North America. This was encouraged by the opening of the Narrows Bridge and the gradual closure of the 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 ...
and Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
tram systems. The mining-pastoral boom of the 1960s only accelerated the pace of urban growth in Perth.
In 1962, Perth received global media attention when city residents lit their house lights and streetlights as American astronaut John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1 ...
passed overhead while orbiting the Earth on '' Friendship 7''. This led to its being nicknamed the "City of Light". The city repeated the act as Glenn passed overhead on the Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...
in 1998.
Perth's development and relative prosperity, especially since the mid-1960s, has resulted from its role as the main service centre for the state's resource industries, which extract gold, iron ore, nickel, alumina, diamonds, mineral sands, coal, oil and natural gas. Whilst most mineral and petroleum production takes place elsewhere in the state, the non-base services provide most of the employment and income to the people of Perth.
Perth experienced a period of recovery in 1990. In July 1994, the state government separated the city's CBD from its suburban districts, creating the City of Perth and three other local government areas. Perth saw significant population growth in the 2000s, as well as the commencement of several major urban infrastructure projects, bolstered in part by the state's mining boom. These include the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre (2004) and the redevelopment of the city's waterfront, giving rise to the mixed-use Elizabeth Quay precinct.
Geography
Central business district
The central business district of Perth is bounded by the Swan River to the south and east, with Kings Park on the western end and the railway reserve as the northern border. A state and federally funded project named Perth City Link sank a section of the railway line to allow easy pedestrian access between Northbridge and the CBD. The Perth Arena is an entertainment and sporting arena in the city link area that has received several architectural awards from institutions such as the Design Institute of Australia, the Australian Institute of Architects, and Colorbond. St Georges Terrace is the area's prominent street, with a large amount of office space in the CBD. Hay Street and Murray Street have most of the retail and entertainment facilities. The city's tallest building is Central Park
Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
, the twelfth tallest building in Australia. The CBD until 2012 was the centre of a mining-induced boom, with several commercial and residential projects being built, including Brookfield Place, a office building for Anglo-Australian mining company BHP.
Metropolitan area
Perth's metropolitan area extends along the coast to Two Rocks in the north and Singleton to the south, a distance of approximately . From the coast in the west to Mundaring in the east is a distance of approximately . The Perth metropolitan area covers .[ The built-up urban area of Perth is , the same as ]Wuhan
Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...
or Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
and slightly smaller than London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, making Perth the 67th-largest urban area in the world. Perth is also the 50th-least densely populated out of the 990 urban areas in the world with a population above 500,000.
The metropolitan region is defined by the ''Planning and Development Act 2005'' to include 30 local government areas
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory.
The ph ...
, with the outer extent being the City of Wanneroo and the City of Swan to the north, the Shire of Mundaring, City of Kalamunda and the City of Armadale to the east, the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale to the south-east and the City of Rockingham to the south-west, and including Rottnest Island and Garden Island off the west coast. This extent correlates with the Metropolitan Region Scheme, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...
' Perth (Major Statistical Division).
The metropolitan extent of Perth can be defined in other ways—the Australian Bureau of Statistics Greater Capital City Statistical Area, or Greater Perth in short, consists of that area, plus the City of Mandurah and the Pinjarra Level 2 Statistical Area of the Shire of Murray, while the ''Regional Development Commissions Act 1993'' includes the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale in the Peel region.
Geology and landforms
The largest river flowing through Perth is the Swan River, named for the native black swan
The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent ...
s by Willem de Vlamingh, captain of a Dutch expedition and namer of Western Australia's Rottnest Island, who discovered the birds while exploring the area in 1697. This water body is also known as ''Derbarl Yerrigan''. The city centre and most of the suburbs are on the sandy and relatively flat Swan Coastal Plain, which lies between the Darling Scarp and the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. The soils of this area are quite infertile.
Much of colonial Perth was built on the Perth Wetlands, a series of freshwater wetlands running from Herdsman Lake in the west through to Claisebrook Cove in the east.
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. The Perth metropolitan area has two major river systems, one made up of the Swan and Canning
Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under ...
Rivers, and one of the Serpentine and Murray Rivers, which discharge into the Peel Inlet at Mandurah. The Perth-Gingin Shrublands and Woodlands and Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain straddle the metropolitan area.
Climate
Perth receives moderate, though highly seasonal, winter-based rainfall. Summers are generally hot, sunny and dry, lasting from December to March, with February generally the hottest month. Winters are relatively mild and wet, giving Perth a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''Csa''). Perth has an average of 8.8 hours of sunshine per day, which equates to around 3,200 hours of sunshine and 138.7 clear days annually, making it Australia's sunniest capital city.
