DISCOVER PERTH

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 one million people is Adelaide, which is 2,104 km (1,307 mi) away, making Perth the second most isolated city with a population of more than one million in the world. The most isolated is Auckland, New Zealand with a distance of 2,156 km (1,340 mi) away from Sydney.

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 Georges Terrace is the prominent street of the area with more than two thirds of the office space in the CBD. Hay Street and Murray Street have most of the retail and entertainment facilities. The tallest building in the city is Central Park, which is the sixth tallest building in Australia.


CULTURE OF PERTH

Perth Cultural Centre is both an area of central Perth and the collective name for the main buildings of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum, Alexander Library, State Records Office and Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA).


MUSEUMS OF PERTH

The Western Australian Museum holds an extensive display of Aboriginal artefacts as well as numerous zoological and social exhibits.

The new (2002) Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle displays maritime objects from all eras and includes a former Royal Australian Navy submarine. It also houses Australia II, the yacht that won the Americas Cup in 1983.


ART GALLERIES OF PERTH

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


SPORT IN PERTH

The main sports are cricket and Australian rules football. 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 is home to several elite sporting teams from various sports:

• Australian rules football: West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers
• Rugby League: WA Reds
• Cricket: Retravision Warriors
• Football (soccer): Perth Glory FC
• Basketball: Perth Wildcats
• Rugby Union: Western Force
• Netball: Perth Orioles NOW West Coast Fever

• 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 frequently hosts international Rugby Union games as part of the Tri-Nations and Bundaberg Rum Rugby Series. (19 July 2008 - Wallabies Vs Springboks). Perth hosted a number of games during the 2003 Rugby World Cup and has also hosted other international teams such as Ireland.
• 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 2006, 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, using Langely Park as a temporary air field. The 2008 qualifying runs will take place November 3, with Race Day on November 4.
• Every summer the Australian cricket team plays a test match and a one day international match at the WACA Ground, as well as a second match between the two touring teams.
• 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.


MUSIC AND THE PERFORMING ARTS

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 music concerts. Outdoor concerts are held in Kings Park and Subiaco Oval, and the Convention Centre on the foreshore replaces the Burswood Dome until a more satisfactory building is established.

Because of Perth's relative isolation from other Australian cities overseas artists often exclude it from their Australian tour schedules. This isolation, however, has developed a strong local music scene, leading some to dub Perth the "new Seattle".

The three Farriss brothers, who are members of the world renowned band INXS come from Perth, and AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott is from the Fremantle area.

Perth has been a hotbed of local indie rock music recently producing such nationally and internationally respected acts as The Sleepy Jackson, Jebediah, Little Birdy, Eskimo Joe, The Bank Holidays, New Rules For Boats, Snowman, The Fergusons, The Waifs, Saturn Return and End of Fashion. Whilst the Hip-Hop and R&B scene has seen rise to artists such as Che'Nelle whom has an international recording contract with America's Virgin Records.[citation needed] The local music culture revolves around a series of venues such as The Amplifier Bar and The Rosemount Hotel.[citation needed] The WAMI awards (West Australian Music Industry Awards), have been acknowledging local music since 1985.

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 "Cassette", the "Brass Monkey" and "Universal Bar". Perth is also known for it's thriving Drum & Bass scene and is know as the capital city for Drum & Bass Music in Australia.

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 Music allows 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.

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