Perth history and heritage: from Swan River Colony to global resource capital

Perth's history is the story of extreme isolation transforming into extreme wealth — the Swan River Colony of 1829 that struggled for 30 years until gold and wool created prosperity, the gold rush of the 1890s that made WA the fastest-growing colony in the world, and the iron ore and LNG boom of the 21st century that made Perth the fourth-most expensive city on earth at its 2012 peak.

Perth Cultural Centre — WA Museum Boola Bardip — the WA Museum's 2020 flagship reopening in the $640 million Boola Bardip building provides the most comprehensive account of Western Australia's natural and human history anywhere. The Connections Gallery covering Nyoongar history and culture, the immigration gallery, and the WA minerals and mining exhibition create a full-day heritage experience in the city centre.

The Round House, Fremantle — the 1831 Round House is the oldest surviving public building in Western Australia, predating even the establishment of Fremantle as a separate settlement. The guided tours through the former gaol, the time ball on the roof (the original time signal for the port), and the Whalers Tunnel beneath the building create the most atmospheric heritage experience in the greater Perth metropolitan area.

Fremantle Prison — the UNESCO World Heritage convict-built prison at Fremantle operated from 1855 to 1991, making it one of the longest-operating colonial prisons in Australia. The daytime tours, the candlelight tours, and the tunnels tour (WWII escape tunnels discovered during the 1980s) provide multiple layers of heritage access to the most significant colonial building in WA.

Kalgoorlie and the Golden Mile — the two-hour flight or overnight drive to Kalgoorlie delivers the Super Pit (one of the world's largest open-cut gold mines, visible from space), the Goldfields Museum, and the heritage streetscape of Hannan Street that preserves the architecture of the 1890s gold rush that made WA and Perth what they are today.

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