The Real Perth Blog

St Denis Catholic Church in Joondanna

March 24, 2015

As I mentioned in a previous post I've really started noticing churches around Perth. Their function makes them distinctive, of course. Then there's the fact that they aren't overly numerous. Then there's the care that's gone into their construction. Several of them are quite distinctive architecturally also.

Take the St Denis Catholic Church in Joondanna. It has an unusual curved roof that is very noticeable when seen from the side.

Posted by Matt Hayden.

North Fremantle Fallen Soldiers War Memorial

March 23, 2015

For those keen to get a sense of West Australian history there's a war memorial worth seeing in North Fremantle. Built to honour the fallen of that suburb it is located on Queen Victoria St. It is surrounded by some elegant old buildings including an antique store that enhance its solemn atmosphere. You'll see it if you're driving into Freo from the north.

Posted by Matt Hayden.

The Clanville's Building in East Fremantle

March 22, 2015

As I mentioned before, Fremantle proper probably has the highest concentration of historic architecture in the entire metropolitan area. But there are isolated gems in neighbouring suburbs such as East Fremantle.

The Clanville's Building is a good example. It's on Canning Highway, just near the water, not far from and opposite the well known Tradewinds Hotel.

Posted by Matt Hayden.

Greens now focusing intensely on cyclist safety

March 20, 2015

One thing that you can be sure of with the Greens and other far left parties is that they don't just lack common sense. They seem to be diametrically opposed to it. This is related to their deep sense of their own moral virtue. They sincerely see themselves as more sensitive and compassionate than the rest of us. So they are always on the lookout for issues they can take the high moral ground on, wringing their hands and wagging their fingers and shrieking: "Look at us! Look at how much we ca...
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Posted by Matt Hayden.

St Christopher's Anglican Church, Bicton

March 15, 2015

The city's oldest buildings have become much more noticeable to me as I walk through areas where they are most concentrated, such as the CBD and Fremantle. When I'm in the suburbs, however, the buildings that catch my eye tend to be churches.

I'm not sure why this is the case, since I'm an atheist. And I don't think I'll sign up for any of the big faiths any time soon. Perhaps it's because I'm becoming more aware of my mortality, or something ...

In any case, here's one I saw in the southern ...
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Posted by Matt Hayden.

"A Better Cycling Future" won't help McGowan's chances

March 12, 2015

Mark McGowan seems like a decent, intelligent and competent bloke. But I think he's got a tin ear politically, or he gets some very bad advice, or both. He hasn't managed to articulate a clear, cohesive and principled strategy in opposition. His tactic seems to be to try and woo special interest groups with a beef against Colin Barnett and his party in the hope that the numbers will add up to a sum great enough to get him over the line.

I saw him speaking at an anti-shark-cull rally once. That...
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Posted by Matt Hayden.

The Charles Building in Queen St Fremantle

March 11, 2015

Fremantle is renowned for its architectural history. There are numerous old building in the port city, with most of them being concentrated near its west end around High St. But there are many individual structures that have clearly been around a very long while indeed.

Take the Charles Building at 55 Queen St. It houses the business premises of fashion designer Megan Salmon. It's long caught my eye as I've travelled by bus into Freo. So I walked past and took these shots of it recently.

Posted by Matt Hayden.

Junaid Thorne shows extent of radical Islam's influence

March 10, 2015

Controversial Islamic preacher Junaid Thorne has just had his Twitter account suspended for a third and final time. Considering how much content actually gets let through, this says a lot.

And this isn't the only restriction placed on his freedom:

Self-proclaimed Islamic sheik Junaid Thorne and two of his associates have been banned from applying for passports and travelling overseas.

Thorne, Mostafa Shiddiquzzaman and Omer Abdirahman Issak appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday, accused...

Posted by Matt Hayden.

Student Muhammed Sheglabo signing up for jihad is alarming

February 23, 2015

Lately residents of this sunny, pleasant, and generally peaceful city have learned of a rather alarming development: We've produced our first jihadi. Student Muhammed Sheglabo has been seduced by dreams of glory in seeking an Islamic caliphate and headed off to fight for this cause in Iraq.

The whole phenomenon is as mad as it is wrong no matter where it occurs in Australia. But it seems doubly so when it happens over here in the mild west. You'd expect a city like Sydney to produce a few guys...
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Posted by Matt Hayden.

Spectrum Apartments, corner Newcastle and Charles Streets

February 3, 2015

As well as being a bit obsessed with the old buildings in this city, I always keep an eye out for the new ones that have just popped up, or are on the way. The speed with which immense new structures are built here is quite dizzying.

You'll see a vacant block with a little sales office on it. Then the next time you go past it there'll be a gleaming five storey apartment block there!

The Spectrum Apartments are a case in point. Just went past the location on the weekend. Nothing there now, but i...
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Posted by Matt Hayden.