Perth

Perth  – First Time Ever

Every first-ever is a plunge in the unknown. Life itself is a plunge in the unknown. And though the next moment a mystery remains, we plunge into it all the same. Without the plunge no discovery is possible. Plunge in Perth and discover.
Come, immerse in a first-ever that beats many of its kind hands down in attractions. Like every first-ever, these attractions have an intoxicating freshness about them. Oh Elixir, thy name is Perth. You dare and so let loose the spirit of adventure. Perth is just that! This city dares.

As you come to Perth, you don’t need to prune your list of expectations. Let them grow and be natural as they can. Perth is sure to meet them all even if they are as high and majestic, which they surely are, as Mount Everest. Yes, let your visitor’s expectations be Mount Everest itself, Perth will take you there.

Some, most or all of these expectations in sight-seeing that involve Nature’s parade of beauty, people with welcoming smiles on their faces, buildings which constitute a leap of architectural imagination and more than we cannot pack in here and so leave to unfold as we continue are waiting to be fulfilled in Perth.

We are not going yet to the famous Kings Park nor to Rottnest Island, both of which is the home to Nature’s best pick and pack of attractions. We are not talking about the unbroken starches of beaches, smooth, clean and sandy. We shall come very soon to them. Here we want to begin by saying that the name Perth has its origin in Scotland.  The thread of the story becomes interesting as soon as Sir George Murray, the then Secretary of State for the Colonies and Member for Perthshire in the British House of Commons, appears on stage. As a member for the Scotish City of Perth (PerthEguide.com), the name of the city, Perth in Australia was named in his honour even though he did not come from Perth (Tim Lambert – A Brief History of Perth)

Now, having toured with Perth to the origin of its name which is an invitation to its history, its time to dive into the many natural attractions which are some of its many first-evers for visitors. The prehistory of the Perth dates back to its aboriginal names, communities and culture a lot of which is still alive in the names of places, buildings and parks.

The first-ever to be noticed is that Perth is the capital of the largest state in Australia, that is Western Australia. Western Australia was the last of the colonies to join the Federation of Australia and did so only when the other states had offered several concessions that include the construction of a transcontinental railway line to Perth from the eastern states.  

Another first-ever of Perth which is not bearable without a large resource of inner strength of the inhabitants is its isolation from other states of Australia. In fact Perth is said to be the most isolated city of its kind, the capital of a state, on Earth.
But Nature has compensation for whatever is missing or omitted. As it so happens, to effect emotional balance, the compensation is always larger than what is missed and omitted. Based on this, the abundance of natural resources in Western Australia with Perth as the hub of service industries for these resources and other services is to not a surprise at all.  

One visits to know, to feel, to become part of the story of the place, the people. To know is not just a question of hopping from one place of attraction to another but getting the feel of the people and places through interaction. The shortest route to the hearts of people is interest in their story. There are lots of stunning attractions - natural, architectural and technological – in Perth as in other cities of Australia, but what is the gain when the visitor takes all this back home without knowing the people, the hosts, through interest in and better still through drinking deep in the richness of their culture.

Cultural interest is about feeling into the lifestyles of the people, their hopes and fears, their dreams and struggles and in so doing, participating in the pool of creative abilities that produce the unique architectural designs, nurture the gardens to Nature’s pride, water the parks until the trees and the flowers shoot out and shoot up to the sky, speading their joy as they dance to the music of the wind. That’s what Perth expects of those who come here.

Yes, there are so many beautiful places in this city and around that will keep you awalking and atravelling from one posh building to the next, from one island to the next, indeed from AMP Tower, Governor Stirling Tower, Bank West Tower to Central Park and Exchange Plaza, all buildings of 20th century and from there, off to  other places of interest such as Kings Park and Botanic Gardens and Pinjarra's Peel Zoo. Pinjarra's Peel Zoo which has been awarded a Bronze Award for the Zoo and Botanical Gardens is only 10 minutes from Mandurah and 60 minutes from Perth.
Yanchep National Park, a you’ve just got to visit park, celebrates the richness of Aboriginal Culture.

Cultural activities engage the audience, encourage participation, inform, entertain and share the richness of Australian aboriginal culture in a real aboriginal experience. The National Park environment provides a unique setting for cultural activities and Indigenous Tours which include "Wangi Mia" and Balga Mia, an open air area with demonstration near the Koala enclosure. Here the visitors can enjoy barbecue and picnic facilities, row boat hire, scenic walk trails, koalas, kangaroos and an abundance of other native animals and plants.

Connor’s Mill at a Toodyay should not be left out.  The milling process here is based on the use of traditional methods and historic machinery.  Toodyay which is less than an hour drive from Perth, is one of Western Australia’s oldest towns. It’s the place where a number of resident artists and galleries find a fitting home.  
And now, welcome to Avon Valley. This beautiful valley of lush green is Nature’s beauty radiating in an extravagance of attraction that challenges artistic imagination to transcend the given. The earthly and the heavenly blend here to become a canvass on which Nature displays rocking-rolling hills, villages with the visage of eternity itself, brooks in gallantry gallop, babbling away. Hot air ballooning, skydiving and bush walks are not just pastime that come and go. They are experiences that stay and make healthy.

Across the Avon Valley you have towns such as lively York, charming Toodyay, smiling Beverley, cool Goomalling and forever new as its name implies, New Norcia, all with the gentle mien of hospitable hostess, bubbling from within.  
There is so much to do here and see that time tries to fly as fast as it can. What you’ve got to do is hold it down and pack into it, since space is always there in the heart, all the first-evers of Perth if you ever can.  

Yes, you may have met Perth only a couple of hours ago but what is certain about it is to be found in Brian Hyland’s song, Ginny Come Lately. You only met this Perth a couple of days ago. You only met Perth and want lovin’ so. Perth-Come-At-Last, sweet, sweet it can be-ee-ee-ee…