info sheet
Doing the Point Zero trail....?
...then you might want to
know a bit more about Perth as
you travel round the city. This
information sheet tells you a little
history of the city and something
about each of the places you
will visit. And at each site, it
suggests things to do and find.
Don’t forget to pick up a trailmap for each
person who wants to play the game!
We hope you enjoy your visit to Perth... don’t forget
to visit the website to find out more!
www.perth.wa.gov.au/ptzero
T
he adventure begins....
Long ago, before the arrival of the white
settlers, the Perth foreshore was a gathering
place for indigenous people. In January 1697 the
Dutch navigator Willem de Vlamingh discovered
and named the Swan River after the many
black swans found there.
On 1 June 1829, Captain James Stirling arrived
on the western shores with a group of settlers, in
the ship Parmelia. Stirling, as Governor of the new
Swan River Colony, selected the sites for Perth
and Fremantle.
Perth was named after a Scottish city and was
officially founded on 12 August 1829, when Mrs
Dance cut down the first tree a few metres from
the present site of the Town Hall.
Perth today has changed dramatically from its early
days, but within its streets, you can still find
reflections of its historic moments.
Come with us on a journey through
the streets of Perth...
WA Museum
Your journey begins in front of the big glass entrance to the
museum. The WA Museum offers a journey of discovery
through time. From diamonds to dinosaurs, fossils to fairy
wrens, moths to mammals and a whale of a tail.
The State Library of WA houses the reference library
and the Battye Library. Treasures from these collections
are housed in the Centre for the Book on the ground floor.
Contact the library to find out about special exhibitions.
The Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA) is at the
cutting edge of contemporary art and culture. There are year
round exhibitions and performing arts programs, workshops
and artists in residence.
Things to do
Explore the Discovery Centre at the Museum, filled with live
fish, frogs and snakes.
Find a shouting man and a black and white doorway, between the
museum and galleries.
1
Walk south towards the city
Art Gallery
The Art Gallery of WA has over 1000 artworks on display
at any time. Exhibitions change often so there is always
something new to see. The Gallery has children’s art trails
and there are special activities most school holidays. Ring the
Art Gallery or go online for details.
Next to the Gallery, the fountains and bubbling water of the
pond provide an oasis in the city, with steps which are a great
place to sit and have a picnic.
Things to do
Find the bumpy path between the Gallery and the Museum. This is a
tactile path used by vision impaired people to find their way through the
Cultural Centre.
Continue south towards the city
Train Station
The discovery of gold in Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie in 1890
changed Perth from a colonial village to a prosperous city.
It also meant that the little railway station built in 1881 was
quickly outgrown, and was demolished to make way for the
new one in 1894. Rail was the most important means of
transport until the car became popular in the 1950s. Steam
trains were used until the 1960s when diesel took over, and
now we have electric trains. Today, global warming has again
made public transport a better way to travel, so new railway
lines like the one to Mandurah have been opened to keep
more cars off the road. To catch this train, you need to travel
underground to platforms 1 and 2.
Forrest Place
Forrest Place, at the heart of the city, is a great place to stop
and rest on your journey. There are often lunchtime concerts,
events and school holiday activities happening here.
Opened in 1923 the General Post Office (GPO) became a
meeting place for people arriving by train. The steps of the
GPO were once a site for political rallies and were used by
politicians to speak to the people. Now they use television
to do this.
Things to do
Find the two coats of arms on the GPO building. What animals are
they? Which countries do they represent?
Look for a ball of rock floating on water. Can you see the fossils in the
rock?
Find the mosaics on the circular stage and on the ground near the
Commonwealth Bank Building.
Travel up the escalator or glass lift for a good view of Forrest Place.
Things to do
Can you find the little windows in the wall of the upper concourse?
Look through them and you will see the trains arriving and leaving from
the platforms.
Travel down the escalator to platform 5 (or down the lift or stairs) and
you will find historical plaques set into the floor and on the wall by the
entrance. How many can you find?
