Initial Impressions of Perth

We crossed the Swan River today to gain our first impressions of this spectacular city. Until now, our view had been from the South Bank and our balcony window and that alone would give any famous city skyline a run for its money. I have to say the reality is equally impressive. We alighted on St George's Terrace and walked the centre. What immediately strikes one is, yet again, the juxtaposition of the old and the new and the clever way this has been achieved. There is a huge amount of building going on here and clearly the amount of money poured into Perth over the last twenty years is phenomenal. Every major mining corporation seems to have a stake here, reflecting the massive wealth produced by mining in Western Australia.
Rather like Adelaide, there is plenty of green space and of course a beautiful river, but everything is on a much grander scale. This is a major city that is over a thousand miles from its nearest neighbour and is possibly the most isolated on earth. Perth was always something of a joke in Australian terms until recently and that is most certainly a thing of the past. Business, architecture, arts and culture, plus the food explosion has put Perth on the map like nothing else. The waterfront has and is undergoing great alterations. Dodging our way around the cranes and building sites we decided to visit the Swan Bell Tower. The tower is a focal structure on the Perth waterfront and it struck me as a modern day Venetian St Mark's Campanile. It's construction was Western Australia's Millennium Project and kick started by Laith Reynolds, a local international businessman with a passion for English bell-change ringing. Whilst in London, he heard that the bells of St Martin in the Fields on Trafalgar Square, were to be melted down and recast. He persuaded Western Australia to provide the metals needed to cast new bells for St Martins and managed to negotiate the transport of the 1727 bells, financed by King George 11, to Perth, where they were ceremonially renamed The Swan Bells and installed in the newly constructed bell tower in the year 2000. There are 6 levels of exhibition and viewing. It is tall, as you probably gathered and some of the viewing platforms are transparent. This is where Peter scored. He might not like things that flap, but I couldn't walk out there and had to view from a solid floor distance!
We are quits!
We took the ferry back to South Perth and walked back to the apartment along the river, with that skyline in view all the time. This is not a natural wonder, it is man made, but it certainly holds the eye.Read more