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Showing Tag: " perth" (Show all posts)

Meth City series reveals extent of Perth's Ice problem

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, October 15, 2014,
Having returned from Sydney to live in my hometown of Perth back in mid 2010, I've noticed some big changes, many of which I've been posting about on this blog. One of the most alarming has been the sheer scope of the meth problem in this city.

Of course you don't tend to see evidence of it directly most of the time -- although that does happen occasionally. You get a sense of it mainly from news reports of exploding labs, burglaries, drug busts and crazed acts of violence. With so much eviden...
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2013's top news stories suggest "Dullsville" tag still relevant

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, December 17, 2013,
Several years ago there was a front page story in the West Australian that caused a great deal of consternation here. The headline read "Dullsville" and as far as I can recall it described how this was the term used to describe Perth in a foreign travel publication. It then asked readers if the tag (which had long been used locally anyway) was still justified.

This story became a hot topic of conversation and spawned many an outraged call to local talk-back stations. How could anyone say that ...
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Aurelio Costarella and the lure of Perth

Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, October 19, 2013,
I noticed a profile of well known local fashion designer Aurelio Costarella in this weekend's West Australian. It was designed to complement an upcoming exhibition of his work called Aurelio Costarella: A 30 Year Retrospective.

I usually ignore this type of article, but I read this one right through. See, I actually went to Mt Lawley High School with Aurelio  -- or Ray as we called him at the time. I didn't know him well. But he was in a few of my classes.

It doesn't surprise me that he's been...
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Labor's Metronet and the Libs' light rail plans are ideologically distinct

Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, February 16, 2013,
People like to say that there is very little difference between the Labor and Liberal parties on many major issues, particularly when it comes to state government. I think that's long been quite true.

However in recent years the two parties have started to diverge and become ideologically more distinct. Federally, Labor has become much more of a high tax, high spending government. It keeps coming up with grand projects for the people but so often they come a cropper through incompetent managem...
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The Crime Factory and WA police culture

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, December 10, 2012,
A former cop has written a book highly critical of the culture of the Western Australian police force. In it, he describes it as sexist, racist and violent. It's called The Crime Factory, and he's penned it under the pseudonym "Officer A".

It's common for disgruntled former employees to make such accusations. And quite often they exaggerate their experiences. Political correctness is fashionable these days, and people have become so attuned to the possibility of sexism, racism, homophobia, etc...
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Perth's train lines better policed and managed than Sydney's

Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, November 8, 2012,
I live in Mosman Park now, and often go into the city by train. When heading back I've noticed that after Claremont Station the transit cops pretty much always check the passengers' tickets and SmartRiders. Every now and then you see some poor bugger get nabbed for not having a valid ticket and thereby copping a fine.

Cynics would no doubt argue that the reason they're so assiduous about this is because the Government wants to raise revenue. And I think they'd have a point.

But there's also a ...
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Perth Arena construction, Entertainment Centre demolition inspire art exhibition

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, November 5, 2012,
When starting this blog I kept returning to the Perth Entertainment Centre as it was being demolished. Similarly, I've posted about the Perth Arena. I did this because I felt that the destruction of the former coinciding with the construction of the latter was a good metaphor for how Perth was changing. (I even had a photo of each project on this site's main page for a while, but took them down because they didn't seem to sit right next to the text.)

It seems I'm not the only one who felt this...
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Increasingly crowded buses arriving late more often

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, July 6, 2012,
As a frequent user of public transport in Perth, the news that about a third of buses run late doesn't surprise me. Clearly this is due in major part to the fast increase in the number of people using public transport, which is something I've posted about previously.

Still, it's generally a very efficient system. Currently, around 71% of buses arrive on time (compared to 85% a year ago). I'm not sure of the figures in other Aussie cities but I suspect these would compare favourably with...
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Perth's Brookfield Place tower (formerly City Square)

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, June 12, 2012,
The big local construction project that has been getting the most publicity (and causing the most controversy!) recently is the Perth Arena. Perhaps second on the list would be the tower above Brookfield Place (originally called City Square).

This impressive structure is located on St Georges Terrace and looms over the Esplanade Busport.



The cranes in the above shot are gone now, and the building has been pretty much completed. The offices are gradually being filled by the major tenant BHP Bill...
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Strange building in North Perth

Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, February 16, 2012,
Perth does have its fair share of odd and eccentric buildings. And one that has long fascinated me can be found on the corner of Scarborough Beach Rd and London St in North Perth.

