90-646: The Peel Estate was an area of land in the south of Perth , Western Australia, predominantly in what is now the City of Kwinana , City of Rockingham and the Shire of Serpentine–Jarrahdale . The estate twice featured prominently in Western Australian history . In the early days of colonial Western Australia, then the Swan River Colony , the large land grant awarded to Thomas Peel became known as
180-524: A 1928 estimate by engineers employed by the government quoting £25,000 per year. In support of the drainage operations and the settlement, construction of the Baldivis tramway was started at the same time as the Peel Main Drain. By the end of 1923, £57,579 had been spent on the 30 miles (48 km) of tramway that had been laid, of which 4 miles (6.4 km) had already been pulled up again. In
270-485: A 244-metre (801 ft) office building for Anglo-Australian mining company BHP . Perth's metropolitan area extends along the coast to Two Rocks in the north and Singleton to the south, a distance of approximately 125 kilometres (80 mi). From the coast in the west to Mundaring in the east is a distance of approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi). The Perth metropolitan area covers 6,418 square kilometres (2,478 sq mi). The built-up urban area of Perth
360-472: A ban that lasted until 1954. In 1933, two-thirds of Western Australians voted in a referendum to secede from the Australian Federation . However, the state general election held at the same time as the referendum had voted out the incumbent "pro-independence" government, replacing it with a government that did not support the independence movement. Respecting the result of the referendum,
450-433: A convict-supported settlement at King George's Sound (later Albany ) on the south coast of Western Australia in 1826, responding to rumours of potential French annexation, Perth marked the first comprehensive European settlement in the western third of the continent of Australia in 1829. Officially designated as "Western Australia" in 1832, the colony retained the informal moniker "Swan River Colony" for many years, after
540-510: A diverse influx of people, including Italians , Greeks , Dutch , Germans , Turks , Croats , 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
630-640: 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 in South Australia to Kalgoorlie to link Perth with the eastern states. In 1927, Indigenous people were prohibited from entering large swathes of Perth under penalty of imprisonment,
720-680: 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-Fremantle Tramways . 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 passed overhead while orbiting
810-447: A population of more than 100,000 is Adelaide , over 2,100 km (1,305 mi) away. Perth is geographically closer to both East Timor (2,800 km or 1,700 mi), and Jakarta , Indonesia (3,000 km or 1,900 mi), than to Sydney (3,300 km or 2,100 mi). Perth is Australia's fourth-most-populous city, having overtaken Adelaide in 1984. In June 2023 there was an estimated resident population of 2,309,338 in
900-485: A small area around the central business district. 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 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
990-450: A substantial number of Parsees who emigrated from Bombay – 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
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#17327761673361080-481: Is 1,722 square kilometres (665 sq mi), the same as Wuhan or Salt Lake City and slightly smaller than London , 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 , with
1170-524: Is 8.8 °C (47.8 °F) on 26 June 1956. It occasionally gets cold enough for frost to form. While snow 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 southwest Western Australia since
1260-460: 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 . 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 (0.9%). 41.8% of
1350-704: 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 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
1440-932: Is the fourth most populous city in Australia , with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth as of 2023 . It 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 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 are situated. Perth
1530-660: 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
1620-721: The Australian Bureau of Statistics ' 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
1710-669: 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 , 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 ,
1800-594: The British House of Commons , 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
1890-737: The Perth Mint . The city is served by Fremantle Harbour and Perth Airport . It was a naval base for the Allies during World War II and today, the Royal Australian Navy 's Fleet Base West is located on Garden Island . All five of Western Australia's universities are based in Perth. The name of the city is taken from Perth, Scotland in honour of the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies , and Member for Perthshire in
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#17327761673361980-458: The Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale in the Peel region . The largest river flowing through Perth is the Swan River, named for the native black swans by Willem de Vlamingh , captain of a Dutch expedition and namer of WA'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
2070-904: 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
