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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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Perth Ramble livened up the CBD on Sunday

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, October 13, 2014,
Last weekend was a very colourful one in the city centre. Firstly, there was Oktoberfest in the Gardens. While in the CBD I saw lots of young people in their lederhosen, many of them more than a tad tipsy. 

Then yesterday (Sunday) there was the Perth Ramble. As I left Dome Cafe on St Georges Terrace mid-arvo the event was in full swing. There were numerous imaginatively costumed teams all in search of mysterious treasure.

There were so many of them, they actually seemed to constitute the majori...
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Cheap spicy meals in the Perth CBD

Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, March 22, 2014,
The cost of eating out in Perth can be pretty extreme. In recent years there have been a few media reports about this unfortunate aspect of living here.

However there are a still few places you can get a good tasty feed for a bargain place. One of them is well established. That's Govinda's in Northbridge. They sell delicious curries in the weekday evenings for only five bucks. 

Another place that is less well known is East West Cuisine in Raine Square. This new complex is right in the heart of ...
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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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Loneliness in Perth

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, November 4, 2013,
I noticed this article about how a recent study has found that a third of people in this city feel lonely. It seems that lack of time is a big factor.

I don't have the hard data, of course. But I suspect that the number of people here feeling this way is substantially higher than several years ago.

I don't feel lonely as such. But I certainly feel I have less time to devote to traditional social activities. That's partly to do with where my own life is heading, and would be the case wherever I ...
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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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Two Hoots campaign addresses rudeness on public transport

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, October 9, 2013,
I do a lot of travelling on public transport. And I've seen quite a bit of antisocial behaviour on buses and trains. The main thing that really annoys me is people playing their iPods really loudly. But there are other things that can be infuriating like people slouching all over the place and taking up lots of space, or plonking their bags on seats and not moving them for people who want to sit down (but who are too meek to ask). It's amazing what you see sometimes.

Clearly a lot of other peo...
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Cleanliness of Perth trains reveals city's wider culture

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, September 9, 2013,
I'm not surprised that a recent test has found that Perth trains are actually cleaner than the average kitchen. The general spotlessness inside the carriages is something I really noticed after spending several years in Sydney.

The trains are grotty as in that city. And it's not just because they are more crowded and scrubbed less thoroughly (and presumably less often) than the ones here. I think it also has much to do with the general attitude of the people there.

Basically, Sydneysiders come...
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MacTiernan's concrete city scenario reveals her green delusions

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, June 25, 2013,
Mayor of the City of Vincent Alannah MacTiernan is angered by WA's new residential housing codes. The changes are minor:

WA's new residential housing codes, to come into effect on August 2, reduce the minimum open space requirement for multi-dwelling R50 and R60 developments from 45 per cent to 40 per cent.

But of course this is all too much for Ms MacTiernan. She says the change will contribute to a heat island effect. Wouldn't be surprised if she invokes climate change as well ...

I think mos...
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Shock jock Howard Sattler and Perth radio culture

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, June 14, 2013,
This scandal over Howard Sattler's blunt and stupid questioning of the PM has got me thinking about Perth radio culture as compared to Sydney's.

Sattler is a local "shock jock" that PC types love to hate. But he really is the only one here. Pretty much every other broadcaster is drearily right-on. (I suppose Paul Murray might fall into this category. But from what I've heard he's hardly provocative.)

Being a bit of a right-wing death beast myself, I'm a supporter of the politically incorrect s...
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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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Why the Rottnest severed head discovery seems so surreal

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, January 14, 2013,
You'll no doubt have heard about this severed head being found on Rottnest Island. Now, such a discovery would be bizarre and horrific pretty much anywhere -- except in a morgue, of course. But with Rottnest being such a quiet, relaxed, family-oriented environment, it is even more extreme.

The dim-witted nature of some of the reporting adds to the strange atmosphere. One article, for example, contains a classic line:

Given the head was found wrapped in plastic, a shark attack has been ruled out...
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Perth Arena's striking blue entrance

Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, December 20, 2012,
As it was being built, the Perth Arena copped a lot of flack, even being derided as Perth's ugliest building. But now that it's finished I think a lot of people will be reassessing their opinion of it.