Summers are typically hot and dry but not completely devoid of rain, with sporadic rainfall in the form of short-lived thunderstorms, weak cold front
A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface Trough (meteorology), trough of Low-pressure area, low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropica ...
s and on occasions decaying tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
s from Western Australia's north-west, which can bring heavy rain. Temperatures above occur, on average, 26 days per year and rise above on 5 days per year. The highest temperature recorded in Perth was on 23 February 1991, although Perth Airport
Perth Airport is an international airport, international, domestic airport, domestic and general aviation airport serving Perth, Western Australia.
It is the List of the busiest airports in Australia, fourth busiest airport in Australia meas ...
recorded on the same day. On most summer afternoons a sea breeze, known locally as the '' Fremantle Doctor'', blows from the south-west, providing relief from the hot north-easterly winds. Temperatures often fall below a few hours after the arrival of the wind change. In the summer, the 3p.m. dewpoint averages at around .
Winters are mild and wet, with most of Perth's annual rainfall between May and September. Winters see significant rainfall as frontal systems move across the region, interspersed with clear and sunny days where minimum temperatures tend to drop below . The lowest temperature recorded in Perth was on 17 June 2006. The lowest temperature within the Perth metropolitan area was on the same day at Jandakot Airport, although temperatures at or below zero are rare occurrences. The lowest maximum temperature recorded in Perth is on 26 June 1956. It occasionally gets cold enough for frost to form. While snow
Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...
has never been recorded in the Perth CBD, light snowfalls have been reported in outer suburbs of Perth in the Perth Hills around Kalamunda, Roleystone and Mundaring. The most recent snowfall was in 1968.
The rainfall pattern has changed in Perth and south-west Western Australia since the mid-1970s. A significant reduction in winter rainfall has been observed with a greater number of extreme rainfall events in the summer, such as the slow-moving storms on 8 February 1992 that brought of rain, heavy rainfall associated with a tropical low
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
on 10 February 2017, which brought of rain, and the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Joyce on 15 January 2018 with . Perth was also hit by a severe thunderstorm on 22 March 2010, which brought of rain, and large hail and caused significant damage in the metropolitan area.
The average sea temperature ranges from in October to in March.
Isolation
With more than two million residents, Perth is one of the most isolated major cities in the world. The nearest city with a population of more than 100,000 is Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, over away. Perth is geographically closer to both East Timor (), and Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
, Indonesia (), than to Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
().[
]
Demographics
Perth is Australia's fourth-most-populous city, having overtaken Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
in 1984. In June 2023 there was an estimated resident population of 2,309,338 in the Greater Perth area, representing an increase of approximately 3.6% from the 2022 estimate of 2,228,020, the highest growth rate of Australia's capital cities.
Ancestry and immigration
At the 2021 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:
Perth's population is notable for the high proportion of British- and Irish-born residents. At the 2021 Census, 169,938 England-born Perth residents were counted, ahead of even Sydney (151,614), despite the latter having well over twice the population.
The ethnic make-up of Perth changed in the second part of the 20th century when significant numbers of continental European immigrants arrived in the city. Prior to this, Perth's population had been almost completely Anglo-Celtic in ethnic origin. As Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
was the first landfall in Australia for many migrant ships coming from Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, Perth started to experience a diverse influx of people, including Italians
Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
, Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
, Dutch, Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
, Turks, Croats
The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
and Macedonians. The Italian influence in the Perth and Fremantle area has been substantial, evident in places like the "Cappuccino strip" in Fremantle featuring many Italian eateries and shops. In Fremantle, the traditional Italian blessing of the fleet festival is held every year at the start of the fishing season. In Northbridge every December is the San Nicola (Saint Nicholas) Festival, which involves a pageant followed by a concert, predominantly in Italian. Suburbs surrounding the Fremantle area, such as Spearwood and Hamilton Hill, also contain high concentrations of Italians, Croatians and Portuguese. Perth has also been home to a small Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
community since 1829—numbering 6,331 in 2021—who have emigrated primarily from Eastern Europe and more recently from South Africa.[
]
A more recent wave of arrivals includes white South Africans. South Africans overtook those born in Italy as the fourth-largest foreign group in 2001. By 2016, there were 35,262 South Africans residing in Perth. Many Afrikaners
Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch people, Dutch Settler colonialism, settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in Free Burghers in the Dutch Cape Colony, 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. '' ...
and Anglo-African
The British diaspora in Africa is a population group broadly defined as English-speaking people of mainly (but not only) British people, British descent who live in or were born in Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority live in South Africa and other ...
s emigrated to Perth during the 1980s and 1990s, with the phrase "packing for Perth" becoming associated with South Africans who choose to emigrate abroad, sometimes regardless of the destination. As a result, the city has been described as "the Australian capital of South Africans in exile".