2160-466: The 1890s, it was proposed that the unused 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) of the Peel Estate should be opened up and sold on the free market. The Peel Estate, together with the smaller Bateman Estate, comprised 84,133 acres (34,047 ha) of what was initially viewed as poor-quality and low-value land. Evaluation, and consequently land value, improved over time prior to the land purchase. Parts of
2250-548: 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 dams, the development of
2340-593: The 2021 census respondents in Perth had no religion, as against 38.4% of national population. In 1911, the national figure was 0.4%. The Spectacles, Western Australia The Spectacles is a mixed-use suburb located in the City of Kwinana within the Perth Metropolitan Region, the state capital of Western Australia . It comprises almost entirely a wetland reserve, The Spectacles Wetlands , surrounded by degraded native bushland . A small number of residential housing properties lie in
2430-656: The Bibbulmun. On 19 September 2006, the Federal Court of Australia ruled in the case of Bennell v State of Western Australia [2006] FCA 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,
2520-633: 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 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
2610-683: The Federal and Imperial Government. A number of modern-day Perth suburbs originated from the Group Settlement Scheme, among them Anketell , named after Richard John Anketell, Baldivis , which was named in 1922 by the settler after three ships that brought them to Western Australia, Bertram , named after one of the Group settlers, Hopeland , part of 1923 Group 46 of the Peel Estate, and Oldbury , formed in 1922 by Group 35. A number of heritage listed ruins and buildings associated with
2700-502: 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. 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
2790-490: The Group scheme, which were slightly cheaper at £215 per house. The intention was for each settler to receive 120 acres (49 ha) of land, which was supposed to be a mixture of swamp, forest and scrub. Each settler was to receive ten dairy cows. The Peel Estate, like other Group Settlements, was predominantly populated by migrants from Britain, 44,000 of whom took up the offer to settle in Western Australia under
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2880-518: The Noongar people and the Europeans arose due to these events. Agricultural development on the land restricted the traditional hunter-gatherer 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
2970-473: The Noongar people as the traditional owners of the south-west region of Western Australia. On 10 January 1697, Dutch Captain Willem de Vlamingh conducted the first documented exploration by a European of the present-day Perth region. His crew initially explored the area on foot, leading them to what is now central Perth. Continuing, they travelled up the Swan River in search of native inhabitants. They named
3060-475: 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
3150-605: The Peel Estate Group Settlement Scheme were eventually subject of a Royal Commission , which was appointed in December 1923 and presented its report in March 1924, making five recommendations. The Royal Commission established that, by the end of 1923, over £700,000 had been spent on the Peel Estate and that this sum was estimated to rise to £1.25 million. The five recommendations regarding
3240-748: The Peel Estate remain. The Peelhurst ruin in Golden Bay dates back to the 1860s, and is the remnant of a cottage built by Thomas Peel Junior. In Baldivis, the Baldivis Primary School and a Group Settler's home nearby remain from the Group Settlement area of the suburb. Of the schools, Baldivis operated the longest, from 1924 to 1978, when it was replaced by a larger school. The school, originally named Group 50 school, changed its name to Baldivis school in June 1926. Other schools in
3330-515: The Peel Estate were available for sale on the free market, with the condition that further government assistance was unlikely. Additionally, abandoned cottages were purchased and relocated to nearby Rockingham . All up, 24 Group Settlements existed throughout the Peel Estate, all individually numbered, as were all others, ranging from number 1 to 150. The numbers allocated to the estate where 29, 30, 33, 35, 37, 39, 43, 45−47, 50, 54−56, 66−68, 70, 71, 80, 82, 112, 125 and 140. The management and cost of
3420-579: The Peel Estate were first offered for purchase to the Western Australian Government by Dalgety & Co. on 4 February 1918, at this point as part of the Soldier Settlement Scheme , a predecessor to the Group Settlement Scheme. Dalgety offered the estate on behalf of the Colonisation Assurance Corporation of London at 20 shillings per acre but the government declined a month later. Dalgety contacted
3510-408: The Peel Estate. In the 1830s, Peel attempted to populate the estate with European settlers and turn it into a successful agricultural region but the venture failed. The Peel Estate featured a second time in the states history 80 years later when it was part of the assisted migration Group Settlement Scheme , which operated in Western Australia from the early 1920s. Like its predecessor, this venture
3600-464: The Peel estate and future Group Settlement Schemes were to expand the board to include agricultural experts and that the blocks of land were to be inspected and unsuitable ones were to be abandoned. Additionally, the area of The Spectacles was to be reserved for future settlement, that settlers should be supported past the end of the scheme and that Western Australia should ask for financial assistance from
