History

The city of Perth was founded in 1829 by British settlers. The announcement of the Swan Colony took place where now the Swan Brewery is located (pictured left). A tree was cut because there were no stones around to lay a traditional foundation.

It was a kind of race against time. There were rumors that the French and the Dutch as well were interested in this place. But in fact nobody despite Captain James Stirling who explored the area two years before had to say anything in favor of the location. Stirling alone saw the agricultural potential and advertises the foundation of the first free settlement in Australia. The oldest settlements would become later Fremantle, Perth and Guildford. Perth was named after the birthplace of the Secretary of Colonies in England at that time, Sir George Murray.

Setting up the settlements required more helping hands, so England was contacted to send convicts. That's why after all a penal colony was risen—relicts can be seen in the Round House in Fremantle which is the oldest conserved building today. The inhabitants created most of the infrastructure of the colony until 1868. Examples of other historical buildings are the Perth Town Hall and the Government House. But due to difficulties in the agricultural use of the land Perth grew only slowly. The discovery of massive ressources—the gold rush in the 1890s—in what was called Western Australia in the meantime led to the prosperous city Perth is today.

But, of course, neither the British nor the French nor the Dutch were the first people in this area. The land has been inhabited for millennia by the aboriginal tribe of Nyoongar (which means roughly “human being”). The people made their living by fishing, hunting and gathering. Several nasty incidents are delivered from the first days when the British colony was set up at the main fishing grounds of the indigenous people.

Perth’s history is relatively young, and the economic boom at the end of the last century caused many of the historic buildings in the centre to be replace by the modern glassy skyscrapers that make now the skyline. It’s only the last years that the city discovered its sense for conservation, especially regarding aboriginal history. But if you walk around and look closely, you can find some witnesses of the old times—the St Georges Cathedral, the railway station, the Perth Mint, the Old Mill, or most notably the Barrack’s Arch which the Kwinana Freeway runs through now.

This portrayal has been written by the web author. Most of the information was collected on Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.