Since the end of the White Australia policy in 1973, Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
has become an increasingly significant source of migrants, with communities from Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, Mainland China
"Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
and India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
all now well established. There were 112,293 persons of Chinese descent in Perth in 2016—5.3% of the city's population. These are supported by the Australian Eurasian Association of Western Australia, which also serves a community of Portuguese-Malacca Eurasian or Kristang immigrants.
Middle Eastern immigrants have a presence in Perth. They come from a variety of countries, including Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
, Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
, The United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
, Oman
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
, Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
.
The Indian community includes a substantial number of Parsees who emigrated from Bombay
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
—Perth being the closest Australian city to India—in 2021 those with Indian ancestry accounted for 3.5% of Perth's population Perth is also home to the largest population of Anglo-Burmese in the world; many settled here following the independence of Burma in 1948 with immigration taking off after 1962. The city is now the cultural hub for Anglo-Burmese worldwide. There is also a substantial Anglo-Indian population in Perth, who also settled in the city following the independence of India.
At the 2021 census, 2% of Perth's population identified as being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
Language
At the 2021 census, 74% of inhabitants spoke only English at home, with the next most common languages being Mandarin (2.3%), Italian (1.1%), Vietnamese (1.0%), Punjabi (0.9%) and Cantonese
Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
(0.9%).
Religion
41.8% of the 2021 census respondents in Perth had no religion, as against 38.4% of national population. In 1911, the national figure was 0.4%.
Catholics are the largest single Christian denomination in the Greater Perth area at 19.5%. Perth is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth. The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross claims over 2,000 members. Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
s are 9.9% of the population. Perth is the seat of the Anglican Diocese of Perth.
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
each have more than 50,000 adherents. The suburb of Gidgengannup in the Perth Hills is home to the Dhammasara Nuns Monastery of the Buddhist Thai Forest Tradition. Over 31,000 members of the Uniting Church in Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...
live in Perth.
Perth has the third largest Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
population in Australia, numbering approximately 6,331 in the 2021 census.[The Jewish population of Australia]
jca.org.au. May 2024 Perth's Jewish Day School, Carmel School claims a city Jewish population closer to 10,000. The city is home to both Orthodox and Progressive synagogues, most notably Perth Hebrew Congregation and Temple David. There is also a Chabad house in Perth.
The Baháʼí community in Perth numbers around 2,178. Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
has over 49,000 adherents in Perth; the Diwali
Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...
(festival of lights) celebration in 2009 attracted over 20,000 visitors. There are Hindu temples in Canning Vale, Anketell and a Swaminarayan
Swaminarayan (IAST: '; 3 April 1781 – 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami, was a yogi and Asceticism, ascetic believed by followers to be a manifestation of Krishna or the highest Theophany, manifestation of Purushottama, around wh ...
temple in Bennett Springs. Hinduism is the fastest growing religion in Australia. Perth is also home to 4,719 Mormons
Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...
and the Perth Australia Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
.
Governance
Perth, like the rest of Australia, is governed by three levels of government: local, state and federal.
Local
The Perth metropolitan area is divided into thirty local government bodies, including the City of Perth which administers Perth's central business district. The outer extent of the administrative region of Perth comprises the City of Wanneroo and the City of Swan to the north, the Shire of Mundaring, City of Kalamunda and the City of Armadale to the east, the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale to the south-east and the City of Rockingham to the south-west, and including the islands of Rottnest Island and Garden Island off the west coast.
State
Perth houses the Parliament of Western Australia
The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia, which constitutes the legislative branch of the state's political system. The parl ...
and the Governor of Western Australia. , 42 of the Legislative Assembly's 59 seats and 18 of the Legislative Council
A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...
's 36 seats are based in Perth's metropolitan area.
The state's highest court, the Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, is located in Perth, along with the District
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
and Family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Courts. The Magistrates' Court has six metropolitan locations.
Federal
Perth is represented by 10 full seats and significant parts of three others in the Federal House of Representatives, with the seats of Canning, Pearce and Brand including some areas outside the metropolitan area.
The Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...
and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia
The Federal Circuit Court of Australia, formerly known as the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Service, was an Australian court hierarchy, Australian court with jurisdiction over matters broadly relating to fami ...
(previously the Federal Magistrates Court) occupy the Commonwealth Law Courts building on Victoria Avenue, which is also the location for annual Perth sittings of Australia's High Court.
Economy
By virtue of its population and role as the administrative centre for business and government, Perth dominates the Western Australian economy, despite the major mining, petroleum and agricultural export industries being located elsewhere in the state. Perth's function as the state's capital city, its economic base and population size have also created development opportunities for many other businesses oriented to local or more diversified markets.
Perth's economy has been changing in favour of the service industries since the 1950s. Although one of the major sets of services it provides is related to the resources industry and, to a lesser extent, agriculture, most people in Perth are not connected to either; they have jobs that provide services to other people in Perth.
