Fun facts about Perth and Western Australia

Perth is a very unique city. In 2018 the world’s first direct flight from London to Australia landed in Perth. Now we can fly direct to many places like Ho Chi Minh, Tokyo, Shanghai, Rome, Paris and Johannesburg making the world more accessible. But that also means more people than ever are able to experience just what it is that makes my home city so unique. So despite our dullsville tag, there are plenty of things to do in Perth. It is a vibrant city with picture perfect beaches. And beyond Perth, Western Australia has many amazing sights to see.

Perth is isolated

It is true, Western Australia’s capital city Perth, is one of the most isolated cities in the world, it’s possibly what Perth is most famous for. With the Indian Ocean on one side and the Australian outback on the other, the closest Australian city 2,200kms away. We are in fact closer to Singapore than we are to our own capital, Canberra.

Western Australia is the world’s second largest state.The largest being in Russia and if it were a country, it’d be the 10th largest country in the world. Did you know in 1933 Western Australia had a secession referendum to become a separate country and the proposal won? There was also another secession in WA, In 1970, 517 north of Perth is an unrecognized micronation in Australia, the Principality of Hutt River. Resulting from a dispute with the Government of Western Australia, the principality claimed to be an independent sovereign state, and produces its own currency, stamps and passports, none of which are recognized by the Government, Supreme Court of WA or High Court of Australia. For 45 years Prince Leonard ruled this sovereign state.

Pretty in pink

One of the prettiest places in WA, is also very isolated. Lake Hillier, the bubble gum pink lake located off the coast of Esperance on Middle Island. The lake is only accessible by boat or helicopter. For anyone wanting to land on Middle Island they must be accompanied by a licensed operator. Biosecurity and  protecting the island’s fragile ecosystem are so important so everyone can continue to enjoy the incredible coastline to see the beautiful bubble gum pink of the lake, surrounded by brilliant white sand in contrast to the greens of island’s vegetation and the turquoise blue of the ocean. But we don’t just have one, there are three well known pink lakes here in WA and a few lesser known. Lake Warden also near Esperance, and Hutt Lagoon near Port Gregory are popular, but last year our friends from Albom Adventures came across a lesser known pink phenomena in Cranbrook. Others can be found in Lake Grace, Pingrup and Quairading. There is even a pink lake on Rottnest, I pinky promise.

Perth Climate

We have a Mediterranean climate with summer temperatures in Perth often exceeding 40°C (104°F). In the summer months the Fremantle Doctor, a cooling sea breeze blows from 12:00pm to 3:00pm, bringing a welcome relief. Being the third windiest city in the world makes sailing and kite surfing extremely popular in Perth.

Perth rankings

Perth was ranked the 7th most liveable city in the world in 2016 and awarded a top 10 placing in the hottest destinations for travellers to visit in Australia.

Perth gets a minimum of 8 hours sunshine a day, Perth enjoys more sunshine than any other city in Australia and is the sunniest city in the world.

Little known facts

One little known fact about Perth is that it is known as the ‘city of lights’. Back in 1962 when astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, was in space the city of Perth was clearly visible because of it’s street lighting earning Perth the title. From then on Perth became known worldwide as the ‘City of Lights’.

Did you know Perth’s Swan Valley is Western Australia’s oldest wine regions and is only 25 minutes from Perth CBD making it one of the closest wine regions to a capital city in the world?

Perth Mint, Australia’s oldest operating official gold bullion mint has been in operation since 1899, still operating from its original premises and is owned by the State Government. No wonder Perth is home to heaps of self made millionaires.

That’s right, Perth has more self made millionaires per capita in the world like Gina Rhinehart, the richest person in Australia who lives right here in Perth. Along with Gina, Andrew (Twiggy) Forrest, Ralph Sarich, Kerry Stokes, Lang Hancock’s legacy, Canva co-founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, and many more are all from the west. Melanie and Cliff actually maintained their top spot on the Australian Financial Review’s 2023 Young Rick List having a combined wealth of $13 billion.

