Perth

Perth
Location of Perth within Australia
Population	1,445,078 (2006 Census) (4th)
• Density	280/km2 (730/sq mi)
Established	1829
Area	5,386
Location	2,724 km (1,693 mi) from Adelaide 4,045 km (2,513 mi) from Darwin 3,452 km (2,145 mi) from Melbourne 4,144 km (2,575 mi) from Sydney
State electorate(s)	Perth (and 33 others)
Federal division(s)	Perth (and 10 others)
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 23.3 °C 74 °F 13.3 °C 56 °F 869.4 mm 34.2 in

The Perth skyline viewed from the Swan River

This article is about the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. For the local government area, see City of Perth.

Perth is the capital of the Australian state of Western Australia. A population of 1,507,900 (2006 estimate) makes Perth by far the largest city in Western Australia and home to three-quarters of the state's residents. The city is also the fourth most populous urban area in Australia, and with a growth rate of 2% is currently the fastest growing major city in Australia.

Perth was founded on 11 June 1829 by Captain James Stirling as the political centre of the free settler Swan River Colony. It has continued to serve as the seat of Government for Western Australia to the present day.

The metropolitan area is located in the south west of the continent between the Indian Ocean and a low coastal escarpment known as the Darling Range. The central business district and suburbs of Perth are situated on the Swan River. The nearest city to Perth with a population over 1 million is Adelaide in South Australia, which is 2,104 kilometres (1,307 mi) away.

PERTH IS THE HOME OF LYDIA THE COOL CHILD

History

Main article: History of Perth, Western Australia

Founded in 1829 by Captain James Stirling as the political centre of the free settler Swan River Colony, Perth has continued to serve as the seat of government for Western Australia to the present day.

Prehistory

Rottnest and Garden Islands

Prior to European settlement the area had been inhabited by the Whadjuk Noongar people for over 40,000 years, as evidenced by archaeological findings on the Upper Swan River. These Aborigines occupied the southwest corner of Western Australia, living as hunter-gatherers. The lakes on the coastal plain were particularly important to them, providing both spiritual and physical sustenance.

Rottnest, Carnac and Garden Islands were also important to the Noongar. About 5,000 years ago the sea levels were low enough that they could walk to the limestone outcrops.

The area where Perth now stands was called Boorloo by the Aboriginals living there at the time of their first contact with Europeans in 1827. Boorloo formed part of Mooro, the tribal lands of the Yellagonga, one of several groups based around the Swan River and known collectively as the Whadjuk. The Whadjuk were part of a larger group of thirteen or more tribes which formed the south west socio-linguistic block known as the Noongar (The People), also sometimes called the Bibbulmun.

Early European sightings

The first documented European sighting of the region was made by the Dutch Captain Willem de Vlamingh and his crew on 10 January 1697. Subsequent sightings between this date and 1829 were made by other Europeans, but as in the case of the sighting and observations made by Vlamingh, the area was considered to be inhospitable and unsuitable for the agriculture which would be needed to sustain a settlement.

The Foundation of Perth 1829 by George Pitt Morison is a historically accurate reconstruction of the official ceremony by which Perth was founded.

File:Round House, Fremantle, Western Australia.jpg

The Round House built in 1830 is the oldest remaining building in Western Australia

The Swan River Colony

See also: Swan River Colony

Although the British Army had established a base at King George Sound (later Albany) on the south coast of western Australia in 1826 in response to rumours that the area would be annexed by France, Perth was the first full scale settlement by Europeans in the western third of the continent. The colony itself would be officially designated Western Australia in 1832, but was known informally for many years as the Swan River Colony after the area's major watercourse.

On 4 June 1829, newly arriving colonists had their first view of the mainland and Western Australia's Foundation Day has since been recognised by a public holiday on the first Monday in June each year. Captain James Stirling, aboard the Parmelia, said that Perth was "as beautiful as anything of this kind I had ever witnessed." On 12 August that year, Mrs. Helen Dance, wife of the Captain of the second ship Sulphur, cut down a tree to mark the founding of the town.

The name Perth was chosen by James Stirling for the new town. Stirling, a Scot, acted in accordance with the wish of Sir George Murray, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, that the town be named after Perth, Scotland, which was Murray's birthplace and parliamentary seat in the British House of Commons.