As a result of Perth's relative geographical isolation, it has never had the necessary conditions to develop significant manufacturing industries other than those serving the immediate needs of its residents, mining, agriculture and some specialised areas, such as, in recent times, niche shipbuilding and maintenance. It was simply cheaper to import all the needed manufactured goods from either the eastern states or overseas.
Industrial employment influenced the economic geography of Perth. After WWII, Perth experienced suburban expansion aided by high levels of car ownership. Workforce decentralisation and transport improvements made it possible for the establishment of small-scale manufacturing in the suburbs. Many firms took advantage of relatively cheap land to build spacious, single-storey plants in suburban locations with plentiful parking, easy access and minimal traffic congestion. "The former close ties of manufacturing with near-central and/or rail-side locations were loosened."
Industrial estates such as Kwinana, Welshpool
Welshpool ( ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, historically in the Historic counties of Wales, county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn. The c ...
and Kewdale were post-war additions contributing to the growth of manufacturing south of the river. The establishment of the Kwinana industrial area was supported by standardisation of the east–west rail gauge linking Perth with eastern Australia. Since the 1950s the area has been dominated by heavy industry, including an oil refinery, steel-rolling mill with a blast furnace, alumina refinery, power station and a nickel refinery. Another development, also linked with rail standardisation, was in 1968 when the Kewdale Freight Terminal was developed adjacent to the Welshpool industrial area, replacing the former Perth railway yards.
With significant population growth post-WWII, employment growth occurred not in manufacturing but in retail and wholesale trade, business services, health, education, community and personal services, and in public administration. Increasingly it was these services sectors, concentrated around the Perth metropolitan area, that provided jobs.
Perth has also become a hub of technology-focused startups since the early 2000s that provide a pool of highly skilled jobs to the Perth community. Companies such as Canva, VGW, Appbot, Agworld and Healthengine all hail from Perth and have made headlines internationally. Organisations like StartupWA, Spacecubed and Perth Angels, and programs like Meshpoints, Curtin Accelerate and Plus Eight are all focused on creating a thriving startup culture in Perth and growing the next generation of Perth-based employers.
Education
Education is compulsory in Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
between the ages of six and seventeen, corresponding to primary and secondary school. Tertiary education is available through several universities and technical and further education (TAFE) colleges.
Primary and secondary
Students may attend either public schools, run by the state government's Department of Education, or private schools, usually associated with a religion, or engage in home schooling.
The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) is the credential given to students who have completed Years 11 and 12 of their secondary schooling.
In 2012 the minimum requirements for students to receive their WACE changed.
Tertiary
Perth is home to four public universities: the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...
, Curtin University, Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...
and Edith Cowan University. There are also two private universities, the University of Notre Dame Australia, and a local campus of the University of Divinity.
The University of Western Australia, which was founded in 1911, is renowned as one of Australia's leading research institutions. The university's monumental neo-classical architecture, most of which is carved from white limestone, is a notable tourist destination in the city. It is the only university in the state to be a member of the Group of Eight, as well as the Sandstone universities
The sandstone universities are an informally defined group comprising Australia's oldest tertiary education institutions. Most were founded in the colonial era, the exceptions being the University of Queensland (1909) and University of Western Au ...
. It is also the state's only university to have produced a Nobel Laureate: Barry Marshall, who graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery in 1975 and was awarded a joint Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 2005 with Robin Warren.
Curtin University, previously known as Western Australian Institute of Technology (1966–1986) and Curtin University of Technology (1986–2010), is Western Australia's largest university by student population.
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...
was founded in 1973 and incorporates Western Australia's only veterinary school and, until its controversial closure in 2020, Australia's only theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
program to be completely integrated into a secular university.
Edith Cowan University was established in 1991 from the existing Western Australian College of Advanced Education which itself was formed on 11 December 1981 from the existing Teachers Colleges at Claremont, Nedlands, Churchlands and Mount Lawley after Graylands had merged into Claremont, Churchlands and Mount Lawley in 1979. It incorporates the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
The University of Notre Dame Australia was established in 1990. Notre Dame was established as a Catholic university with its lead campus in Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
and a large campus in Sydney, and a campus in Broome. Its lead campus is in the west end of Fremantle, using historic port buildings built in the 1890s, giving Notre Dame a distinct European university atmosphere.
The Melbourne-based University of Divinity established a campus in Perth in 2022 through its admission of Wollaston College, the theological college of the Anglican Diocese of Perth, as a collegiate college of the University.
Colleges of TAFE provide trade and vocational training, including certificate- and diploma-level courses. TAFE began as a system of technical colleges and schools under the Education Department, from which they were separated in the 1980s and ultimately formed into regional colleges. Two are in the Perth metropolitan area: North Metropolitan TAFE (formerly Central Institute of Technology and West Coast Institute of Training); and South Metropolitan TAFE (formerly Polytechnic West and Challenger Institute of Technology).