Mega Murals

Perth ranked as the 4th best city in the world for street art and features one of the world’s largest ‘mega murals’ created by Matt Adnate.

Not many are aware the Silo Art Trail began here in WA, in Northam in the Avon Valley. In their unique style international artists Phlegm and Hence transformed four silos each in what would be the very first silos creating public interest back in 2015.

The Tin Horse Highway originally started as a local marketing campaign and is now part of Kulin’s community cultural heritage. First built by local farmers to promote the annual Kulin Bush Races back in 1995 the 15km stretch is now a feature in the WA Wheatbelt in Australia’s Golden Outback. Giddy up!

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WA also has the honour of having the largest dam mural in the world. Did I say large, I mean massive! International artist Guido van Helten took four months to complete this mind boggling project that has become a tourist magnet for the coal mining town at Wellington Dam, west of Collie in WA’s south west.

Perth sightseeing

There is nothing prettier than watching the sun set in the west. Except maybe strolling through from St George’s Terrace to Hay Street Mall via a quirky 16th century Tudor style arcade with an open roof to take in the vivid blue sky Perth is famous for. But did you know back in 1937 while plastering in London Court a name was marked into the plaster (B. Burford). It blends in so well and most miss seeing it unless they know where to look.

Perth’s very own Kings Park is the largest city park in the world. Yes, at 400ha (988 acres) it is larger than Central Park in New York and the best place to check out our blue skies. Here you can wander and take in spectacular views of the Swan River, overlooking Elizabeth Quay, the city skyline and Darling Ranges. The Botanic Gardens have Australia’s largest display of wildflowers throughout the bush trails and manicured gardens.

Known as Sandgropers, along with our unique name, our state has some pretty unique places too. Perth has its fare share of ghost stories and haunted places and is renowned for one of the best displays of tulips in a spectacular botanic garden referred to as Heaven in the hills.

Perth has a number of new and recent developments. Elizabeth Quay, the city’s new waterfront development and Yagan Square, the new cultural and transport hub have reshaped the Perth CBD. Yagan Square divides the business centre and the nightlife region of the CBD.

Perth road trip

Perth is also a great starting place to head off on a classic Aussie road trip. A comfortable drive away is New Norcia, 132km north of Perth near the banks of the Moore River, Australia’s only monastic town. The Monastery, one of the 27 heritage listed buildings in New Norcia, is the home of Benedictine monks. Every church, school and lunch bar is surrounded by bushland in the small town. The New Norcia Hotel, built in 1927 nestled by gum trees is a comfortable, modest country pub to stay in.

The Pinnacles Desert is two hours north of Perth along the Indian Ocean Drive in the Nambung National Park is one of the major tourist attractions. Despite being a desert these yellow limestone formations covering 17,487 hectares provide a natural habitat for an extensive variety of native animals and bird life. The amazing natural limestone structures are up to 3.5 metres tall rising out of the sand dunes transforming the ancient desert landscape. Contrasting shades of vivid yellow, orange, gold and cream can be seen in the natural honeycomb like sculptures and the beautiful pastel shades of cotton candy skies at sunrise make a spectacular sight to see. Did you know Billy Connolly visited the petrified forest north of Perth in 1995, and did one of his world-famous nudey-dances.

North of Perth

Nature’s Window, a wind eroded opening in the layered sandstone, creates a picture frame in Kalbarri National Park. The natural rock arch frames the Murchison river perfectly and is one of WA’s most iconic natural attractions.

852km’s north of Perth is Mount Augustus, the largest rock in the world. 8km’s long and 3km’s wide covering an area of 4,795 hectares the most spectacular solitary peak rises above a stony, red sandplain of arid scrubland. The granite formation, estimated to be 1,750 million years old, is visible for more than 160 kms from the air.

Further north, on the coast, 1,200kms north of Perth, a 14 hour drive away rests Ningaloo Reef, near Exmouth, a World Heritage listed reef. The 300km coral reef is the closest barrier reef to a land mass in the world with 500 species of fish and 300 varieties of coral.