Sure, it's not to everyone's taste. But it's certainly a visually distinctive structure that leaves a mark on you.

The thing I find most striking about it is the deep blue colouring of the entrance and wall above it. It's an amazingly powerful hue created by the artist Yves Klein.

I suspect its...
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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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Equus Apartments loom over Barrack and Hay Sts

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, December 5, 2012,
Numerous big luxury apartment blocks have been built in Perth over the last several years. Perhaps the most impressive and well located of these are the Equus Apartments at 580 Hay St.

The main entrance is right opposite the Perth Town Hall. I recall that exact location very well, because it was where Cinema City used to be. That was built in the late seventies as I recall and there was a lot of excitement about it at the time. I saw dozens of movies there over the years. (I think the last one...
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Perth train and bus commuters have justified safety fears

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, November 23, 2012,
Not only have Perth trains become increasingly crowded in the last few years, but a high proportion of commuters feel unsafe on them, particularly at night.

The number of passengers who felt unsafe at night jumped from 23 to 28 per cent - including nearly half of all Armadale patrons interviewed and nearly one-third of all Midland patrons.

Four in five commuters identified drunks and drug users as the biggest safety threat at night.


This survey measured commuters' perception of risk, so it was ...
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Christmas tree in Murray St Mall

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, November 20, 2012,
I was in the CBD yesterday and was suprised to see a huge Christmas tree in the Murray St Mall. It gave me a shock because I didn't realize that we were quite that close to the silly season ...

I noticed that there were people throwing multi-coloured confetti around. I didn't know where it had come from but was left in no doubt soon after when machines at various positions around the tree started blowing it onto the crowd. The people clearly enjoyed the spectacle and many recorded it on their ...
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Hillary Clinton at the Hyatt Regency Perth for AUSMIN

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, November 14, 2012,
Late yesterday afternoon I was on the bus going from Victoria Park to Perth. It had just crossed the Causeway and was on Adelaide Terrace approaching Plain St when traffic slowed right down. I thought there'd been an accident. But the driver told me it was something to do with Hillary Clinton's visit.

I got out at the stop and walked to the corner where the Hyatt Regency is. There were heaps of policemen around, some on motorbikes. The traffic was halted at that particular intersection. And th...
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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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Perth fashion scene: interview with designer Donna Holmes (Donnah label)

Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, September 27, 2012,
I'm constantly writing my own observations about Perth. But I'm keen to get different perspectives on living and working in this city from interesting, knowledgeable locals. In the first of what I intend to be many interviews Donna Holmes, who owns the Donnah fashion label, has kindly responded to my questions about the local industry:

Matt: I'm interested in what the Perth fashion scene is like. Is it comparatively friendly and supportive or highly competitive? How would you describe it?

Donn...
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Perth's work culture is generally more relaxed than Sydney's

Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, September 22, 2012,
Perth has long been known as a relaxed and friendly place that is "like a big country town". While things have certainly sped up a lot in recent years and that characterization is much less valid than it used to be, I think it still has a lot of truth to it.

There's so much space here and the weather is pleasant, so people tend to be generally less stressed than in bigger cities. Then there's the fact that while business is booming, there's not the same level of concentration and competition ...
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68 Milligan St is a distinctive and memorable building

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, September 17, 2012,
Everyone in Perth will know the building located at 68 Milligan St. It's close to the heart of the CBD, and is right opposite where the old Perth Entertainment Centre used to be.

It's a low-slung, curved and oddly shaped building that looks as thought it was built fairly recently. But it's actually been there for a long while, at least 40 years I would say.

I'm certain of this because I can clearly remember when the top section housed a roller skating rink. I think it was a car park during the...
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The Metropolitan Area Express will change the city's character

Posted by Matt Hayden on Sunday, September 2, 2012,
There are always new infrastructure projects going on in this city. But I hadn't heard of the Metropolitan Area Express until now. This is a light rail project that has just received the go ahead.

The first stage will start at Polytechnic West (Balga Campus) and extend east-west through the city to the QEII Medical Centre, in Nedlands, and the Causeway.