3690-410: The Perth area for at least 48,000 years; according to Noongar tradition, they have occupied the area since "time immemorial". Noongar country encompasses the southwest 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
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3780-400: 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. In 1850, at a time when penal transportation 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
3870-654: The Western Australian Government once more on 11 June 1919, now to sell the whole Peel Estate, 61,005 acres (24,688 ha), asking the government to make them an offer. In the following October, the Land Purchase Board carried out a five day inspection of the offered land. The inspection carried out concluded that all swamps except The Spectacles could be successfully drained at low cost and that this would result in 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) available for settlement. The remainder of
3960-499: The area at Wellard, Karnup and Group 81, closed one by one because of declining population, with Baldivis being the last one operating by 1950. From there, populations in the area increased again, resulting in the school building from Group 39 being relocated next to the Baldivis school. Both buildings remain in use at location to this day. Perth Perth ( Nyungar : Boorloo ) is the capital city of Western Australia . It
4050-517: The area's major watercourse. On 4 June 1829, newly arriving British colonists had their first view of the mainland. Captain James Stirling, aboard Parmelia , 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
4140-541: 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 , Syria , Iran , Iraq , Israel , Lebanon , The United Arab Emirates , Oman , Yemen , and Afghanistan . The Indian community includes
4230-549: The colony. Up to 1839, Peel and what was left of the settlers attempted farming on the granted land but the venture ultimately was a failure. Peel made attempts to obtain the promised land grants but was also unsuccessful in this. Peel died in Mandurah on 21 December 1865. The Peel Estate remained undeveloped for the following decades. With the construction of the South Western Railway from Perth to Bunbury in
4320-477: The establishment in 1922 and 1923, only 177 were left by 1928 and most of those struggled to make a living from their holdings. The low quality of the land and the failure of the drainage system were seen as the reason for the ultimate failure of the scheme. Fertilisers to improve the soil, while already available by the mid-1920s, were unaffordable to the settlers at the time but were used successfully in subsequent decades. By late 1929, abandoned settlement blocks in
4410-445: The estate was found to be completely unsuitable for such an activity and was deemed unlikely to ever become profitable. The minister admitted that attempted cultivation provided a lesser outcome than had the land been left in its original state. The failure of the drainage system was identified as one of the main reasons for the estate's failure, being unable to drain away sufficient amounts of water as well as causing excessive salinity in
4500-465: The first period being in the 1830s and the second one in the 1920s. European settlement in the area dates back to the late 1820s, when Thomas Peel arrived in the recently established Swan River Colony . Peel's original scheme aimed for a land grant of 4,000,000 acres (1,600,000 ha) and the transfer of 10,000 settlers to the new colony, but could only obtain a grant for a quarter of this amount of land, which caused his financiers to lose interest in
4590-789: 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 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
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#17327761673364680-468: The form of short-lived thunderstorms, weak cold fronts and on occasions decaying tropical cyclones from Western Australia's northwest, which can bring heavy rain. Temperatures above 35 °C (95 °F) occur, on average, 26 days per year and rise above 40 °C (104 °F) on 5 days per year. The highest temperature recorded in Perth was 46.2 °C (115.2 °F) on 23 February 1991, although Perth Airport recorded 46.7 °C (116.1 °F) on
4770-529: The fourth-largest foreign group in 2001. By 2016, there were 35,262 South Africans residing in Perth. Many Afrikaners and Anglo-Africans 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". The reason for Perth's popularity among white South Africans has often been attributed to
4860-413: The initial stipulated arrival date of 1 November 1829 by six weeks and consequently lost access to the prime land he had selected. Peel arrived with 179 settlers, which grew in number to 540 in the next six months, but supplies expected to be sent from London never arrived and the land to be settled proved to be of poor quality. Most of the settlers deserted the scheme early on and found other employment in
4950-524: The land was assessed as quite poor. Negotiations commenced, with the final sales price of 8 shillings per acre agreed to and approved by the government on 16 February 1920 and Peel Estate being sold for £ 24,230. Subsequent to this, the government also purchased the Oakland Estate, also referred to as Bateman Estate, after the name of its owner, in the second half of 1921. This property, 12,093 acres (4,894 ha), considered to be of high potential,