Find the old levers which used to operate the signals (they are near
the childcare centre).
Next time...
2 Visit the Scitech Discovery Centre. Take the Fremantle line train
on platform 7 and travel to City West - its free to ride!
Leave the station from the main entrance on platform 5
Wellington Street
Just in front of the central train station is Wellington Street, a
busy road with many people walking or in vehicles.
Thousands of troops passed through this area on their way to
the world wars. After World War 2, an immigration centre was
built in front of the railway station for migrants who arrived by
ship in Fremantle and caught the train to Perth.
Did you know???
You can catch a train from Perth all the way to Sydney, crossing the
Nullarbor. The journey will take you 3 days on the Indian Pacific Railway,
so plan ahead!
Did you know???
The Square in which you stand now is called Forrest Place, and the big
shopping centre next to it containing Myers is Forrest Chase.
Turn left at the bottom end of Forrest Place, at ground level
Murray Street Mall
This is the heart of busking territory: jugglers, clowns, living
statues and musicians. There is sure to be some entertaining
action here!
Many arcades link Murray Street Mall to Hay Street Mall,
providing different ways of travelling via ramps, stairs, lifts and
escalators. If you go into Perth’s biggest arcade, Carillon City,
you will need to travel up the escalator one floor to reach the
Hay Street level. If you carry on up the escalator above the
food hall you will see Cottesloe beach in the sky!
In Piccadilly Arcade, look up at the pink arches, there is
something unusual about them.
You can travel undercover from Murray Street to the south
side of St George’s Terrace, all on the same level.
Things to do
Visit the City of Perth i-city kiosk, where Murray Street Mall meets
Forrest Place. Here you can get heaps of information on the city and
find out more about the Point Zero trail and other city trails.
Things to do
Can you find the clock on the front of the station? What time is it?
Cross the road to Forrest Place using the cross walk at ground
level or go up the escalators in the station and use the overpass to get to
the Forrest Chase Shopping Centre on the upper level.
Pick up a Point Zero trailmap here!
Turn into Piccadilly Arcade and walk to the end
Hay Street Mall West
Hay Street Mall is one of the city’s busiest streets. If you look
hard you will find it has some amazing features.
From 1899 to 1957 the tram was a popular form of transport.
The tram used to travel from Subiaco to East Perth via Hay
Street Mall when it was a road.
Before television there were many theatres and cinemas in
the Hay Street Mall and people from all over Perth would
come to the city and watch films and newsreels. Today there
is only one cinema left, in Piccadilly Arcade.
Things to do
Look for the pink Art Deco Piccadilly Arcade, which has a face high on
its facade. What animal do you think it is?
Turn east (left) and head along the mall
Hay Street Mall East
Perth
PerthTown
TownHall
Hall
The Perth Town Hall combines Victorian Gothic architecture
with Tudor and Medieval influences. Built between 1868 and
1870, it is the only Town Hall in Australia built by convicts.
Look through the glass walls and you will see a model of the
ship HMAS Perth.
The four clock faces have been keeping time in the city for
around 140 years. Until the 1960s the clock had to be wound
by hand every day.
The Town Hall was also a communications centre. To
announce the arrival of mail a flag would be flown from the
tower, and if a bell rang in the clock tower it warned people of
a fire in the city.
Things to do
Look for windows on the white parts of the towers of the Town Hall.
You will see that they look like arrows. It is said that the convict builders
copied them from the arrows on their prison uniforms as a joke.
Find a plaque commemorating the Foundation of Perth (on the Barrack
Street side). On the plaque, you will see Mrs Dance chopping down the
first tree to clear the land for the city. How many axes do you see on the
plaque? What do you think happened next?
Head south, then turn left (east) on St George’s Terrace
Point
PointZero
Zero
Hay Street Mall East
Standing on the corner of Hay Street Mall and Barrack Street
you can see two different city views. Look along the Mall you
can watch the hustle and bustle of people moving through the
city. Look beyond the fast moving traffic of Barrack Street and
you will see the Swan Bells and glimpses of the Swan River.
