Cheap Flights from Gold Coast to Perth

Perth Travel Information

Perth is the capital of its state of Western Australia. The earliest residents of the area were the Whadjuk Noongar aborigines. They lived in the river plain and held it sacred. The British arrived in 1829 and used convicts to perform the original construction work. In the 1890s a gold rush and miners brought new development to the city. Development in Perth today is still largely driven by the available natural resources. The city bustles with business and culture, as well as offering beaches for relaxation. Several shipwrecks nearby provide interesting snorkeling and scuba.

Historic Places to Visit in Perth

Several historic places in Perth remind visitors of the convict part of Perth's history. The Victorian-Gothic Perth Town Hall was built in 1866 by convict labor. Nearby, the historic Deanery, another Gothic-influenced building, was erected in 1859 on a site where criminals used to be flogged and where an ineffectual mud gaol used to stand. The design of another historic residence, Government House, is reminiscent of the Tower of London or Hampton Court Palace. The gardens are a pretty site for a stroll.

Perth's mining history is on-going. The gold in Perth made this a natural location for a mint, and the British Mint established the Perth Mint here in 1899. Coins are still minted on-site here from locally refined ore. Visitor tours include exhibitions and a demonstration that creates a gold bar from molten gold soup. (No free samples, however!).