Media
Newspapers
The main newspapers for Perth are '' The West Australian'' and ''The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
''. Localised free community papers cater to each local government area. The local business paper is '' Western Australian Business News''.
Radio
Radio stations are on AM, FM and DAB+ frequencies. ABC stations include ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
, ABC Radio Perth, Radio National, Classic FM and Triple J. The six local commercial stations are 6PR and 6IX on AM; Triple M, Nova 93.7, Mix 94.5 and 96FM on FM. DAB+ has mostly the same as both AM and FM plus national stations from the ABC/SBS, Radar Radio and Novanation, along with local stations My Perth Digital, Hot Country Perth and 98five Christian radio. Major community radio stations include RTRFM, Sonshine FM, SportFM and Curtin FM.
Television
Perth is served by thirty digital free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...
television channels:
* ABC TV
* ABC TV HD (ABC TV broadcast in HD)
* ABC Family
American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...
* ABC Entertains
* ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
* SBS
* SBS HD (SBS broadcast in HD)
* SBS Viceland
* SBS World Movies
* SBS Food
* NITV
* SBS WorldWatch
* Seven
* 7HD
Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
(Seven broadcast in HD)
* 7two
* 7mate
* 7mate HD (7mate broadcast in HD)
* 7Bravo
* 7flix
* TVSN
* Racing.com
* Nine
* 9HD (Nine broadcast in HD)
* 9Gem
* 9Gem HD (9Gem broadcast in HD)
* 9Go!
* 9Life
* 9GemHD
* 9Rush
* 9Go!HD
* 10
* 10 HD (10 broadcast in HD)
* 10 Bold Drama (only in HD)
* 10 Peach Comedy
* Nickelodeon
* You.tv
* Gecko TV (formerly Spree TV)
ABC, SBS, Seven, Nine and 10 were also broadcast in an analogue format until 16 April 2013, when the analogue transmission was switched off. Community station Access 31 closed in August 2008. In April 2010 a new community station, West TV, began transmission (in digital format only). West TV ceased broadcasting in February 2020.
Foxtel
NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...
provides a subscription-based satellite and cable television service. Perth has its own local newsreaders on ABC ( Pamela Medlen), Seven ( Rick Ardon, Susannah Carr), Nine ( Michael Thomson, Monika Kos) and Ten ( Natalie Forrest).
An annual telethon has been broadcast since 1968 to raise funds for charities including Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. The 24-hour Perth Telethon claims to be "the most successful fundraising event per capita in the world".
Online-only
Online news media outlets covering the Perth area include TheWest.com.au backed by '' The West Australian'', Perth Now from the newsroom of ''The Sunday Times'', and WAToday from Nine Entertainment.
Culture
Arts and entertainment
A number of cultural events are held in Perth. Held annually since 1953, Perth Festival is Australia's longest running annual cultural festival and includes the Perth Writers Festival and the Winter Arts Festival. The Fringe World Festival has been held annually across January and February in Perth since 2012. Perth also hosts annual music festivals including Listen Out, Origin and St Jerome's Laneway Festival. The Perth International Comedy Festival features a variety of local and international comedic talent, with performances held at the Astor Theatre and nearby venues in Mount Lawley. Regular night food market events are held during the summer months throughout the Perth CBD and surrounding suburbs. Sculpture by the Sea showcases a range of local and international sculptors' creations along Cottesloe Beach. There is also a wide variety of public art and sculptures on permanent display across the city.
The Perth Cultural Centre
The Perth Cultural Centre is an area of central Perth, Western Australia, near the James Street Mall.
It is home to a number of cultural institutions including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum, State Library o ...
is home to many of the city's major arts, cultural and educational institutions, including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum, State Library of Western Australia, State Records Office and Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA). The State Theatre Centre of Western Australia
The State Theatre Centre of Western Australia is a theatre complex located within the Perth Cultural Centre in Perth, Western Australia. The larger of three dedicated performance areas is known as the Heath Ledger Theatre in honour of Perth-born f ...
is also located there,[ and is the home of the Black Swan State Theatre Company and the Perth Theatre Company. Other performing arts companies based in Perth include the West Australian Ballet, the West Australian Opera and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, all of which present regular programs. The Western Australian Youth Orchestras provide young musicians with performance opportunities in orchestral and other musical ensembles.
Perth is also home to the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts at Edith Cowan University, from which many actors and broadcasters have launched their careers.] The city's main performance venues include the Riverside Theatre within the Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre, the Perth Concert Hall, the historic His Majesty's Theatre, the Regal Theatre in Subiaco and the Astor Theatre in Mount Lawley. Perth Arena can be configured as an entertainment or sporting arena, and concerts are also hosted at other sporting venues, including Perth Stadium, Perth High Performance Centre and Perth Rectangular Stadium. Outdoor concert venues include Quarry Amphitheatre, Supreme Court Gardens, Kings Park and Russell Square.