Beginning in 1831, hostile encounters between European settlers and Aborigines of the local Noongar tribe – both large-scale land users with conflicting land value systems – increased considerably as the colony grew. This violent phase of the region's history culminated in a series of events in which the Europeans overcame the indigenous people, including the execution of Whadjuk tribal chief Midgegooroo, the murder of his son Yagan in 1833, and the one-sided Battle of Pinjarra in 1834.

By 1843, when the tribal chief Yellagonga died, his tribe had begun to disintegrate after having been dispossessed of the land around the main settlement area of Perth. They retreated to the swamps and lakes north of the settlement area including Third Swamp, known to them as Boodjamooling. The oral history of the area as related by a Noongar elder, Fred Collard, likens Boodjamooling prior to white settlement to a supermarket for the aboriginal people, where there was a bountiful, self-sustaining, and varied supply of food.

Boodjamooling continued to be a main campsite for the remaining Noongar people in the Perth region, and was also used by travellers, itinerants, and homeless people. By the gold-rush days of the 1890s they were joined by miners who were en-route to the goldfields.

In 1850, Western Australia was opened to convicts at the request of farming and business people looking for cheap labour. Queen Victoria announced the city status of Perth in 1856.

After a referendum in 1900, Western Australia joined the Federation of Australia in 1901. It was the last of the Australian colonies to agree to join the Federation, and did so only after the other colonies had offered several concessions, including the construction of a rail line to Perth (via Kalgoorlie) from the eastern states.

In 1933, Western Australia voted in a referendum to leave the Australian union, with a majority of two to one in favour of independence. However, an election held shortly before the referendum had turned out the incumbent "pro-independence" government, replacing it with a government which did not support the independence movement. Respecting the result of the referendum, the new government nonetheless petitioned the United Kingdom for independence, where the request was simply ignored.

Perth has prospered by becoming a key service centre for the natural resource industries, being the closest city to huge reserves of gold, iron ore, nickel, alumina, manganese, diamonds, mineral sands, coal, oil, and natural gas. Most of the world's major resource and engineering companies have offices in Perth. Partially as a result of this influx, Perth has become highly ethnically diverse, with over 27% of inhabitants having been born overseas (495,240 persons) and a further 414,000 having an overseas born parent (2001 census). 11% speak a language other than English at home. Perth also has a larger alternative sexuality community than would have been expected from a town of its traditional roots. Two thirds of the Perth population are of the Christian faith, with other major religions including Buddhism and Islam. The proportion of the population that has no religious affiliation has remained consistent since 1991.

St Mary's Cathedral, c. 1910

Perth Mint is Australia's oldest operating mint

Swans on the Swan River.

View of Barrack Square and Jetties from Kings Park

File:Southperthview.jpg South Perth's skyline

Geography

Location

Perth is one of the most isolated metropolitan areas on Earth. The nearest city to Perth with a population over 1 million is Adelaide in South Australia, which is 2,104 kilometres (1,307 mi) away as the crow flies. Perth is physically closer to East Timor and Jakarta, Indonesia, than it is to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. It is the antipode of Hamilton, Bermuda.

Perth, Western Australia (Jan 2005)

City skyline

Traditionally, Perth and the Swan River have usually been viewed and photographed from Kings Park, situated on Mount Eliza to the near south-west of the city centre or from the South Perth foreshore. The historical record of the view shows clear river banks close to the city and a low skyline through to the 1960s. Since then, the filling in of the northern side of Perth Water and crowding of the skyline have continued unabated. Perth's city skyline displays the economic prosperity the city currently enjoys. The tallest building in the city is Central Park, which is the sixth tallest building in Australia.

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, while the railway lines form a northern border. St George's Terrace is the prominent street of the area with more than two thirds of the 1.3 million m² of office space in the CBD. Hay Street and Murray Street have most of the retail and entertainment facilities.

Satellite imagery of Perth

Sand plain setting

Perth is set on the Swan River, so named because of the native Black Swans. Traditionally, this water body has been known by local inhabitants as Derbal Yerrigan. A Dutch expedition in 1697 captained by Willem de Vlamingh led to Vlamingh naming the river after the black swans. The city centre and most of the suburbs are located on the sandy and relatively flat Swan Coastal Plain, which lies between the Darling Scarp and the Indian Ocean. The metropolitan area extends to Yanchep in the north, Mandurah in the south, total distance of approximately 125 kilometres (78 mi) by road. From the Coast in the west to Mundaring in the east, a total distance of approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi) by road. This means that the area of Perth is over 1.5 million acres (6,100 km²).