One of the main reasons for such a project is to relieve traffic congestion, and reduce carbon emissions. That's an illustration of just how cr...
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Memories of Neil Armstrong's visit to Perth

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, August 28, 2012,
Reading the West Australian yesterday I noticed a little item about Neil Armstrong's visit to Perth back in October 1969 as part of his world tour.

That certainly took me back. I came here as a bub in 1967. And I do recall this event very clearly.

Not sure if I went as part of a school group (I was at Kingsley Montessori at the time, in the kindergarten there), or with my family. I think it was probably the former.

I don't recall seeing Armstrong at all. But I do have a very strong recollection...
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Northern beachside suburbs a British hub

Posted by Matt Hayden on Sunday, July 22, 2012,
It's well known that Perth has a lot of Poms! As Wikipedia states:

Perth's population is notable for the high proportion of British-born residents. At the 2006 Census, 142,424 British-born Perth residents were counted,[51] narrowly behind Sydney (145,261),[52] despite having just 35% of the overall population of Sydney.

And like other ethnic and cultural groups, those hailing from the British Isles tend to gravitate to the same suburbs. I'd long known that the southern centre of Rockin...
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Perth and the "ping-pong Pom" phenomenon

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, July 16, 2012,
I read a recent article about a British couple's experience of Perth with interest. The Green family came here with dreams of a relaxed and idyllic life in a place far sunnier and more spacious than the United Kingdom. But ultimately they found it unsatisfying, and returned home after several years.

Many Brits have a similar experience. They are so numerous, in fact, that they even have their own collective label: "ping-pong Poms".

There are also many of their countrymen who feel little or no s...
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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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Charming old shops in Hamilton Hill

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, June 12, 2012,
I do quite a bit of walking through the suburbs of Perth. There are very few streets that are the same as what I remember from when I was growing up. That's not to say that there are new buildings on every street -- although there are a hell of a lot of them. But even in long established suburbs, there always seems to be evidence of fairly recent refurbishment and extensions having been added, etc.

So I tend to have the sense that the "old Perth" has pretty much gone entirely. However, every n...
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Perth Arena voted the city's ugliest building

Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, May 17, 2012,
Perth Arena, which is still quite a while from completion, has been a controversial project right from the start. It should have been completed long ago, and the owner of the company overseeing its construction clearly rues the day he became involved with it. He hates the very sight of the structure, memorably likening it to a "squashed beer can".

As if that were not enough abuse it has now been voted "Perth's ugliest building" in an online poll of Perth Now readers. If the building had a soul...
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Terrace Rd apartment blocks bring back memories

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, April 20, 2012,
Terrace Road is right near the centre of the CBD, just near the Perth Concert Hall and the Duxton Hotel. There are several old apartment blocks on that road that have a great view of the Swan River and South Perth. They've been significantly refurbished in recent years.

I've wandered down that road a few times now and it always brings back fond memories of my childhood. Back in the seventies, after my parents separated, my father moved into one of these flats. My sister and I would stay there ...
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The rise of girl gangs in Perth is disturbing and depressing

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, April 13, 2012,
Any kind of violence is disturbing, of course. But it seems more so when the perpetrators are female, and young as well. Some might think that's a very sexist thing to say. Well, maybe it is. But then human nature is pretty sexist.

Men -- particularly young men with their bodies full of testosterone -- are naturally very aggressive. Throw in other factors such as emotional scars caused by parental or other abuse, lack of good role models, poverty, allegiance to a gang, drugs and alcohol and yo...
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Agencies launch anti-violence campaign

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, March 30, 2012,
Here's more confirmation of the increasing violence in Perth: The state government is launching a massive, coordinated anti-violence campaign:

The plan, backed by more than 30 agencies across health, education, corrective services and police sectors, calls for more health nurses to help troubled children, compulsory alcohol and drug education in schools and more public transport after midnight to stop loitering.

It singles out alcohol as a major cause of violence and calls for tighter controls ...

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Spate of wild parties in Perth

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, March 26, 2012,
Huge, out of control parties are not isolated to Perth, of course. However, this city does seem to have far more than its fair share of them. When I was living in Sydney there were reports of such events, but not nearly as many as I've been reading about in the papers over here lately.

