Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Western Australian Museum - Perth
(
www.museum.wa.gov.au
;
Perth Cultural Centre; 9.30am-5pm)
F
The state's museum is a six-headed
beast, with branches also in Fremantle, Albany, Geraldton and Kalgoorlie. This one in-
cludes dinosaur, mammal, butterfly and bird galleries, a
children's discovery centre
, and an ex-
cellent
WA Land and People
display covering indigenous and colonial history.
In the courtyard, set in its own preservative bath, is Megamouth, a curious-looking spe-
cies of shark with a soft, rounded head. Only about five of these benign creatures have
ever been found; this one beached itself near Mandurah, south of Perth.
The museum complex includes Perth's original gaol, built in 1856 and used until 1888
- the site of many hangings.
MUSEUM
A CITY IN TRANSITION
With Perth's population increasing faster than that of any other Australian state capital, it's also a city rapidly
transitioning from a relatively sleepy centre into an international hub with its commercial gaze resting as much on
China, India and Indonesia as it does on Sydney and Melbourne.
Major civic works under consideration include an audacious light-rail plan and a new football stadium, and vis-
itors to Perth can already witness ongoing work on two major reboots of the central city's urban landscape.
Historically, Northbridge's entertainment and cultural precinct has been awkwardly separated from the CBD by
the labyrinth of train tracks around Perth railway station. The Perth City Link project is scheduled to take until
2016 to complete, and will transform the area between Northbridge and the CBD by installing train tracks and the
Wellington St bus station underneath pedestrian malls. See
www.pta.wa.gov.au/perthcitylink
.
At the opposite end of the CBD, the Elizabeth Quay development will revamp around 10 hectares of riverfront
land between Barrack and William Sts, and link the central city back to the Swan River. Public parks and retail
and hospitality precincts are planned, and the development is also scheduled to be completed by 2016. See
Come back in a few years, and there's a good chance you won't recognise the city.
Hyde Park
(William St)
One of Perth's most beautiful parks, suburban Hyde Park is a top spot for a pic-
nic or lazy book-reading session on the lawn. A path traces the small lake, and mature
palms, firs and Moreton Bay figs provide plenty of shade. It's within walking distance of
Northbridge; continue northeast along William St.
PARK
TOP OF CHAPTER
