The Western Australia city of Perth has the unusual distinction of being the most remote state capital in the Western world. Almost 3,000 kilometres from Adelaide in South Australia, it is closer to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, than it is to Canberra, and a flight to Singapore takes less time than one cross country to Sydney. It is perhaps due to this geographical isolation that Perth thrives and survives on a mood that is entirely its own. It is also for this reason that - instead of giving in to the outback status imposed on its by the more cosmopolitan eastern state capitals - Perth becomes engrossed with itself and exploits to the full its enviable climate and idyllic setting on the edge of the Indian Ocean.
Founded in 1829 by Captain James Stirling, Perth has grown to a city with a population of 1.1 million. Exceptionally well planned, the city centre is itself quite small with striking steel and glass office towers on St George's Terrace giving way to pedestrianised shopping streets and malls between Hay Street and Wellington Street. Uncongested freeways lead off this central grid to clean uncluttered suburbs, where having a home with a garden is nothing short of a West Australian birthright. You wouldn't need more than a day to take in the main city centre sights, since historic detail is not something Perth people bother too much about. Take a look at Government House (1860s Gothic extravagance) and visit the Old Courthouse (the colony's oldest surviving judicial building) if you must, but to be honest the office towers along St George's Terrace are much more visually striking and of greater interest to someone coming from a historically-laden country like Ireland.
The Art Gallery of Western Australia across the railway tracks is, however, worth a visit. Despite its unattractive exterior (a little reminiscent of London's South Bank), it holds interesting collections of Aboriginal, Early Settler and Contemporary Australian art. The atmosphere of Perth is to be found in such places as Kings Park, a vast wilderness which is an amazing 10 minutes uphill walk from St George's Terrace (visitors can alternatively avail of the free city bus service). Here, you can bask in the untamed beauty of gum trees, grass trees (formerly known as Black Boys, these shrublike bushes were recently renamed in the politically correct 1990s) ad infinitum while the stockbrokers of this buoyant financial city continue the business of the day in their glass towers beneath you.
However, water is really Perth's greatest asset with Cottesloe, Scarborough and City beaches stretching into the rippled turquoise canvas that is the Indian Ocean and the Swan River meandering to its estuary, with parks and spectacular homes along its banks. Matilda Bay along the northern shoreline of the Swan River is a regular picnic spot for the locals. Perhaps contrary to popular belief, Australia is more a country of suburbs than it is of harsh outback living. Picture postcard views of your average Aussie living in a country homestead overlooking vast tracts of sunscorched earth is far from the reality of cooking steak and chicken on the barbie in the back garden on the weekends. The "no worries" approach to life is evident on every street corner, as cars amble to their destination (ideal for holidaymakers, driving in Western Australia is completely stress-free once you have air-conditioning in your car) and passers-by smile and freely offer a "G'day" to strangers. If you're keen to get into conversation with one of these friendly natives, simply familarise yourself with the local cricket or football team, and you're away in a hack. Sport - whether participant or otherwise - is definitely the national preoccupation. But behind this casual outgoing approach to visitors is a desire for approval. Australians still need European visitors to confirm their identity, derived as it is from a remoulding of European ways to suit the harsher landscape. This is sometimes evident alongside a complete lack of sentimentality which European settlers to Australia seem to have as second nature. Unlike Americans, Australians tend not to indulge themselves in their past, instead enjoying the present to its utmost.
Perth is enjoying a new confidence and a recent spawning of smart restaurants has brought more people out of their homes in the evenings. This culinary sophistication crosses all ethnic boundaries, with Asian and American dishes often on the same menus and the new global addiction to breads strongly featuring in trendy new cafes in King Street.
The newly refurbished Indiana Tearooms, overlooking Cottesloe beach is a casually stylish place to enjoy lunch, afternoon tea or dinner. Taking a drive through Perth's Western suburbs offers one a visual feast of architecture where flamboyant Californian-style beach homes sit unashamedly beside neoRomanesque villas. Subiaco, the suburb closest to the city, has a varied mix of restored original Australian workers houses (conceptually like a chic version of Dublin's Liberties but architecturally a million miles away) with a high street of stylish cafes and upmarket interior stores and clothes boutiques. Slightly further away is the port of Fremantle. Popular among artists, it has a fading grandeur which was seriously spruced up in the late Eighties when it hosted the America's Cup. Now, Fremantle is best visited at the weekends to check out the large indoor market and enjoy a snack on many of the terraced restaurents. And when you've sufficiently indulged yourself with the urban Western Australian experience, take an out of town day trip to Yanchep Park (the place to see kangaroos and koalas), Rottnest Island (easily reachable by ferry, a paradise of uncluttered beaches and car-free tracks) or the Swan River Valley (wineries, art galleries and early colonial settlements).
Getting There
Fares to Perth from Dublin (via London Heathrow) range from about £700 - £850 in low season, to £1000 - £1,100. Routes including possible stop-overs in Bangkok and Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