Last weekend several such events occurred. In one of them held in Balga a policeman was knocked unconscious. It's alarming that anyone would be so out of control, but it's worse that the kick was delivered by a ...
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Perth trains increasingly crowded

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, March 23, 2012,
One thing I have noticed since returning to Perth back in 2010 is how much more crowded the trains have become. This is really pronounced at peak hour. I haven't ridden on all the lines at this time but I've often caught Midland line trains around knock-off time and been amazed at just how chockas they were.

There must be a lot of frustration about this growing problem for Perth commuters. And Labor are trying to tap into that, encouraging people to express their feeling about the issue on soc...
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Perth skyline growing like Dubai, says Jeff Kennett

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, March 9, 2012,
Still on the subject of state politicians making observations about big changes affecting Perth, former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett says the frenzy of construction going on in this city is reminiscent of Dubai.

While we certainly don't have as many huge and ornate skyscrapers over here, the skyline has definitely changed a lot in recent years.

The shot below is from North Perth. You can't see every major building in the CBD, of course. Some are concealing each other. But two of the tallest o...
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Premier Colin Barnett laments Perth's increasing violence

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, March 9, 2012,
Having returned to Perth from Sydney close to two years ago, one thing I noticed was how many news reports of amazingly vicious and violent attacks there were in this city. There even seemed to be more than when I was last here in 2006-2007 (I was shocked at all the mayhem being reported at that time, too). But even that period was far worse than when I was growing up here in the 70s and 80s.

I wondered that perhaps this was a kind of illusion resulting from my greater interest in news and cur...
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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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High competition for rental properties in Perth

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, February 10, 2012,
There has been quite a bit of talk in the media about how Perth's rental market has changed recently. The main issue is how rents have soared.

But there's also the very high competition for rental properties. I got a taste of this directly just recently ...

For various reasons I have been toying with the idea of moving from my current unit to another one. So I did some Googling and found a place in Maylands that looked like it had potential. There was a public viewing at a set time a couple of ...
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Perth begins heat wave. Beaches packed, lifesavers busy!

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, January 24, 2012,
We're in the middle of summer, so it's hardly surprising that the temperature is soaring. There have been a few stinkers in Perth lately, some of them very humid indeed. And there was that thunderstorm not so long ago ...

But this week looks like it will really stand out for its sustained and intense heat. The Weather Bureau predicts it will be the hottest week for 47 years. If this does turn out to be accurate it will give some ammo to global warming believers, no doubt!

In any case, the beac...
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Daglish train station the site of street art project

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, December 21, 2011,
I picked up a recent issue of the Subiaco Post and read a story about a project being conducted by the Public Transport Authority. The tactic was to deter graffiti taggers by beating them to it, so to speak. But instead of putting up the usual ugly symbols, they would commission images that were aesthetically pleasing to passengers.

Urban artist Drew Straker created the works at Daglish station that were mentioned in the article. It seems he's been doing this for a while now.

The photo publish...
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Perth buses to become more crowded

Posted by Matt Hayden on Sunday, December 11, 2011,
Transperth has just made a decision to increase the maximum number of passengers allowed onto its buses. Yet another sign of the city's inexorably rising population, no doubt.

Being a regular bus and train user myself, I've noticed just how crowded they have become lately. Obviously, peak hours are the worst. That said, things aren't that bad.

Most of the time the buses here are only about half or three quarters full. The main downside is that you tend to get antisocial behaviour on them from ...
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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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The Aviary Restaurant and Bar in the Perth CBD

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, November 22, 2011,
Still on the subject of dining venues: Several days ago I was walking down William St towards the Wellington St bus station when I noticed some movement above the entrance to the Perth Underground. On closer inspection it turned out to be some people chatting in a new rooftop bar.

It's called The Aviary, and it opened earlier this month. It's obviously in a perfect location. I suspect that so many people will have noticed this eye catching venue that for members of the smart set it's already t...
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Lake Gwelup boardwalk photos

Posted by Matt Hayden on Sunday, September 25, 2011,
Lake Gwelup is in Perth's north. It's technically not really a lake; more of a swamp. But it is quite a pretty location. It's a nice place to go for a walk or a jog. There's even a regular "fun run" held there.