The largest performance area within the State Theatre Centre, the Heath Ledger Theatre, is named in honour of Perth-born film actor Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film care ...
. Other performers from Perth include
Judy Davis, Melissa George, Tim Minchin
Timothy David Minchin Order of Australia#Levels of membership, AM (born 7 October 1975) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, musician, poet, composer, and songwriter.
Minchin has released six CDs, five DVDs, and live comedy shows that he ...
, Lisa McCune, Troye Sivan, Sam Worthington and Isla Fisher. Performers that studied in Perth at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts include Hugh Jackman and Lisa McCune.
Due to Perth's relative isolation from other Australian cities, overseas performing artists sometimes exclude it from their Australian tour schedules. This isolation, however, is considered a key factor in the development of a distinct and tight-knit music scene in Perth, with many bands and artists hailing from the city. Famous musical performers from Perth include the late AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
frontman Bon Scott, whose heritage-listed grave at Fremantle Cemetery is reportedly the most visited grave in Australia. Further notable music acts from Perth include The Triffids, The Scientists
The Scientists are a post-punk band from Perth, Western Australia, led by Kim Salmon, initially known as the Exterminators and then the Invaders. The band had two primary incarnations: the Perth-based punk rock, punk band of the late 1970s and ...
, The Drones, Tame Impala, Karnivool and Pendulum
A pendulum is a device made of a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate i ...
.
Perth has inspired various artistic and cultural works. John Boyle O'Reilly, a Fenian convict transported to Western Australia, published '' Moondyne'' in 1879, the most famous early novel about the Swan River Colony. Perth is also the setting for various works by novelist Tim Winton
Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the ...
, most notably '' Cloudstreet'' (1991). Songs that refer to the city include "I Love Perth" (1996) by Pavement, "Perth" (2011) by Bon Iver, and "Perth" (2015) by Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
. Films shot or set in Perth include '' Japanese Story'' (2003), '' These Final Hours'' (2013), '' Kill Me Three Times'' (2014) and '' Paper Planes'' (2015).
Tourism and recreation
Tourism is an important part of Perth's economy, with approximately 2.8 million domestic visitors and 0.7 million international visitors in the year ending March 2012. Tourist attractions are generally focused around the city centre, Fremantle, the coast and the Swan River.
In addition to the Perth Cultural Centre, there are dozens of museums across the city. The Scitech Discovery Centre in is an interactive science museum, with regularly changing exhibitions on a large range of science and technology-based subjects. Scitech also conducts live science demonstration shows and operates the adjacent ''Horizon'' planetarium. The Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle displays maritime objects from all eras. It houses '' Australia II'', the yacht that won the 1983 America's Cup, as well as a former Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
submarine. Also in Fremantle is the Army Museum of Western Australia, situated within a historic artillery barracks. The museum consists of several galleries that reflect the Army's involvement in Western Australia and the military service of Western Australians. The museum holds numerous items of significance, including three Victoria Crosses. Aviation history is represented by the Aviation Heritage Museum in Bull Creek, with its significant collection of aircraft, including a Lancaster bomber and a Catalina of the type operated from the Swan River during WWII.
There are many heritage sites in Perth's CBD, Fremantle and other parts of the metropolitan areas. Some of the oldest remaining buildings, dating back to the 1830s, include the Round House in Fremantle, the Old Mill in South Perth, and the Old Court House in the city centre. Registers of important buildings are maintained by the Heritage Council of Western Australia and local governments. A late heritage building is the Perth Mint. Yagan Square connects Northbridge and the Perth CBD, with a 45-metre-high digital tower and the 9-metre statue ''Wirin'' designed by Noongar
The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...
artist Tjyllyungoo. Elizabeth Quay is also a notable attraction in Perth, featuring Swan Bells, a panoramic view of Swan River, and the sculpture '' Spanda'' by artist Christian de Vietri.
Retail shopping in the Perth CBD is focused around Murray Street and Hay Street. Both these streets are pedestrian malls between William Street and Barrack Street. Forrest Place is another pedestrian mall, connecting the Murray Street mall to Wellington Street and the Perth railway station. A number of arcades run between Hay Street and Murray Street, including the Piccadilly Arcade, which housed the Piccadilly Cinema until it closed in late 2013. Other shopping precincts include Watertown in West Perth, featuring factory outlets for major brands, the historically significant Fremantle Markets, which date to 1897, and the Midland townsite on Great Eastern Highway, combining historic development around the Town Hall and Post Office buildings with the modern Midland Gate shopping centre further east. Joondalup
Joondalup () is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, approximately north of Perth central business district, Perth's central business district. It contains the central business district of the regional City of Joondalup and acts as the primar ...