Australia is known for its wonderful marine life and living right here in WA is the world’s biggest fish, the magical and massive Whale Shark that grows to 16 metres or 52.5 feet. Amongst the coral reefs of the World Heritage listed Ningaloo lives the whale shark and the reef is one of the only spots you can get a swim with the world’s biggest fish ticked off your bucket list.

In the Pilbara, outback Western Australia is the abandoned mining town of Wittenoom. It’s in the middle of nowhere and is the most toxic ghost town in the world. The blue asbestos mine closed the town years ago, but it is still a beautiful town with Mount Watkins and Wittenoom Gorge making a spectacular backdrop. Sadly WA’s indigenous population has the highest rate of mesothelioma deaths in the world, a direct cause of the asbestos mine.

Mount Meharry is the highest mountain in Western Australia at 1250 metres high. It is located only 86km from Wittenoom and is located in the Hamersley Ranges within Karijini National Park.

Marble Bar, one of the outback towns famous for being a pioneering town during the goldrush is well known for its extremely hot weather. It has been recorded residents of the area sweltered through 49.1C (120.38F) earning it the reputation of Australia’s hottest town and this year sweltered its way through almost a month (26 days) of temperatures above 43 degrees Celsius.

Natural resources

Western Australia has its fair share of natural resources and a booming mining industry. Located in the remote Kimberley region is Argyle Diamond Mine, the largest diamond producer in the world (by volume) and the only known significant source of pink and red diamonds.

The Kimberley coast is also home to Australia’s largest producer of pearls.

Two of the world’s largest producers of gold are located in Western Australia. The largest open cut mine until 2016 is the Super Pit at Kalgoorlie gold mine. The oblong pit is 3.5km long and 1.5km wide but a massive 570 metres deep making it visible from space.

Only 120km’s away from Perth is Boddington Gold Mine. With the first gold poured in 2009 it is now the country’s largest gold mine.

South of Perth

In the beautiful Southwest region are some beautiful areas to explore. One unique place is Ferguson Valley perfect for a road trip. Less than 2 hours from Perth, the area is a farming community where you can also visit Gnomesville, whole community dedicated to Gnomes.

Gnomesville is a quirky and wonderful little spot filled with gnomes. The world’s largest collection of gnomes who migrated from all over the world. This area is so spectacular and we wrote a separate article to highlight the region’s beauty and diverse attractions like vineyards, boutique breweries and galleries.

One of our beaches at Geographe Bay in Busselton has the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere. The jetty was built in 1853 and is 1.8km’s long. For those who can’t walk the 3.6km round trip along the jetty there is a little red train to take you on the 45 minute trip.

A little further and you’ll be see the stunning coastline and magnificent beaches of Margaret River. Pristine beaches, premium wineries and world class food, combined with timber forests, dramatic cliffs and secluded bays is what this area is best known for.

Great Southern

4.5 hours south of Perth is Dog Rock in Albany, a well known attraction in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Situated on Middleton Road in 1921 the council were going to blow the large, natural granite rock up. It now sits with the road marked around the rock with a painted dog collar.

Also down south is Torndirrup National Park where you can explore Albany’s The Natural Gap, a reminder of the surging power of ocean. Created by the continual wear and tear on the granite formation, the ocean’s constant crashing onto the granite cliffside formed it’s own solution, The Natural Bridge, a giant rock bridge.

East of Perth

Toodyay is a mere 85km east of Perth, but a quintessential country town. Markets, bakery, craft, antiques, winery and a unique Christmas store are just some places you can browse during a visit to this delightful town.

Wave Rock is another unique formation and only a four hour drive east from Perth. This natural rock formation shaped like an ocean wave about to break. The wave is 14 metres high and 110 metres long and is near the small town of Hyden. The grey and red  granite rock formation is 27 million years old.