Things to do
Visit the Hay Street entrance of London Court to hear the clock strike
the hour, and see the minature jousting knights on horseback, and St
George slay the dragon.
Stroll down the London Court Arcade, which was built in 1937 to look
like an old English street.
Percy Buttons was a well known street performer of the 1920s to
1950s who entertained the public while they waited in queues to see
movies and theatre shows. Can you find a statue of him?
What is he doing?
Continue to the end of the mall and cross the road
Point Zero is on the corner of Cathedral Avenue and St
George’s Terrace, at the Old Treasury building, which was
built in the 19th century to replace the original barracks.
During the early days of the colony this area was a parade
ground.
Near Point Zero is St George’s Cathedral, where you will find
stained glass windows.
Just next to the Cathedral is the City of Perth library, hidden
in the basement of the Law Chambers building. Children
are always welcome and it has children’s and young adults’
areas. There are often activities here during the school
holidays. As well as lots of good books, the library has talking
books, DVDs, videos, CD rom and the internet.
Things to do
Visit St George’s Cathedral on a Wednesday lunchtime to listen to
beautiful music.
Listen to the Cathedral bells on Sunday morning or evening.
Cross St George’s Terrace
3
Stirling Gardens Pond
This garden has green grass, shady trees, sculptures and a
billabong to explore, where you can dangle your feet in the
water. A great place to stop for a picnic lunch!
Things to do
Stand on the corner of St George’s Terrace and Barrack Street, next
to the statue of Alexander Forrest, and look along St George’s Terrace
at the city skyscrapers. Which building do you think is the tallest?
Can you find the fish that don’t swim?
Find the sculptures...
Ore obelisk: a 12m ‘kebab’ which has been in the Gardens since 1971.
Made of different mineral ores, it represents WA as a mineral rich state.
The life sized bronze Kangaroos represent how they might behave in
the bush. Can you find the joey?
The Gumnut Babies are based on characters created by May Gibbs in
the 1930s. What are their names?
On the ground near the Bell Tower you will see the signatures
of thousands of school children from WA. Can you find your
signature, or that of someone you know?
Things to do
Catch a ferry to South Perth, where you can visit the Zoo! You can
also find boat trips to all sorts of other places up and down the Swan
River, or Rottnest.
Walk west from Barrack Square and you will reach Jacob’s Ladder
which you can climb to reach King’s Park.
Walk east and you will reach Point Fraser, a wonderful refuge for
wildlife. Further on you will reach Heirrison Island which is home to a
small colony of real kangaroos.
Next time...
Bring your bike and ride around the rivers or up to King’s Park - a
circuit of Perth waters is just 8km. Or you could ride all the way to
Fremantle. Phew!
Continue through the park to the west (right) of Supreme Court
and find the giant pen knibs
Lower Stirling Gardens
These old and unusual gardens feature a variety of plants
and trees including cork oak, Norfolk pines and
4 dragon trees.
The impressive building you can see here is the Supreme
Court of WA. Children aged 11+ can take part in a mock trial
in the Francis Burt Courthouse, the oldest building in Perth.
On the river side of the Supreme Court are the Supreme
Court Gardens. If you look out across Barrack Street from
here you will see a large grassed area called the Esplanade.
The Swan River used to reach nearly to the buildings next to
this park, until part of the river was filled in to make more land.
Stirling Gardens was the first park in WA and was opened in
1845. It is home to a number of heritage trees.
Things to do
What other trees and plants can you find? Look for the name tags.
Continue south towards the Bell Tower
Swan River
The Swan River is one of Perth’s most magnificent features.
At Barrack Street you will find the Swan Bells, which once
rang in the church of St Martin in the Fields in London. The
Swan Bells are open daily - contact them to find out when the
bells will be ringing.
You
have now finished
the Point Zero trail well done! Visit the website:
www.perth.wa.gov.au/ptzero
to find out about more trails
through the city of
Perth!