Perth, the capital, beautifully situated on the estuary of the Swan, is gradually assuming the appearance of a considerable city, with an area of about one mile and a half in length by half a mile in breadth, and consisting of three principal and several cross streets. Government House, the Town Hall, the Public Offices, and the Cathedral of the Church of England lying in the centre, and the Barracks and Roman Catholic Cathedral at either end; the Wesleyan and Congregational Chapels are also conspicuous buildings. It has a cemetery, public garden, park, and recreation ground, and a rifle range on Mt. Eliza above the town. It has institutions for mechanics, working men, and for young men of the Church of England and Rome; two hospitals, two orphanages, a native mission house; nine inns, hotels, and public houses; a gaol, a poor house, and manufactories for coach building, boiler-making, iron-founding, soap-making, brewing, tanning, and boat-building. There is a Club named after Governor Weld, a Freemasons' hall, a market under the Town Hall, and a museum attached to the Mechanics' Institute. The road to Guildford is carried over the Swan and its islands above Perth water, by bridges and causeways 4,109 feet in length.
Fremantle, built on both banks of the Swan, is connected by a bridge 954 feet in length. The principal part of the town is on the South side of the river, where a bay is formed by Arthur's head—a mass of limestone, on which is a lighthouse, gaol, and court house, where boats can put ashore at all times, and where two jetties are placed for landing and shipping goods. Fremantle has many public buildings, and is dominated by the Convict Establishment, which has accommodation for 800 prisoner with the necessary staff; it has a marine