The coastal suburbs take advantage of Perth's oceanside location and clean beaches. 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. This abundance of sand has resulted in West Australians' being given the nickname sandgropers by the rest of the country. The Perth metropolitan area has two major river systems; the first is made up of the Swan and Canning Rivers. The second is that of the Serpentine and Murray Rivers, which discharge into the Peel Estuary at Mandurah.

Climate

Perth's climate is a classic example of a Mediterranean climate and receives moderate though highly seasonal rainfall. Summers are generally hot and dry, lasting from late December to late March, with February generally being the hottest month of the year. Summer is not completely devoid of rain with sporadic rainfall in the form of short-lived thunderstorms, weak cold fronts and on very rare occasions decaying tropical cyclones which can bring significant falls. The hottest ever recorded temperature in Perth was 46.2 °C (115 °F) on 23 February 1991. Winters are relatively cool and rather moist, though winter rainfall has been declining in recent years. The coldest temperature recorded was -0.7 °C (30.7 °F) on 17 June 2006, and the only temperature ever recorded below the freezing point. Even in mid-winter, maximum daytime temperatures only occasionally fall below 16 °C (60 °F). Though most rainfall occurs during winter, the wettest day ever was unusually on 9 February 1992 when 121 millimetres (4.75 in) fell. On most summer afternoons a sea breeze, also known as "The Fremantle Doctor", blows from the south-west, cooling the city by up to 15 degrees.

Climatic Table

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum temperature	29.7°C 85.5°F	30.0 °C 86.0 °F	28.0 °C 82.4 °F	24.6 °C 76.3 °F	20.9 °C 69.6 °F	18.3 °C 64.9 °F	17.4 °C 63.3 °F	18.0 °C 64.4 °F	19.5 °C 67.1 °F	21.4 °C 70.5 °F	24.6 °C 76.3 °F	27.4 °C 81.3 °F	23.3°C 73.9°F
Mean daily minimum temperature	17.9°C 64.2°F	18.1 °C 64.6 °F	16.8 °C 62.2 °F	14.3 °C 57.7 °F	11.7 °C 53.1 °F	10.1 °C 50.2 °F	9.0 °C 48.2 °F	9.2 °C 48.6 °F	10.3 °C 50.5 °F	11.7 °C 53.1 °F	14.0 °C 57.2 °F	16.3 °C 61.3 °F	13.3°C 55.9°F
Mean total rainfall	8.6 mm 0.34 in	13.3 mm 0.52 in	19.3 mm 0.76 in	45.5 mm 1.79 in	122.7 mm 4.83 in	182.4 mm 7.18 in	172.9 mm 6.81 in	134.6 mm 5.30 in	79.9 mm 3.14 in	54.5 mm 2.15 in	21.7 mm 0.85 in	13.9 mm 0.55 in	869.4 mm 34.23 in
Mean number of rain days	2.9	2.7	4.3	7.6	13.8	17.2	18.2	17.2	14.0	11.1	6.5	4.2	119.6
Source: Bureau of Meteorology

Governance

Perth houses the Parliament of Western Australia, and the Governor of Western Australia. The metropolitan area is divided into over 30 local government bodies.

Australia's High Court holds regular sittings in Perth, with permanent Federal Court operations. The highest court under Western Australian law, the Supreme Court is based in Perth, along with the District, Family and Magistrates' Courts.

Demographics

Perth Metropolitan Area Population by year (ABS)
1850	1,400
1861	3,507
1871	5,007
1881	5,044
1891	8,447
1901	27,553
1911	106,792
1921	154,873
1933	207,440
1947	272,528
1961	420,133
1971	641,800
1981	809,036
1991	1,142,646
2001	1,325,392
2006	1,507,900

Perth's earliest European settlers were British and Irish, and Britain and Ireland remained the city's primary source countries for the first century of its existence. However, by the mid-20th century significant numbers of Italians and Greeks had settled. As Fremantle 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 which included Dutch, Germans, Croats and Macedonians and many others. The names of many of these migrants are listed on the honour board outside the Maritime Museum.

