This is a quick hello and introduction from our newest housesit here in Perth, Western Australia. During our previous trip to Australia we never made it to Perth or any of WA. So the next three months are checking a big box for us as far as destinations go.
Kings Park hosts the Botanic Gardens and the State War Memorial. We happened to visit on Mother’s Day and it was wonderful. The number of families out enjoying the beautiful fall weather with blankets, tables, food and bubbly was amazing.
Our first house sit here has us in the City of Armadale on the SE corner of Perth. Our next two sits take us to two seperate areas as well, so we are looking forward to getting an excellent feel for the city and area. We have managed a couple of day trips into Perth utilizing the local transit system and getting our feel for the CBD.
As we walked to the Kings Park and Botanic Gardens we came upon the Barracks Arch. The thing we are noticing as we start getting acquainted with Perth is they have a fantastic selection of architecture from their early years.
We wandered through the Botanic Gardens which are very well organized and diverse in what they offer. The City of Perth appears to have embraced the fact that its history is tied to the incredible mineral wealth and natural resources available in WA.
This obelisk, constructed with samples of the many different ore samples which are found in WA, is a nod to their mineral wealth. The obelisk is centrally located in front of the Supreme Court building.By Elizabeth Quay on the banks of the Swan River is the modern bell tower. The crane beside it also demonstrates the intense construction we saw all over the CBD.
We took advantage of the free self guided walks to introduce us to the central core of Perth. The first walk we did was “Boom or Bust” which introduced us to some of the business history. It does not take long to grasp that gold was the trigger that allowed Perth to flourish. The tour guided us though the historic buildings in the core and ended at The Perth Mint. We coughed up the $19AUS per person to take in the tour of the Mint and it was well worth it.
This statue in the forecourt of The Mint helps to explain the success of gold here. It was explained to us that between the states of Victoria and Western Australia, the majority of the largest gold nuggets in the world were found here. Including the largest nugget ever found, The Welcome Stranger.As part of the tour you get to see an actual gold pour. I wasn’t that excited about this initially. But I have to admit, there is something special about observing the molten gold being poured. Trivia fact: they have been using the same ingot for the demonstration pour for 25 years. Estimating it has been melted down and poured more than 50,000 times.You also get a chance to put your hands on and pick up a real 400oz bar of 99.99% pure gold. It is hard to appreciate how heavy they are until you try to lift it.This million dollar gold coin is actually worth more than $56 million Australian dollars. It is the worlds largest solid gold coin. It is 80cm in diameter and 12cm thick. They are not too worried about anyone running off with it as it weighs 1,012kg.
We are looking forward to exploring more of the city and sharing it with everyone. It is a very interesting destination.
so love all your pictures and stories. It is almost a trip in itself to follow you
I am glad you enjoy them. Thank you.
Always glad to see and read your new “Posts”. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
I love Perth. I studied abroad there and want togo back so badly!
Hey hey!
Glad you made it to Perth eventually! This city is changing slowly but surely – I can’t wait to see what it will look like in 5 years time 😃
Amber A.
P.S your photos are awesome!
I am glad you enjoyed the photos.