On the northern side, just near Karrinyup Road, is a pretty boardwalk that juts out into the water and gives you a very nice view.







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Perth traffic getting steadily worse

Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, September 22, 2011,
A while ago I wrote about how much busier the roads in Perth seemed, compared to decades past. Now there are some facts and figures to confirm this perception.

Statistics gleaned from Main Roads showed that people generally spend much more time driving to and from work than they did twenty years ago. That would be expected, of course. But there's even been quite a rise in the last year.

This is clearly an issue of great concern for the State Government. And you can see evidence that they are on...
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Perth Arena construction photos

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, September 14, 2011,
At about the same rate that the Perth Entertainment Centre is being demolished the nearby Perth Arena is being constructed. It's much bigger than the "Ent Cent" and I suspect will be a lot harder to tear down when it too finally passes its "use by" date several decades from now. As you can see from this shot (which, like all the others in this post, was taken in early August) it's amazing how much steel is in there!



Although it is a very big structure, you really can't get a sense of its size...
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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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William Street, Perth now a bustling, noisy hub

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, September 7, 2011,
The stretch of William Street between Murray and Hay is right in the heart of Perth's CBD. It has long been one of the busiest parts of the city. But even up until, say, five years ago, it wasn't all that different from what I recall from my youth.

I definitely can't say that about it now. Lately, there's been a lot of construction along William Street. And of course there's the Perth Underground Train Station, which opens onto the Murray Street Mall, right near the corner of William Street.

I...
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Perth Entertainment Centre demolition fairly early on

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, September 7, 2011,
I took these photos of the demolition of the Perth Entertainment Centre a few weeks ago now, at the time I took the one on the site's main page.

The whole process is happening surprisingly slowly. There's quite a difference now to what is shown below. It is a lot more hollowed out and skeletal, but the basic structure is still mostly intact.







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Perth Entertainment Centre demolition photos

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, August 29, 2011,
I'd say a high percentage of Perth locals will have seen the Entertainment Centre lately, and know that it's disappearing bit by bit. The demolition of this famous local landmark has been going on for several weeks now, perhaps even a couple of months, yet it's not quite half done. It does seem a bit odd that it would take so long. (Although I suppose its bottom heavy design meant that it could not be destroyed in one mighty blast, like so many big structures are these days.)

In any case it do...
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The McNess Royal Arcade in Perth

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, August 22, 2011,
A few months ago I read an article in one of the Perth papers about the many heritage listed buildings in the CBD. The story included an interview with an expert in the field who talked about the "look up" factor in the city.

By that he meant that you probably won't be aware of the city's architectural legacy if you look straight ahead. All you'll see then is shopfronts that have been refurbished over and over again to keep them looking contemporary.

You have to consciously lift your gaze to ...
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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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Perth's rising cost of living

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, July 8, 2011,
The fact that Perth has been ranked as a more expensive place to live than London, Paris and New York doesn't surprise me. It certainly depresses me, though!

For many years one of the main benefits of living in this city was how amazingly cheap it was. You could get by on next to nothing in so many ways. Rent, food, power were all cheap as chips. But now they've all risen substantially. And it's that cumulative effect that changes your whole experience of the place.

Take rent: When I came bac...
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Robbery in Tuart Hill Minimart on Wanneroo Rd

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, May 23, 2011,
I live in Yokine, and I often go into the Minimart in Tuart Hill to buy the paper. I just read that it had been robbed last night. Thankfully no one was hurt. However the thief did brandish a gun, which must have been terrifying for whoever was working at the time.

Events like this are more and more frequent in this city. You just read about them all the time. Only a few days ago there was a terrifying home invasion in Dianella, the suburb I grew up in.

Back in those days, in the seventies and ...
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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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Perth Arena and Perth Entertainment Centre

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, November 16, 2010,
Welcome to my blog about the real Perth. In this blog I'll record my thoughts about this pretty, still booming city.

As I mentioned on the home page, I've spent a lot of time away from Perth. I returned to live some months back after a couple of years in Sydney. Even in that time Perth had changed quite a bit.

The most obvious effect of the resources boom is the huge amount of construction going on, particularly in the CBD. It's not quite Beijing, but there are a lot of cranes in the increasin...
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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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