Perth

Sister cities

• Chengdu

History

Archaeological evidence attests to human habitation in the Perth area for at least 48,000 years; according to Noongar tradition, they have occupied the area since "time immemorial". Noongar country encompasses the south-west corner of Western Australia, with particular significance attached to the wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain, both spiritually (featuring in local mythology) and as a source of food. The current central business district location is within the traditional territory of the Mooro, a Noongar clan, led by Yellagonga at the time of the British settlement. The Mooro was one of several Noongar clans based around the Swan River, known collectively as the Whadjuk. The Whadjuk themselves were one of a larger group of fourteen tribes that formed the south-west socio-linguistic block known as the Noongar (meaning 'the people' in their language), also sometimes called the Bibbulmun. On 19 September 2006, the Federal Court of Australia ruled in the case of Bennell v State of Western Australia [2006] FCA 1243 that Noongar native title persisted over Perth metropolitan area. An appeal was subsequently filed, and in 2008, the Full Court of the Federal Court upheld parts of the appeal by the Western Australian and Commonwealth governments. Following this appeal, the Western Australian Government and the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council negotiated the South West Native Title Settlement. This settlement, including the Whadjuk Indigenous Land Use Agreement over the Perth region, was finalised by the Federal Court on 1 December 2021. As part of this agreement, the Noongar (Koorah, Nitja, Boordahwan) (Past, Present, Future) Recognition Act was passed in 2016, officially recognising the Noongar people as the traditional owners of the south-west region of…

Geography

The central business district of Perth is bounded by the Swan River to the south and east, with Kings Park and Thomas Street on the western end, and Newcastle Street to the north. A state and federally funded project named Perth City Link sank a section of the railway line to allow easy pedestrian access between Northbridge and the CBD. The Perth Arena is an entertainment and sporting arena in the city link area that has received several architectural awards from institutions such as the Design Institute of Australia, the Australian Institute of Architects, and Colorbond. St Georges Terrace is the area's prominent street, with a large amount of office space in the CBD. Hay Street and Murray Street have most of the retail and entertainment facilities. The city's tallest building is Central Park, the twelfth tallest building in Australia. The CBD until 2012 was the centre of a mining-induced boom, with several commercial and residential projects being built, including Brookfield Place, a office building for Anglo-Australian mining company BHP. Perth's metropolitan area extends along the coast to Two Rocks in the north and Singleton to the south, a distance of approximately . From the coast in the west to Mundaring in the east is a distance of approximately . The Perth metropolitan area covers . The metropolitan region is defined by the Planning and Development Act 2005 to include 30 local government areas, with the outer extent being the City of Wanneroo and the City of Swan to the north, the Shire of Mundaring, City of Kalamunda and the City of Armadale to the east, the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale to the south-east and the City of Rockingham to the south-west, and including Rottnest Island and Garden Island off the west coast. This extent correlates with the…

Most-observed species

• Australian Raven

  Corvus coronoides Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  24,018
• Red Wattlebird

  Anthochaera carunculata (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  22,104
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  21,981
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  21,014
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  20,717
• Singing Honeyeater

  Gavicalis virescens (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  17,065
• Pacific Black Duck

  Anas superciliosa J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  17,062
• Australian Ibis

  Threskiornis molucca (Cuvier, 1829) · Aves
  15,841

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2005-05-06
  5 km NW of Bullsbrook, Australia
• M 2.5 — 2005-04-15
  10 km SSW of York, Australia