More recently, large-scale immigration to Perth by air from Britain has continued, giving Perth the highest-proportion of British-born residents of any Australian city — according to the 2001 census, 23.5 per cent of residents in the Joondalup North statistical subdivision in the north of the city were born in Britain, closely followed by Rockingham in the south with 19.8 per cent. The proportion of British-born in the Perth metropolitan area as a whole in 2001 was 12.4 per cent, or 164,488 persons. This is significantly higher than the national proportion of 5.5 per cent.

Whilst no other community approaches the demographic weight of those born in Britain, many migrants — 32,544 or 2.5 per cent in 2001 — are from New Zealand, due to the fact that New Zealanders, unlike other foreign nationals, are eligible for 'special category' visas, which allow them to live and work in Australia with little restriction. For this reason, the New Zealand-born community in Perth is increasing proportionately faster than any other birthplace group.

Perth also has substantial immigrant communities from Europe — Italians are the third largest migrant group, numbering 20,611 or 1.6 per cent in 2001. Irish and Croats are also well represented.

Area of the Perth Metropolitan Region Scheme

In the last three decades, South East Asia has become an increasingly important source of migrants, with communities from Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, Afghanistan, India and Sri Lanka all now well-established. The Indian community includes a substantial number of Parsees who emigrated from Bombay — Perth being the closest Australian city to India.

Another more recent source has been Southern Africa. Many white South Africans and Zimbabweans settling in Perth in the 1980s and 90s, to the extent that the city has been described as "the Australian capital of South Africans in exile". One of the state's Senators, Andrew Murray, emigrated from Zimbabwe in 1989. Perth nowadays also has the largest population of Anglo-Burmese in the world, in addition to a substantial Anglo-Indian and Eurasian community.

Metropolitan Region Scheme

Main article: Metropolitan Region Scheme

The Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS) is the legal land plan covering the Perth metropolitan region. It classifies land into broad zones and reservations. As the regions develop, so the schemes must be amended.

It is a large town planning scheme for land use in the Perth metropolitan area which defines the future use of land, dividing it into broad zones and reservations. It requires local government town planning schemes to provide detailed plans for their part of the region. These schemes must be consistent with the MRS.

Deriving from Professor Gordon Stephenson's 1955 Plan for the Metropolitan Region, Perth and Fremantle ("Corridor Plan"), the MRS has been in operation since 1963 and provides the legal basis for planning in the Perth metropolitan region.

Education

See also: Western Australia for general information on education in Western Australia

Perth is home to four public universities, and one private university: the University of Western Australia, Murdoch University, Curtin University of Technology, Edith Cowan University, and the University of Notre Dame respectively.

UWA is located at Crawley

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.

Curtin University of Technology is Western Australia's largest university by student population, and was known from its founding in 1966 until 1986 as the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT) and had amalgamated with The WA School of Mines Kalgoorlie and the Muresk Agricultural College Northam.

Murdoch University was established in the 1970s, and is Australia's geographically largest campus (2.27 square kilometres), necessary to accommodate Western Australia's only veterinary school.

Edith Cowan University was established in the early 1990s from the existing Western Australian College of Advanced Education (WACAE) which itself was formed in the 1970s from the existing Teachers Colleges at Claremont, Churchlands, and Mount Lawley. It incorporates the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).

The University of Notre Dame was established in 1990.

Colleges of TAFE (Technical and Further Education) provide trade and vocational training, including Diploma level courses. TAFE was formed in the 1970s to provide technical courses previously offered by WACAE.

Culture

Perth Convention Exhibition Centre seen from the air between the Perth CBD and Swan River

The Perth Entertainment Centre is the largest theatre in the world.

Visual Art

The West Australian Art Gallery houses the states premier art collection and hosts numerous impressive visiting exhibitions, like 2006 Norman Lindsay exhibition. Additional exhibits occur at Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts and many other smaller venues on a regularly across Perth.

Performing Arts

The Perth Concert Hall is the city's main concert venue and hosts theatre, ballet, opera and orchestral performances. Other theatres include an auditorium at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre (completed in 2005), the historic His Majesty's Theatre and Burswood Dome, which hosts rock and popular music concerts. Outdoor concerts are held in King's Park and Subiaco Oval and the New Convention Centre on the foreshore replaces the Burswood Dome until a more satisfactory building is established.

In 2005, the construction of the Convention Centre completed, and is now an integral feature of Perth city.

