1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Perth (Australia)

PERTH, the capital of Western Australia, situated on the Swan River, 12 m. by rail from the sea at Fremantle, and about 1700 m. W.N.W. of Melbourne. It is the seat of both Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops, and has two cathedrals. The fashionable street is St George’s Terrace; in it are situated the public library, the government boys’ school, the stock exchange, the town-hall, the government offices and the parliament buildings. Between it and the broad reach of the river known as Perth Water lie the governor’s residence and domain. The town-hall, built entirely by convict labour, stands on an eminence in the very heart of the city; opposite to it are the government offices, housed in a four-storeyed structure in the style of the French Renaissance. The mint, opened in 1899, is a massive freestone building. There are a public library, built as a memorial of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in 1887, a Scots college, two good theatres, a mechanics’ institute, a museum, and a fine Wesleyan church-house, known as Queen’s Hall. The Perth Park, containing about 1200 acres, is connected by tram with the city, and in it is a well-equipped observatory. There are several smaller parks and squares in the city, while the esplanade gardens are a feature of the place, being thrown out like a pier into Perth Water. There is a good cricket ground, and three race-courses are in easy reach. South Perth, on the other side of the river, is connected by bridges and steam ferry; and adjoining the city on the north-west are the suburban municipalities of Leederville and Subiaco. Outlying suburbs are Belmont, Victoria Park, Burswood, Claremont, Cottesloe, Peppermint Grove and Bayswater. The city is lighted by electricity, and has a good service of electric trams. Perth has an agreeable climate, the mean temperature is 64·9° F., and the average rainfall 33 in. Perth was founded in 1829, received its municipal charter in 1856, and was created a city in 1880. Between 1891 and 1901 the growth of the city was remarkedly rapid; in 1891 the population was only 8447, but in 1901 it had grown to 27,471 in the city proper, and to 36,199 including the suburbs.