's central business district is largely a shopping and retail area lined with townhouses and apartments, and also features Lakeside Joondalup. Joondalup was granted the status of "tourism precinct" by the State Government in 2009, allowing for extended retail trading hours.
Restaurants, bars and nightclubs can be found in the entertainment hubs of Northbridge (just north of the Perth CBD), the west end of the CBD itself, Elizabeth Quay, Leederville, Beaufort Street, Scarborough and Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
. The Crown casino and resort is located at Burswood.
The Swan Valley, with fertile soil, uncommon in the Perth region, features numerous wineries, such as the large complex at Houghtons, the state's biggest producer, Sandalfords and many smaller operators, including microbreweries and rum distilleries. The Swan Valley also contains specialised food producers, many restaurants and cafes, and roadside local produce stalls that sell seasonal fruit throughout the year. Tourist Drive 203 is a circular route in the Swan Valley, passing by many attractions on West Swan Road and Great Northern Highway.
Kings Park, in central Perth between the CBD and the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...
, is one of the world's largest inner-city parks, at . It has many landmarks and attractions, including the State War Memorial Precinct on Mount Eliza, Western Australian Botanic Garden and children's playgrounds. Other features include DNA Tower, a high double helix staircase that resembles the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule, and Jacob's Ladder, comprising 242 steps that lead down to Mounts Bay Road.
Hyde Park is another inner-city park north of the CBD. It was gazetted as a public park in 1897, created from of a chain of wetlands known as Third Swamp. Avon Valley, John Forrest and Yanchep national parks are areas of protected bushland at the northern and eastern edges of the metropolitan area. Within the city's northern suburbs is Whiteman Park, a bushland area, with bushwalking trails, bike paths, sports facilities, playgrounds, a vintage tramway, a light railway on a track, motor and tractor museums, and Caversham Wildlife Park.
Perth Zoo, in South Perth, houses a variety of Australian and exotic animals from around the globe. The zoo is home to highly successful breeding programs for orangutans and giraffes, and participates in captive breeding and reintroduction efforts for a number of Western Australian species, including the numbat, the dibbler, the chuditch and the western swamp tortoise.
More wildlife can be observed at the Aquarium of Western Australia in Hillarys, Australia's largest aquarium, specialising in marine animals that inhabit the western coast of Australia. The northern Perth section of the coastline is known as Sunset Coast; it includes numerous beaches and the Marmion Marine Park, a protected area inhabited by tropical fish, Australian sea lion
The Australian sea lion (''Neophoca cinerea''), also known as the Australian sea-lion or Australian sealion, is a species of sea lion that is the only endemic pinniped in Australia. It is currently Monotypic taxon, monotypic in the genus ''Neopho ...
s and bottlenose dolphins, and traversed by humpback whales. Tourist Drive 204, also known as Sunset Coast Tourist Drive, is a designated route from North Fremantle to Iluka along coastal roads.
Sport
The climate of Perth allows for extensive outdoor sporting activity, and this is reflected in the wide variety of sports available to residents of the city. Perth was host to the 1962 Commonwealth Games and the 1987 America's Cup defence (based at Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
). Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
is the most popular spectator sport in Perth—nearly 23% of Western Australians attended a match at least once in 2009–2010. The two Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
teams located in Perth, the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Football Club, have two of the largest fan bases in the country. The Eagles, the older club, was until recently, one of the most successful teams in the league, and one of the largest sporting clubs in Australia. The next level of football is the Western Australian Football League, comprising nine clubs each having a League, Reserves and Colts team. Each of these clubs has a junior football system for ages 7 to 17. The next level of Australian rules football is the Perth Football League, comprising 68 clubs servicing senior footballers within the metropolitan area. Other popular sports include cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
, basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
, rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
and rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
.
Perth has hosted numerous state and international sporting events. Ongoing international events include the ATP Cup (replacing the Hopman Cup in 2020) during the first week of January at the Perth Arena, and the Perth International golf tournament at Lake Karrinyup Country Club. In addition to these Perth has hosted the Rally Australia of the World Rally Championships from 1989 to 2006, international rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
games, including qualifying and pool stage matches for the 2003 Rugby World Cup and the Bledisloe Cup in 2019. The 1991 and 1998 FINA World Championships
The World Aquatics Championships, formerly the FINA World Championships, are the World Championships for six aquatic disciplines: Swimming (sport), swimming, Diving (sport), diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water ...
were held in Perth.
Four races (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010) in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship have been held on a stretch of the Swan River called Perth Water, using Langley Park as a temporary airfield. Several motorsport
Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...
facilities exist in Perth including Perth Motorplex, catering to drag racing and speedway, and Wanneroo Raceway for circuit racing and drifting, which hosts a V8 Supercars round. Perth also has two thoroughbred racing facilities: Ascot, home of the Railway Stakes and Perth Cup; and Belmont Park. Daniel Ricciardo is a Perth-born Formula 1 driver who most recently raced for the Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team from 2023 to 2024 and previously from 2012 to 2013 when the team was known as Scuderia Toro Rosso, having also raced for Red Bull Racing, Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
and McLaren, respectively.