5040-661: The land was of excellent quality. To be able to settle the acquired land, extensive drainage was required as a first step, the main feature of which was the Peel Main Drain which discharged to the Serpentine River . Construction of the drain was started in October 1920, supervised by the experienced chief engineer Richard John Anketell of the Public Works Department of Western Australia . By
5130-418: 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. After a referendum in 1900, Western Australia joined the Federation of Australia in 1901, and "became
5220-540: 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 . 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. As of 2021, Perth is divided into 30 local government areas , comprising over 350 suburbs . The metropolitan contours span 115 kilometres (71 mi) from Two Rocks in
5310-446: 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 was the first landfall in Australia for many migrant ships coming from Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, Perth started to experience
5400-538: The location, the vast amount of land, and the slightly warmer climate compared to other large Australian cities – Perth has a Mediterranean climate reminiscent of Cape Town . Since the end of the White Australia policy in 1973, Asia has become an increasingly significant source of migrants, with communities from Vietnam , Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailand , Singapore , Hong Kong , Mainland China , and India all now well-established. There were 112,293 persons of Chinese descent in Perth in 2016 – 5.3% of
5490-620: The metropolitan area. 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 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
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#17327761673365580-485: 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 120.6 millimetres (4.75 in) of rain, heavy rainfall associated with a tropical low on 10 February 2017, which brought 114.4 millimetres (4.50 in) of rain, and the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Joyce on 15 January 2018 with 96.2 millimetres (3.79 in). Perth
5670-513: 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. Archaeological evidence attests to human habitation in
5760-433: 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
5850-446: The new government nonetheless petitioned the Imperial Parliament at Westminster. The House of Commons 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
5940-457: 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 in 1856. However, despite this recognition, Perth remained a tranquil town. A description from 1870 by a Melbourne journalist depicted it as: a quiet little town of some 3000 inhabitants spread out in straggling allotments down to
6030-416: The north to Singleton in the south, and 45 kilometres (28 mi) 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 , Joondalup , Midland , and Rockingham . Most of those were originally established as separate settlements and retained a distinct identity after being subsumed into
6120-408: 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 southeast and the City of Rockingham to the southwest, and including Rottnest Island and Garden Island off the west coast. This extent correlates with the Metropolitan Region Scheme , and
6210-452: The region, interspersed with clear and sunny days where minimum temperatures tend to drop below 5 °C (41 °F). The lowest temperature recorded in Perth was −0.7 °C (30.7 °F) on 17 June 2006. The lowest temperature within the Perth metropolitan area was −3.4 °C (25.9 °F) on the same day at Jandakot Airport , although temperatures at or below zero are rare occurrences. The lowest maximum temperature recorded in Perth
6300-435: The river Swarte Swaene-Revier , a reference to the black swans prevalent in the region. After Vlamingh's observations, 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. Despite the Colony of New South Wales establishing
6390-525: The same day. On most summer afternoons a sea breeze , known locally as the Fremantle Doctor , blows from the southwest, providing relief from the hot northeasterly winds. Temperatures often fall below 30 °C (86 °F) a few hours after the arrival of the wind change. In the summer, the 3 pm dewpoint averages at around 12 °C (54 °F). 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
6480-414: The same time span, £90,000 had been spent on road construction in the estate. The tramway was removed again by 1925, a contributing factor to the failure of the settlement scheme. The Group Settlement planned to erect 460 houses on the Peel estate for the scheme, of which 295 had been built by the end of 1923, at a cost of £228 per house. Additionally, another 75 houses were built for settlers not part of
6570-549: The sandy and relatively flat Swan Coastal Plain , which lies between the Darling Scarp and the Indian Ocean . 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
6660-460: The scheme. Only about one percent of those settled in the Peel Estate. In an August 1928 statement by the Minister responsible for Group Settlement , Frank Troy , he declared that, of the 492 original holdings in the Peel Estate, 227 had been completely abandoned while another 88 had been merged with others to improve their position. A significant amount of the land proposed for dairy farming in
