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It is surprising to find this large modern city of more than a million, so far away from anything else in the south west corner of Australia. The closest cities of equal size are Adelaide about 2000 km by air, Melbourne (2750k), Jakarta (3000k) and Sydney (3250k).
The pleasant year-round climate that makes farming possible in the southwest corner of Australia and the discovery of gold mines further inland explain the growth of Perth and the nearby port of Fremantle.
This is the old city hall in the city center.
Here is a modern bell tower erected in Esplanade Park between the city center and the docks on the Swan River.
The old docks in the south side of town have been transformed into a tourist attraction with shops and restaurants and a jetty for ferries and cruises.
Railroad tracks divide Perth in two. The area north of the tracks called Northbridge is where all the nightlife action is.
This is one of Northbridge's many restaurants on the corner of Aberdeen and William Street.
Also on William Street, on the corner of Francis Street, is the landmark Brass Monkey Hotel.
A pleasant 20 km cruise down the Swan River brings you to laid-back Fremantle Enjoying the traditional fish and chips in one of the restaurants around the fishermen harbour is a must.
The roundhouse prison, built in 1831, is the oldest public building in Western Australia. Prisons feature prominently in Australia's history for most of its first settlements were built to ease demographic pressure in England by exiling convicts.
Fremantle's Maritime Museum also displays relics of the Dutch ship Batavia that went aground on the islands in front of Geraldton.
Here, on the corner of Collie Street and Marine Terrace, is an interesting example of 19th century colonial architecture.
This picture shows St. John's Anglican Church and the City Hall on Kings Square in the city center.
Having gone to Fremantle on the ferry, I came back to Perth by train to this station, from which I left a few days later for the mining town of Kalgoorlie
The gold rush started in the nearby town of Coolgardie in 1892 but that place withered away rapidly when its mines ran out.
Kalgoorlie started a year later but it is still the largest producer of gold in Australia.
Take away the cars, the stop lights and the paved streets to imagine the rowdy scenes that this hotel must have seen when gold dust was the form of payment to quench the thirst and satisfy the appetites of miners.
Here is another fancy hotel whose saloon and gambling room made life bearable in the goldfields back in the days of wooden sidewalks and dirt streets.
The landscape is bare around Kalgoorlie but it is studded with headframes like these which have been left standing even though the mines they once served have been abandoned.
I went, with a bunch of other tourists, down one of these abandoned mines named after Paddy Hannah who made the Kalgoorlie strike in 1893.
It was like a museum with acetylene lamps and antique jackhammers.
Today's gold production comes mostly from the superpit shown in this composite panorama patched together from three photos.
Fancy hotels with saloons and gambling rooms are a must for mining towns and so are the whore houses that still operate legally in Kalgoorlie.
This one, Langtrees Brothel on Hay street, offers a full range of services, starting at 100 $ for 15 minutes, which are conveniently listed on a large bulletin board just inside the entrance.
The Red House is not as famous as Langtrees but it is also open for business every night.
The Questa Casa, further down-market, has a blackboard where they advertise specials when business is slow.
Kalgoorlie was fun but crossing the Nularbor Desert was an experience I did not want to miss. Crossing it on a camel or by 4x4 would have been more exciting but I settled for doing it by train.
The Indian Pacific Train takes 31 hours to cover the 2200 kms to Adelaide