The WACA Ground opened in the 1890s and has hosted Test cricket
Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...
since 1970. The Western Australian Athletics Stadium opened in 2009.
Infrastructure
Health
Perth has ten large hospitals with emergency departments. , Royal Perth Hospital in the city centre is the largest, with others spread around the metropolitan area: Armadale Health Service, Joondalup Health Campus, King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women in Subiaco, Rockingham General Hospital, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Nedlands, St John of God Murdoch and Subiaco Hospitals, Midland Health Campus in Midland, and Fiona Stanley Hospital in Murdoch. Perth Children's Hospital is the state's only specialist children's hospital, and Graylands Hospital is the only public stand-alone psychiatric teaching hospital. Most of these are public hospitals, with some operating under public-private partnerships. St John of God Murdoch and Subiaco Hospitals, and Hollywood Hospital are large privately owned and operated hospitals.
A number of other public and private hospitals operate in Perth.
Transport
Perth is served by Perth Airport
Perth Airport is an international airport, international, domestic airport, domestic and general aviation airport serving Perth, Western Australia.
It is the List of the busiest airports in Australia, fourth busiest airport in Australia meas ...
in the city's east for regional, domestic and international flights and Jandakot Airport in the city's southern suburbs for general aviation and charter flights.
Perth has a road network with three freeways— Mitchell, Kwinana and Graham Farmer—and nine metropolitan highways. The Northbridge Tunnel, part of the Graham Farmer Freeway, is the only significant road tunnel in Perth.
Perth metropolitan public transport is known as Transperth, and includes trains
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 ...
, buses and ferries, which are provided by the Public Transport Authority. Links to rural areas provided by Transwa. There are 74 railway stations and 14 bus-only stations on the Transperth network.
Perth provides zero-fare bus and train trips around the city centre (the "Free Transit Zone"), including four high-frequency CAT bus routes.
The '' Indian Pacific'' passenger rail service connects Perth with Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
and Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
once per week in each direction. The '' Prospector'' passenger rail service connects Perth with Kalgoorlie via several Wheatbelt towns, while the ''Australind
Australind is a town in Western Australia, located 12 km north-east of Bunbury, Western Australia, Bunbury's central business district. Its Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area is the Shire of Harvey. At the 20 ...
'' connects to Bunbury, the MerredinLink connects to Merredin and the '' AvonLink'' connects to Northam.
Rail freight terminates at the Kewdale Rail Terminal, south-east of the city centre.
Perth's main container and passenger port is at Fremantle, south-west at the mouth of the Swan River. The Fremantle Outer Harbour at Cockburn Sound is one of Australia's major bulk cargo ports.
Utilities
Perth's electricity is predominantly generated, supplied and retailed by three Western Australian Government corporations. Verve Energy operates coal and gas power generation stations, as well as wind farms and other power sources. The physical network is maintained by Western Power, while Synergy, the state's largest energy retailer, sells electricity to residential and business customers.
Alinta Energy, which was previously a government owned company, had a monopoly in the domestic gas market since the 1990s. However, in 2013 Kleenheat Gas began operating in the market, allowing consumers to choose their gas retailer.
The Water Corporation is the dominant supplier of water, as well as wastewater and drainage services, in Perth and throughout Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. It is also owned by the state government.
Perth's water supply has traditionally relied on both groundwater and rain-fed dams. Reduced rainfall in the region over recent decades had greatly lowered inflow to reservoirs and affected groundwater levels. Coupled with the city's relatively high growth rate, this led to concerns that Perth could run out of water in the near future. The Western Australian Government responded by building desalination plants, and introducing mandatory household sprinkler restrictions. The Kwinana Desalination Plant was opened in 2006, and Southern Seawater Desalination Plant at Binningup (on the coast between Mandurah and Bunbury) began operating in 2011. A trial winter (1 June – 31 August) sprinkler ban was introduced in 2009 by the State Government, a move which the Government later announced would be made permanent.
See also
* 1955 Plan for the Metropolitan Region, Perth and Fremantle
* List of islands of Perth, Western Australia
* List of Perth suburbs
Notes
References
Sources
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Further reading
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External links
City of Perth
Watch historical footage of Perth and Western Australia
from the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia's collection.
Historical photos of Perth
from the State Library of Western Australia
Tourism Australia Page
Metropolitan Region Scheme
—The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage
Metropolitan Perth LGA boundaries
—The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
{{Authority control
Populated places established in 1829
1829 establishments in Australia
Metropolitan areas of Australia
Australian capital cities