It's an odd structure that has a vaguely Mediterranean feel to it and it looks like some sort of storage space. It's been there for as long as I can remember, and every time I go past it I scratch my head wondering what it's for, and what the hell the builder was trying to say with it! I suspect that many people ask ...
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Burnt out van in Charles St, North Perth

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, December 2, 2011,
I was on the bus into Perth at about 2.45PM today when it had to make a detour off Charles Street in North Perth. The problem was a burnt out van in a driveway just near Paddington Street.

The thing was still smoking after the firies had put it out. So it must have been fully ablaze only minutes beforehand.



I had a look from the other side of the road. Even there the smoke was truly noxious and acrid.



The cops were present, as I assume they are at all fires. So maybe it's wrong to read anything...
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Christmas decorations up in Barrack St, Perth

Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, November 24, 2011,
One thing that I've always found amusing about living in Australia is the incongruity of celebrating Christmas here. As we all know the tradition comes from the northern hemisphere and is held in midwinter. So all the attendant imagery relates to that area and season: snow, reindeer, sleighs, etc.

But Down Under it's the hottest time of the year! And Perth in particular is famous for its summer heat -- as well as its beautiful clear blue skies. Of course, local Christmas-phobes find this even ...
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Perth Entertainment Centre demolition as seen from Northbridge

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, September 9, 2011,
As I've mentioned, the demolition of the Perth Entertainment Centre has been going on for weeks now and presents quite a memorable scene, particularly for anyone who has lived here for a while. The building has long been one of the CBD's main landmarks, after all.

You get a very close view of it if you catch any bus that goes through Northbridge into Wellington Street Bus station, or any train going to or from Fremantle, as you see in the shot below.



You can also see it from Northbridge if you...
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The old Greater Union cinema building on Murray St, Perth

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, August 22, 2011,
Back in the seventies and eighties when I was growing up in Perth there were two main cinemas in the city that got most of the business. There was the Greater Union "Cinecentre" on the corner of Murray and Barrack St and the plush (and then new) Cinema City just up the arcade on Hay St.

I always remember that Greater Union building for its rich blue top and sides. (Actually, it's a bit like Beatty Park for that reason.) Even though the last film was shown quite some time ago, it still looks v...
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Beatty Park Leisure Centre, North Perth

Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, August 4, 2011,
Below is a photo I took recently of Beatty Park Leisure Centre, which is in Vincent St North Perth.

Long ago, it was just an aquatic centre pretty much. But now there are more facilities. Still, the building itself hasn't changed much from the outside. It still has those striking strips of blue. I remember them vividly from my childhood. Nice to know that some things in Perth stay the same!



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Mt Lawley train station

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, April 22, 2011,
Many of the older railway stations in Perth have been substantially improved, if not completely rebuilt, in recent years. But some have remained pretty much the same. One of these is Mt Lawley train station.

The shot below was taken looking away from Perth and north towards Midland.



Mt Lawley is a very comfortable, leafy suburb. While not as well off as, say, Peppermint Grove, it's certainly well to do. The area to the left of the photo above certainly boasts many impressive, large and stylish ...
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Increasing traffic in Perth

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, April 22, 2011,
Aside from all the construction that's occurring all over Perth, there's a lot more traffic nowadays. The sheer number of vehicles on the road, and the noise they make, really brings home just how much Perth has grown in the last decade or so. While it is nowhere near as bad as a city like Sydney, which is a traffic nightmare, driving is becoming increasingly stressful in Perth.

Traffic jams were very rare in days of yore, but now they happen quite frequently, even if they are only minor a lot...
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Brand new buildings in Balga

Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, April 21, 2011,
Balga is a suburb in Perth's north. It's always had a reputation for being a rough area with a high unemployment rate and a lot of crime. It's often seen as equivalent to the poorer suburbs out in Sydney's west such as Macquarie Fields.

It hasn't hasn't transformed demographically all that much in recent years - although there are certainly many more migrants, particularly from Africa, living there now. (This is something you really notice in Perth's northern suburbs generally. When you go so...
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Massive constructions between Murray and Hay Sts, near Barrack

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, November 17, 2010,
Barrack St is at the very heart of the Perth CBD. Buses come up from the Esplanade station, and travel north until it  transforms into Beaufort St. They then turn off into other suburbs at various points. Many, many times as a kid I caught the 53 bus there to my home in Dianella. That particular route seems to have disappeared, unfortunately. Still, many of the other buses that I recall such as the 21, 60, the 67 and others are still going strong. It sounds a tad sentimental to say this, but ...
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Good books about and set in Perth and Fremantle
Perth
Line of Sight
When War Came to Fremantle
The Devil's Garden
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