Perth CBD Walks - Convicts and Colonials

Perth City Council has three walk commentaries that can be downloaded and played on your MP3 Player. The first of these I followed was "Convicts and Colonials". I caught the train into the CBD from Thornlie train station, quite a pleasant ride and a beautiful day, arriving about 10.30am on a Saturday morning.

The walk commenced at the Perth town Hall, as do all the walks. From the town Hall you are lead to the Old Deanery on St Georges Tce, across the road to Government House, then into Stirling Gardens to the Old Court House, built 1836. From here you go Barrack street to the old Gaol, now museum and then back into Perth up Murray Street to St Mary's Cathedral. St Mary's has had 35 million spent on it to complete the building programme that was halted by the Great Depression in 1930. They have from an architectural viewpoint done a great job, they just need to correct their doctrinal errors. Along the way the commentary points out other significant buildings, there are quite a few when you slow down and have a look.

All up I probably walked about 5 kms, getting home on the train around 2.30pm. The walk around the CBD on a sunny day was more pleasant than what I expected, and the commentary was very interesting.

Old Treasury Building

Government House

Old Deanery 

Perth Town Hall

Canning Bridge to Mt Henry Bridge Loop

On a Saturday with the advice of Barbara from work I drove to Deepwater Point on the Canning River  at Mt Pleasant. I had a coffee at the Cafe at Deepwater Point before heading up river towards the Mt Henry Freeway Bridge. The day was rather wet and cold, but by the time I was halfway through my walk the weather had fined up some what. The river is very beautiful as expected, but I was surprised how interesting the bush along the edge of the freeway was. The walk was a little over 7km in length, I took my time and found it took me about 90 minutes to complete the task. It is quite interesting how the Mt Henry Bridge has the walkway underneath the road carriage, also means you get protection from the weather. On the walk just before getting to Canning Bridge there is some plaques commemorating families who lived in tents by the river at the height of the Great Depression in the early 1930s. I also had an explore of the river just near  Canning Bridge on the South Perth side. It looked quite different from the beach area I can remember swimming at as a young child with Rod Bain a childhood friend.

Catching Up on Walks

I have been making walking a regular part of my life since mid April 2010, it is only now I have decided to record details of my walks that are different to my usual daily plod.

My first deliberate walk in this new burst of walking energy was when I parked the car at the carpark just as you come into Perth from the Causeway. also known as Fraser Point. I then walked into Perth along Riverside Drive to the Exhibit Centre to have a look at the Franchise Exhibition. This didn't take long to accomplish. I then walked through the CBD to Perth Railway Station, catching the train to Claisebrook Station, East Perth. From here I walked to the East Perth Cove then along the river foreshore to where I had parked the car. Most likely around 5 kms of walking.

Walking Intro

I have taken up regular walking after much procastication since mid April 2010. My routine during the week is a walk of approximately 3.5km to 4km each day. I prefer walking in the mornings, but it has been so cool that I have ended up walking in the evenings. On Saturdays I have been choosing different locations for longer walks. This Blog will be a useful tool to record my walking efforts, observations and enthusiasm. My intitial Saturday walks will be to places of interest that you can not easily get to or observe from within a car. I also plan to learn more about our areas in my home city Perth, Western Australia. There is a Perth in Tasmania and Scotland!