Perth is the biggest city in the state of Western Australia and is also its capital. This city covers an area of two thousand square miles and has a
population of over one million and six hundred thousand residents. This makes Perth the fourth largest city in Australia. Over the past few years, the economy of the city has shifted from the more traditional industrial industries to a service based economy. Major sections of Perth’s economy include retail trade, health, education, personal and financial services, wholesale trade and tourism. The educational needs of the city are met by several institutions of higher learning, which include the University of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University, University of Notre Dame Australia, Murdoch University and the Curtin University of Technology. Perth is a city that has a passion for its sports. Popular sports in the city include soccer, netball, cricket and Australian football. Teams in the city of Perth include the West Coast Eagles, Fremantle Football Club, Perth Lynx, Perth Wildcats, Perth Heat, Perth Glory, West Coast Fever, Smokefree WA Diamonds, Smokefree WA Thundersticks, Western Fury and the Western Warriors.

A popular attraction in Perth is the Art Gallery of Western Australia. This art gallery was originally located in the Jubilee Building and was supposed to be opened to honor Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in the year 1887. The project was never realized however, and the foundation stone was set in 1901. The main building was built in 1977 and was designed by K. Sierakowski. This art gallery has almost sixteen thousand pieces of art and is visited by almost half a million people a year. Past exhibits of the gallery have included Indian contemporary art, Auguste Rodin, Norman Lindsay etchings, paintings and drawings from the Tate Gallery, Islamic art from Kuwait, Russian art from the early twentieth century, Australian ceramics, Max Ernst, the Italian Renaissance and Monet.

Another attraction in Perth is Kings Park. This park is situated on one thousand acres of land and has parkland, natural bushland and botanical gardens. It was originally opened in 1895 and was known as Perth Park. In 1901, it was renamed Kings Park. Sixty percent of the park is bushland and the area of the park is larger than New York’s Central Park. Located within Kings Park is an eighteen hectare botanical garden that is called the Western Australian Botanic Garden. It was designed by John Oldham in 1962 and contains over two thousand species of flora native to Western Australia. Also located in the park is the State War Memorial Precinct. It is made up of a Cenotaph, Court of Contemplation, Flame of Remembrance and Pool of Reflection. The Cenotaph was built in 1929 and underneath it is a roll that list the service people from Western Australia who died during the Boer War, World War I, World War II, Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Also in the city is the Perth Zoo. This zoo was founded in 1898 and contains eighteen hundred animals taken from over two hundred and forty species. Exhibits at this zoo include Nocturnal House, World of Birds, African Savannah, Australian Walkabout and Asian Rainforest Zone. Animals that are housed here include African Painted Dogs, Asian Elephants, Slender-tailed Meerkats, Sumatran Tigers, Grant’s Zebras, Sulawesi Crested Macaques, African Lions, White-Cheeked Gibbons, Rothschild Giraffes, Sumatran Orangutans, White Rhinoceros, Oriental Small-clawed Otters, Sun Bears, Hamadryas Baboons, Nepalese Red Pandas, Radiated Tortoises, Silvery Gibbons, Cheetahs, Fishing Cats, Spotted Hyaenas, Dingos, Red-tailed Black Cockatoos, Koalas, Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos, Quokkas, Baudin’s Cockatoos, Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats, Muir’s Corellas, Splendid Fairy-Wrens, Tasmanian Devils, Carnaby’s Cockatoos, Emus, Tammar Wallabys, Western Grey Kangaroos, Numbats, Short-beaked Echidnas, Red Kangaroos, Estuarine Crocodiles, Little Pied Cormorants, Black-necked Storks, Western Swamp Tortoises, Little Penguins, Black Swans, Motorbike Frogs, Darters, Splendid Tree Frogs, Freshwater Crocodiles, Brolgas, Bridled Terns, Blue-
winged Kookaburras, Sydney funnel-web spiders, Emerald Doves, Australian Tarantulas, Channel-billed Cuckoos, Redback spiders, Pheasant Coucals, Eclectus Parrots, Pied Imperial Pigeons, Green Pygmy Geese, Millipedes and Scorpions.

Another popular attraction in the city is the Perth Mint. Construction on this mint was begun in 1896 by John Forrest and it officially opened in June of 1899. Its purpose was to serve as a branch of London’s Royal Mint to refine and manufacture gold sovereigns to be used as currency in Australia. Up until 2000, the Perth Mint produced over forty-five hundred tons of gold products. The mint is no longer used as a Royal Mint, but it still creates numismatic items for coin collectors and investors. Coins that are produced here include Australian Silver Kookaburra coins, Australian Nugget gold coins, Australian Silver Kookaburra bullion and Platinum Koala coins. Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts is located in a building that was erected in 1896 and served as the Perth Boy’s & Girl’s School. The purpose of this museum is to promote contemporary arts in Western Australia.

Other attractions in the city of Perth include Caversham Wildlife Park, Aquarium of Western Australia, Margaret River Regional Wine Centre, Whiteman Park, Nambung National Park, Scarborough Beach, Western Australian Museum, Trigg Beach, Cottesloe Beach, Parliament House, London Court, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Swan Valley Food and Wine Trail, Caversham House, John Forrest National Park, Adventure World, Swan Bells, Penguin Island, Hillarys Boat Harbour, Toodyay, WRC Rally in Australia, Cohunu Koala Park, St George’s Terrace, All Saints Anglican Church, Swan Valley Heritage Trail, SciTech Discovery
Centre, The Henge, St. George’s Cathedral, Perth Government House, Museum & Fire Safety Education Center, Holmes a Court Gallery, Law Courts, Perth Concert Hall, Museum of Childhood, The Cloisters, Armadale History House, Burswood Park, Aviation Heritage Museum, Perth Mosque, Western Australian Medical Museum, Cordelia Gardens, The Old Perth Observatory, Infants’ Butterfly Garden, Walyunga National Park, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Barracks Arch and Berndt Museum of Anthropology. The city also has many fabulous hotels which include Ibis Perth, The New Esplanade Hotel, Rydges Perth Hotel Accommodation, Duxton Hotel Perth, Sheraton Perth Hotel, Hilton Parmelia Perth Hotel and the Criterion Hotel.