I’ve lived in Perth now for a little over 50 years. My family emigrated here back in 1972 when I was 5, and apart from a few years spent at various army bases as a young man, my residence has generally been in Perth. Perth has a vibe all its own and tends to orbit the planet a little differently to everywhere else. So let’s have a look at some fun facts about Perth.
Sunniest Capital In Australia
Perth enjoys an average of 8 hours sunshine every day, even in Winter. This makes us the sunniest capital city in Australia. I’m told that were also the sunniest capital city in the world as well, but I’m struggling to verify that.
This is probably one of the reasons why West Australians are known as Sandgropers. We spend so much time at the beach. To be fair there is also a small creature which burrows in the sand by the same name which lives predominately in our state. But I prefer the first reason.
We are fairly lucky with beaches as well. Certainly, the beaches near the Perth metropolitan area tend to be glorious white sandy beaches, and it’s no hardship to find yourself sitting on one.
Quokkas
I’m sure that opinions will be divided on this, but I think that Perth is home to the most photogenic animals in the world. Quokkas. These animals were only found on Rottnest Island, which is a short ferry ride from Perth. I believe now though that some have been brought over to the mainland.
In their natural habitat, they have no natural predators, and they are curious friendly little animals. Always happy to get involved with a selfie. There are no cars allowed on the island, so they flourish there.
Sadly, over the years some have been killed by humans for whom there is a special place in hell reserved.
Click here to check out the selfie that Chris Hemsworth took with a Quokka. The photo was shared to social media and broke lots of records.
Isolation
Perth is the second most isolated capital city in the world. First place goes to Honolulu in Hawaii. Our nearest capital city is Adelaide which is 2200 km away. It’s a long drive no matter how you look at it, but it used to be much worse. The road connecting the two was finally sealed in the 1980s. Prior to that it was a bone jarring trip, in cars that generally lacked air-conditioning.
Perth is in fact, closer to Indonesia and Singapore, than we are to Australia’s capital, Canberra. And it certainly noticeable when we want to go on holiday, as it’s generally cheaper to fly to Asia than it is to get to our Eastern states.
No Daylight Savings
This one makes me sad. I remember daylight saving from when I was a kid. Long evenings in summer spent down at the beach were brilliant. These days when we go to Europe, it’s always in their summer to enjoy the longer evenings.
We’ve had some referendums over they years, but sadly we’ve lost out each time. Some of the arguments against daylight savings include that the longer hours will cause the carpets and curtains to fade. The cows won’t know what time to come in for milking, and that the kids won’t go to bed because it’s still light.
The result is that in summer we have short evenings and an abundance of usable light at 4.30 in the morning. I suppose the neighbours won’t mind if I start up the lawnmower then.
The City Of Light
This one stems from 1962 when John Glenn made his orbital flight in Friendship 7. When he passed over Perth that night, the residents all put their lights on. John then called Perth the city of light.
Even in 1962, Perth was not the most illuminated capital city in the world. I’m sure when he went over Tokyo, New York or London, he could probably of read a book by their light.
The difference with Perth was the isolation. As I mentioned the nearest capital was 2200 kilometres away, so it was pretty much pitch black until he came overhead and then the lights went on. A fitting tribute to a great explorer.
Here’s the photo that John took during that flight.
Traditional Owners
The indigenous people of Western Australia have a history dating back around 50000 years of constant habitation. There is continually work being done around this study, and no doubt in a few years we’ll find out that it’s much longer than that.
Sadly, the indigenous people of Perth, The Noongars, chose the Swan River as their preferred place to live. Although they were a nomadic people, they had well established trails, and chose to live in certain areas based on the seasons, and availability of food and water.
The Swan River also happened to be the area chosen by the first European settlers to establish the capital city of this new colony. Inevitably this didn’t work out well for the indigenous people, who were displaced. After almost 200 years, there is still tension. There are a number of writers out there far better qualified than me to do justice to this tale, so I’ll leave it to them.
The First European Settlers
In June of 1829, Governor Stirling led the first European settlers into the Swan River colony, which was later called Perth.
Two locations were initially set up. Perth as the capital, and Fremantle as the port city. On August 12, 1829, the party selected an area to site new capital. Mrs Helena dance was selected to mark a tree with an axe at this site.
She was selected as she was the only woman in the party that was not pregnant. There is now a plaque at this location on Barrack Street just near the town hall. They’ve built a toilet block right near it now.
Although Perth was initially settled as a free colony without convicts, in 1850 convicts were brought in to assist with major infrastructure. This continued till around 1868.
The Golden Mile
In June of 1893, Paddy Hannan and 2 associates struck gold near Coolgardie, almost 600 kilometres inland from Perth. Predictably this started a gold rush.
The towns of Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie and Boulder sprung up overnight and became boom towns. These days Coolgardie is a shadow of its former self, although definitely worth a visit.
Kalgoorlie and Boulder however continued to thrive to the point that they are no longer two distinct towns but have become part of a much larger entity.
The gold that has come out of this area is said to be the largest of any region in the world. In late 1980’s, a lot of the old mining leases were bought up by a large corporation. They have since created the super pit, which consistently pulls gold out of the ground in an industrial fashion.
Sheer Size
The state of Western Australia is vast. It covers 2.5 million square kilometres and makes up about 1/3 of Australia’s landmass.
For context it makes it about the size of Western Europe. The drive from Perth to the north of the state is a bit over 3000 km and the distance from Perth to the Eastern border town of Eucla is about 1400km. As a point of reference, London to Rome is also about 1400 kilometres.
Consequently, the West Australian Police Service has the largest state-run Policing jurisdiction in the world.
Western Australia also claims the world’s longest continuous straight section of rail track measuring 478 kilometres.
Perth also claims the world’s largest inner-city park. Kings Park, set on Mount Eliza boasts magnificent views over Perth and the Sawn River.
Womens Vote
Western Australia was the last state in Australia to grant women the vote in 1899. That still puts us ahead of the UK and US which granted the vote in 1918 and 1920 respectively.
Final Thoughts
I love Perth. It’s the best place in the world for me to live. Certainly we don’t get everything right, and we could learn a lot from other places. But on balance the lifestyle and climate are great. We have enough quirks and oddities to keep you amused, and the general vibe is laid back and relaxed.
If you’d like to check out Perth and it’s surrounds, then check out these posts as well.
The best things to do in Perth
Spend a day swimming with whale sharks
Cheers and happy travels.