Must see beaches

Relax and watch the sun set across the famous waters of Cottesloe Beach or perhaps take a ferry across to Rottnest Island and meet Western Australia’s unique Quokkas. The little marsupials, only found in Rottnest, are native to Rottnest despite being only 19km’s away from the mainland. Walking down a street in Heidelberg, Germany, we we surprised to see our very own Quokkas feature on a travel agent’s sign. It might be a search on Rotto to find the pink lake, but the Quokkas, known as the happiest aniimal on earth, are easily found on the island and happy to have a selfie with you. They have been happily snapped with the likes of Roger Federer, Margot Robbie, Chris Hemsworth, Shawn Mendes and Hugh Jackman. Check out some expert advice on how to take your own quokka selfie.

There is so much to do on the amazing West Coast, in the beachside suburbs, the city centre or take a short drive from Perth. Snorkelling coral reefs, diving shipwrecks, exploring history or sailing on Perth’s beautiful river. You could even learn to sail a yacht on the picturesque Matilda Bay. Perth is a city that loves the water, I mean why wouldn’t we. We are blessed with 19 white, soft, sandy extraordinary beaches from Fremantle to Trigg so are certainly spoilt for choice to pitch our umbrella. Some of the popular beaches are Scarborough, Leighton, Swanbourne, City Beach, Port Beach, South Beach and Bathers Beach.

We have 12,500km’s of beautiful, pristine coastline along the state. Its true. Google Lucky Bay or Hellfire Bay near Esperance, Billy Goat Bay or Dynamite Bay near Greenhead or Turquoise Bay near Exmouth to see the whitest beaches, stunning bays and sparking clear blue waters you’ve ever seen.

But the most beautiful beach has to be Kooljaman at Cape Leveque, Broome where between July and October you can see migrating Hump Back Whales, snorkel and swim in the tranquil waters. This is 220km north of Broome and truly an area of unrivalled physical beauty capturing the rugged character of the Kimberley region.

One of Australia’s whitest beaches is Lucky Bay in the Cape le Grande National Park south-east of Esperance. Brilliant blue and turquoise waters lap along the 5km protected bay forming an incredible iconic centrepiece among many of Esperance’s stunning white sandy beaches.

Sunsets

When life gets busy and you just want to sit, relax and unwind overlooking a beautiful sunset then Perth has many places to head to. Perth is arguably one of the best places in the entire world to enjoy a stunning sunset, and there are countless choices along our epic coastline. But a view over the ocean is not the only way to enjoy a breathtaking sunset. There are many top locations from Cottesloe or Scarborough beach, Fremantle Boat Harbour, Gooseberry Hill, and any number of parks or bush settings. But for the money I recommend watching the skies glow with a magnificent orange sunset overlooking Elizabeth Quay right on the riverfront in the CBD. I was lucky to capture a great sunset in the street I live in December 2023 which I reckon would rival those in Santorini.

Is Perth boring?

Does Perth deserve the boring label? Whilst our public transport can’t rival that of Europe it surely dispels the boring label.

Is Perth expensive?

Does Perth deserve the expensive label? There are 48 other cities that are ahead of us in the worldwide cost of living report for 2017. We can’t dispute we are isolated, but not everywhere we travel to is far away or expensive to get to. In Perth we can get a return plane ticket to Bali for $130 on sale and can be there in less than 4hrs. That’s affordable and accessible in my books.

Stereotypes of Perth

Tourists stereotype our city as having kangaroos hopping down the main street. OK, so what I can’t dispel is the rumour about the kangaroos. Kangaroos in the main street of the city is a thing. Red Kangaroos hopping down the street is a popular attraction in St George’s Terrace in the city. Small Western Grey kangaroos grazing on the verges a few streets from our suburban home is a common sight too.

There is something about Perth that makes it magical. Could it be because we have not one, but two unicorns looking over us?

These are just some of the interesting facts about Perth and Western Australia. If you come and visit Perth you may learn more stories about this fascinating and gorgeous city.

Have you been to Perth or Western Australia? Do you know any other facts about Perth to be added to those above?

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