Sport

Main article: Sport in Western Australia

The climate of Perth allows for extensive outdoor sport activity, and this is reflected in the wide variety of sports available to citizens of the city. Perth was host to the 1962 Commonwealth Games and also the 1987 America's Cup defence (based at Fremantle). Australian rules football is the most popular spectator sport in Perth - some 1,030,000 people attended WAFL or AFL matches in 2005. Perth has the strongest regional (State/County/Province) field hockey competition in the world. There are many field hockey clubs for children, men, women and veterans (over 40 year of age). Western Australia (especially given it only has 10% of Australia's population) hugely contributes to the national Australian men's and ladies' hockey teams which have both been winners of Olympic Gold Medals.

Perth is home to several elite sporting teams from various sports:

• Two teams in the Australian Football League (AFL): the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Football Club (the "Fremantle Dockers"). The "home" of Australian Rules football in Perth is Subiaco Oval. The Eagles won the AFL premiership in 1992, 1994 and 2006.

Cricket at the WACA Ground.

• A state cricket team, known as the Western Warriors, who play at the WACA Ground.

• A football (soccer) team, Perth Glory FC, which is a part of the newly re-formed football competition known as the A-League (the former competition was known as the NSL). In the past, Perth Glory FC have been a relatively successful team by winning the last two NSL seasons (2002-03 & 2003-04).

• A team in the National Basketball League, the Perth Wildcats, who are one of the most successful teams in the league's history.

• A rugby union team, the Western Force, in the Super 14 competition. Perth also hosts the "Perth Gold" team in the Australian Rugby Shield competition. Rugby league briefly maintained a Perth team in the national competition (1995-1997), known as the Western Reds (Perth Reds in the Super League season)

Perth also has and is currently home to numerous state and international sporting events such as:

• In 2002, Perth hosted the World Lacrosse Games, which included the World Lacrosse Championships (won by the United States), the Australian Youth Lacrosse Championship, a Masters (35+ year old), Grandmasters (45+), and International Open Championships.

• The 1991 and 1998 FINA World Championships were held in Perth.

• Every year Perth hosts the Hopman Cup, an international tennis tournament, generally in the first week of January. This is held at the Burswood Dome, and is broadcast internationally.

• Perth is the terminus for the annual Avon Descent, a two-day, 134 kilometre white water race.

• Until 2006, Perth hosted the annual Rally Australia.

• From 2007, Perth is now host to the final leg of the Red Bull Air Race held on a stretch of the Swan River called Perth Water.

• Every summer the Australian cricket team plays a test match, a one day international and an International Twenty20 match at the WACA Ground. Of the two touring teams for the one day internationals one will play two games the other will play once.

• Perth hosts the Gravity Games, an international Surface Water Sport competition, annually in summer.

Perth also boasts a large river with expansive ski zones which has led to the popularisation of many Surface Water Sports such as Skurfing, Wakeboarding, Kiteboarding, Skiing, Biscuiting to name just a few.

His Majesty's Theatre

Barrack Street, Perth

Music

Main article: Music of Perth

Bon Scott (of AC/DC) grew up in Fremantle and following his death his ashes were scattered across Fremantle Cemetery, which used to contain his headstone, until it was stolen in late 2006. Other notable music acts from Perth include Cristian Alexanda, Selwyn, Supernaut, The Farriss Brothers (INXS), The Dugites, The Scientists (including three founding Hoodoo Gurus members), The Manikins, Johnny Diesel, Baby Animals, Eurogliders, Dave Warner, The Triffids, The Stems, The Chevelles, The Someloves, Jebediah, Eskimo Joe, Little Birdy, The Panics, Gyroscope, End of Fashion, John Butler Trio, The Sleepy Jackson, Greg Packer, Pendulum, Bob Evans, Nathan Gaunt, Snowman and Karnivool.

Perth is relatively isolated from other Australian cities so overseas artists often exclude it from their tour schedules. This isolation however has often been cited as the cause of Perth's original and alternative music. It is also for this reason that Perth is frequently called the "new Seattle", as it was Seattle's isolation from the rest of the United States that contributed to it spawning the ground breaking grunge sound of the early 1990s. The more popular rock concerts held in Perth are the Big Day Out (nationwide) and Rock-It (Perth only). The city is also the setting to the Pavement song "I Love Perth".