6750-506: The soil. At this point, £7,830,000 had been spend on the Western Australian Group Settlement scheme, of which £717,000 had been spend on drainage. Annual winter floods contributed to the problem; those of July 1928 had been especially severe, overwhelming the main drain and filling the fields, in the words of a visiting farmer, "with wild ducks and swans". Of the 402 original settlers in the Peel Estate from
6840-459: The south-eastern corner of the suburb. The Spectacles wetland area is considered to be the most valuable asset of Kwinana's natural environment, covering 3.7 square kilometres. It is named The Spectacles because it comprises two lakes connected by a drain, giving it the appearance of a pair of spectacles from an aerial perspective. One third of The Spectacles is owned by Alcoa and was originally intended for residue disposal. As The Spectacles
6930-563: 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
7020-426: 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. The central business district of Perth is bounded by the Swan River to the south and east, with Kings Park on
7110-471: The time the Royal Commission presented its report in March 1924, £230,000 had been spend on 220 miles (350 km) of drainage system. The shortcoming of the drainage system was one of the reasons for the failure of the Peel Estate scheme. The drains were unable to consistently remove enough water and were prone to silting up. Additionally, maintenance costs for the system were prohibitively high,
7200-482: The town Perth according to the wishes of Sir George Murray". Since 2019, the Noongar name Boorloo has been recognised as denoting the central business district , the local government area , 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
7290-520: The venture. Peel managed to attract Solomon Levey as a new financier, with Peel employed as the manager of the settlement scheme. He was to hold the title to the lands acquired but would actually only own 25,000 acres (10,000 ha) of it, while Levey's participation was initially concealed from the Colonial Office . The land was to be granted to Peel in allotments of 250,000 acres (100,000 ha) upon meeting certain conditions but he missed
7380-453: The water's edge, intermingled with gardens and shrubberies and half rural in its aspect ... The main streets are macadamised, but the outlying ones and most of the footpaths retain their native state from the loose sand — the all pervading element of Western Australia — productive of intense glare or much dust in the summer and dissolving into slush during the rainy season. With the discovery of gold at Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie in
7470-482: 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 ,
7560-573: The wider metropolitan area. Mandurah , Western Australia's second-largest city, forms a conurbation with Perth along the coastline. Despite this, it is generally regarded as an independent city. Perth features several important public buildings, as well as cultural and heritage sites . The city has various notable government buildings, including the Parliament House , Government House , the Supreme Court Buildings and
7650-438: Was also a failure, with most settlers abandoning the estate because of the low quality of the land which was, for the most part, unsuitable for the intent of the scheme, dairy farming. The failure and cost of the Peel Estate Group Settlement Scheme eventually became the subject of a Royal Commission . The two distinct periods when the Peel Estate featured prominently in Western Australian history were approximately 80 years apart,
7740-428: Was also hit by a severe thunderstorm on 22 March 2010, which brought 40.2 mm (1.58 in) of rain, and large hail and caused significant damage in the metropolitan area. The average sea temperature ranges from 18.9 °C (66.0 °F) in October to 23.4 °C (74.1 °F) in March. With more than two million residents, Perth is one of the most isolated major cities in the world. The nearest city with
7830-544: 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 people, where Aboriginal Australians have lived for at least 45,000 years. Perth was named after the city of Perth in Scotland . Perth was proclaimed as a city by Queen Victoria in 1856, although the City of Perth currently governs only
7920-514: Was not suitable for this purpose and the conservation value of the wetlands was recognised, Alcoa funded extensive rehabilitation and provided parking, picnic areas, walk trails, cycle paths, a board walk and bird hides to enable viewing of a number of species of native birds, including the rufous night heron . The Spectacles actually contains two major wetlands, including the southernmost wetlands within Beeliar Regional Park and
8010-462: Was ready, few soldiers were available for settlement, opening the land up for ordinary settlers instead. The Royal Commission, in their report, stated that they could find no official document that stated a policy change for the purchased land from Soldier Settlement to Group Settlement. Purchase of the land found approval in Western Australia newspapers who, while unaware of the purchase price, thought that £1 an acre would have been appropriate and that
8100-495: Was sold for £12,000. Another estate, 5,511 acres (2,230 ha), was also offered to the government, but assessed as quite poor by the Land Purchase Board, which did not recommend the purchase. Despite this, the government purchased the land at £1 an acre, declaring the purchase necessary for draining of the other areas. The purchased land was originally destined for the Soldier Settlement Scheme but, once it
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