You can read the facts about Perth in the reference books. Capital of the state of Western Australia.
Founded in 1829. Population more than 300,000. But the facts and figures give you no impression of this easy, gracious city. Standing near the western coast of Australia, 1,000 mile from the next state capital, Perth is traditionally the clearinghouse
for the cattle, wheat, sheep, farm products and gold of Australia's
largest state. The station is the terminus for the
transcontinental railway, overland link for the eastern states. The airfield is the point of arrival for
planes from South Africa. The port is Australian landfall for ships from Europe and the United
Kingdom, South Africa and parts of Asia. Another port is building not far down
the coast. An oil port. Perth now is more than a clearinghouse. The construction over two square miles which will be the oil refinery for Kwinana, is not the only sign of growing industry. You'll see bigger power stations to supply new projects. A city of trade and transport is becoming a city and manufactures too. At present most industries deal with the state's own resources, like sawmills handling Jarrah and
Karri from the southwest, where treetop lookouts keep watch over the forests 200 miles from Perth. In the southwest country you'll
find towns like York and Northam, with the railways, mills and factories
that make them meeting places for farmers. It's good country. There's land to grow almost anything and rain to keep crops and pastures green. You'll see wheat growing, dairy, sheep and orchards Weirs and dams near Perth catch water for the city. and for some of the drier areas to the north. On the waterways you'll find the Black
Swans, the birds of the Western Australian flag that flies over State Parliament
House. Right in the city is the home of the Queen's Representative in Western Australia, the State Governor, Sir Charles Gardener. From the Town Hall the City Council direct the affairs of Perth itself. The children growing up now in the
schools of Western Australia will grow to a state with a new way, but
they will be new ways marked with the old character, the sunlight and the spacious of the west. New buildings penetrate into new
country, but older monuments recall the days when Perth was a young city with distances measured by the bullock's tread and the wheel's groan. Perth keeps its past in mind. There is an air of pleasant leisure about the city, for all
the work they get done the people don't seem to be in a hurry. There's time at tram and bus stops for the conductors to
take prams from the back and set them up on the footpath for the
mother. The suburbs stretch along each side of
the Swan River or over the hills between the city and the Indian Ocean The people have pride in their state, but they refuse to take themselves too
seriously. The weekend is for relaxing, no matter how important or how
difficult the week's work may have been. The roads wheel out from the city to country as pretty as the names that
go with it. Araluen, Mindarie, Kalamunda, Pinjarra, Yanchep In the bush the unique western wildflowers shine through the grey green of the scrub. You'll see the Swan River Myrtle, Dyllwinia, <<unheard>>, the Coral Vine. The Latin name, Anigozanthos, disguises the
Kangaroo Paw, the Western Australian of the Black Swan. In the shadow you find orchids like the
Donkey Orchid, in the sunlight, the gay colours of Serbia and Libertia. Inside the city the brilliant colours of
the western wildflowers still glow today. They have been
preserved in Kings Park. Two square miles of bushland within the city limits. Below the heights of Kings Park, the banks of
the Swan River are themselves parks. You can stroll from the city to the riverside lawns in a few minutes The people of Western Australia know their city and like it. So do travelers. You'll find it difficult to resist the easy charm of the City on the Swan.