Perth has a very changeable and, at times, energetic Folk music culture. Bands such as The Settlers regularly played at Clancy's Fish Pub in Fremantle and the earlier line ups of the Mucky Duck Bush Band that now has regular bush dances in Whiteman Park. A favourite spot was the Hayloft in West Perth - home of WA Folk music in the 1970s and later moving to the Peninsula Hotel in Maylands. Perth is also home to a vibrant alternative sexuality music scene, focused especially around such nightclubs as "The Court" and "Connections". It also has a large growing electro indie scene through such nightclubs as "The Amplifier Bar", "The Manor" and "Cassette".

Perth is home to the West Australian Symphony Orchestra which performs a regular programme of orchestral music, usually from its base at the Perth Concert Hall. The Perth International Arts Festival also includes music in its schedule. Opera is provided by West Australian Opera.

WA Youth Musicallows young musicians in Perth to gain performance opportunities by playing in a musical ensemble. The Western Australian Youth Orchestra is WA Youth Music's premier and flagship ensemble, however the organisation offers several other ensembles including the WA Youth Symphonic Band and the WA Youth Chorale. Acceptance is granted to amateur players under the age of 25 years. Auditions are held in November of each year.

Infrastructure

The Northbridge Tunnel on the Graham Farmer Freeway

Perth Railway Station

Aerial view of Fremantle looking east towards Perth

Transport

Main article: Transport in Perth

Perth is served by Perth Airport 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, nine metropolitan highways and no toll roads.

The Northbridge tunnel, part of the Graham Farmer Freeway is the only significant road tunnel in Perth.

Perth metropolitan public transport, including trains, buses and ferries, are provided by Transperth, with links to rural areas provided by Transwa. There are 59 railway stations and 15 bus stations in the metropolitan area. The rail system is currently undergoing significant redevelopment, to be completed in 2007.

Recent initiatives include progressive replacement of the bus fleet and the SmartRider contactless smartcard ticketing system. Perth provides zero-fare bus and train trips around the city centre (the "Free Transit Zone"), including three high-frequency CAT bus routes. Additionally, the rail network has been expanded in the northern and southern suburbs as part of the New MetroRail project.

The Indian Pacific passenger rail service connects Perth with Adelaide and Sydney via Kalgoorlie. The Transwa Prospector passenger rail service connects Perth with Kalgoorlie via several Wheatbelt towns, while the Transwa Australind connects to Bunbury, and the Transwa Avonlink connects to Northam.

Rail freight terminates at the Kewdale Rail Terminal, 15 kilometres south-east of the city centre.

Perth's main container and passenger port is at Fremantle, 19 kilometres south west at the mouth of the Swan River. A second port complex is being developed in Cockburn Sound primarily for the export of bulk commodities.

Water supply

Reduced rainfall in the region in recent years has lowered inflow to reservoirs by two-thirds over the last 30 years, and affected groundwater levels. Coupled with the city's relatively high growth rate, this had led to concerns that Perth could run out of water in the near future. The Western Australian State Government has responded by introducing mandatory household sprinkler restrictions in the city. In November 2006, a sea water desalination plant was opened in Kwinana, able to supply over 45 gigalitres (1.0×10¹⁰ imperial or 1.2×10¹⁰ U.S. gallons) of potable water per year; it is powered by electricity produced at the Emu Downs Wind Farm near Cervantes. Consideration was given to piping water from the Kimberley region, however the idea was rejected in May 2006 due primarily to its high cost. Other proposals under consideration included the controversial extraction of an extra 45 gigalitres of water a year from the Yarragadee aquifer in the south-west of the state. However in May 2007, the state government announced that a second desalination plant will be built at Binningup, on the coast between Mandurah and Bunbury. [3]

Native title

The Swan Bells

On 19 September 2006, the Federal Court of Australia brought down a judgment recognising Noongar native title over the Perth metropolitan area, in the case of Bennell v State of Western Australia [2006] FCA 1243.

This is the first judgment giving a positive determination of native title over a capital city and its surrounds. Justice Wilcox found that native title continues to exist within an area in and around Perth; this is part of a larger area included in the Single Noongar Claim. It was determined separately by the Federal Court at the request of the Commonwealth and State Government in order to obtain certainty about whether Native Title exists in the Perth metropolitan area.

An appeal was subsequently lodged and was heard in April 2007 (decision currently pending). The remainder of the larger “Single Noongar Claim” remains outstanding; but it will hinge on the outcome of this appeal.

External links

• Template:Wikitravelpar
• City of Perth website
• Perth photos