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Showing Tag: "st" (Show all posts)

Out of control party in Girrawheen reveals societal shift

Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, November 1, 2014,
On this blog I often write about how the Perth of today compares to the one I grew up in. In so many ways it's a different and more dangerous place. 

One notable aspect of the change is how teenagers and young people behave. So many of them are feral these days it's scary!

Sure, being over fifty now, I'm well on the way to codgerdom. And oldsters have been griping out whippersnappers since time immemorial. 

But this is different. Take reports of out of control parties in this city. I know they o...
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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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Subidoo Restaurant now open on old Oriel site in Subiaco

Posted by Matt Hayden on Sunday, October 5, 2014,
When I lived in Subiaco over a decade ago now, it was a lot less built up and bustling than it is today. That area around the corner of Hay St and Rokeby Rd was (and still is) one of the city's premiere cafe strips. One of the trendiest and most stylish cafes was the Oriel. It always seemed to be buzzing. 

Anyway, that fell fallow in recent years. Don't have a clue why. It was a nice place with a great atmosphere and was situated in a great position ... Maybe much of its business was taken awa...
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McGowan's take on Esperance shark attack proves his tin ear

Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, October 4, 2014,
Two of the most notable things about Julia Gillard were her inability to judge the public mood, and her utter lack of common sense. While she was brilliant at acquiring and maintaining power at all costs within the Labor Party itself, she hadn't the slightest clue how to sensibly relate to, communicate with and build the enduring trust of the Australian population at large. This "tin ear" is a common affliction in Labor. And the party's West Australian leader Mark McGowan suffers it as well. ...
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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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Russell Woolf, Verity James to save our (their?) ABC

Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, March 15, 2014,
West Aussies are preparing to go back to the polls for the Senate by-election in April. There are several micro-parties running in a bit of a mini-repeat of what happened federally several months ago. But they're not as colourful as that last crowd, which was memorably equated with the bar scene from Star Wars

One of them is a one-issue party headed by former ABC stalwarts Russell Woolf and Verity James. They have formed the Save Our ABC party. 

Hmmm. What do they mean by our ABC? Being the r...
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WA's green intensity and the nature of the state

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, February 24, 2014,
I have been thinking about the ferocity of the anti-shark cull campaign here in the west. I keep wondering why it is so intense. Sure, people get het up about these things all over the globe, but generally not to the extent we've seen here recently

For example, there have been drum lines and shark nets in Queensland and NSW for decades. Yet they have caused little controversy. There were even people demonstrating about the West Aussie measures in those states. Makes you wonder why they didn'...
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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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Christmas-themed theft at Tuart Hill post office

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, December 11, 2013,
As I mentioned in a previous post, Christmas here in Perth always seems odd. We are bombarded with all this northern hemisphere winter imagery at the hottest time of the year. And a recent local event adds sinister absurdity to the general incongruity.

See, a bloke dressed as Santa Claus robbed the post office on Wanneroo Rd in Tuart Hill. It lends itself to humour, but it must have been anything but funny for the staff involved.

And I'm sure the cops who nabbed the alleged perpetrator weren'...
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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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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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Signs advertising cheap coffee popping up around the city

Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, October 5, 2013,
As everyone here knows, Perth is not a great place if you love your coffee. That's not to say that it's bad. it's just hugely expensive, that's all. And there have been several media reports about this unfortunate situation.

Clearly many people are frustrated about this. And some of the more alert cafe owners have seen an opportunity. By offering java for a reasonable price they can attract a lot of new customers.

An increasing number of them are doing this, as evidenced by signs promoting ch...
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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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Tuart Hill McDonalds is always busy, with a good atmosphere

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, September 2, 2013,
Lately, I've been heading regularly into the northern suburbs and have been dropping into the McDonalds on the corner of Morley Drive and Wanneroo Rd. It's surely one of the biggest and busiest Maccas restaurants in this city.

The reason I'm blogging about it is because I like the atmosphere in there. (I know that foodies and hipsters would be aghast to hear that, but so be it!). I hardly ever order a meal there, but I will always have a short black.

I'm not exactly a coffee afficionado but I ...
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The tram carriage sculpture in McCallum Park

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, July 15, 2013,
If you drive over the causeway from Vic Park into the Perth CBD you have probably noticed a tram sculpture in McCallum Park, just near the Swan River. I was curious about this and had a closer look recently.







It appears to have been built in a location that was part of Perth's original tram network. The placard on the work itself says it's part of the Tram Stop Trail Project along Albany Highway and was installed in 2001. I think that other intended stages of this project haven't materialized ...
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Girls fighting in the Murray St Mall a sad sign of the times

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, March 15, 2013,
Still on the subject of girls behaving badly: Recently there was a vicious fight between girls in the Murray St Mall that was captured on video and uploaded to YouTube.

Obviously, such events are not entirely new. Kids can certainly be bloodlusting little brutes! I remember when I was at Mt Lawley High School back in the late seventies and early eighties. Occasionally, after school, there were fights at what we called “Smelly Lake”.

These were like theatrical attractions. Protagonists woul...
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Scarborough becoming increasingly like Bondi

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, March 13, 2013,
I recently found this page about how Scarborough Beach has been seen as our own version of Bondi Beach since as far back as 1939. Of course in those days the comparison mainly related to how popular these two surf beaches were with families during summer.

Nowadays, they have more in common, such as the population density of both suburbs. Needless to say Bondi is the more crowded suburb of the two by far. There are countless units right near the water. Most have been there for decades, and man...
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Colin Barnett, Mark McGowan, Troy Buswell and Julia Gillard

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, March 5, 2013,
Colin Barnett is pretty much a dead cert to retain his job as Premier of Western Australia on March 9. He's been at the helm of a booming state for a while now and he's been a competent and confident leader. Of course state issues are different to federal ones but they do influence each other. And the Libs are certainly capitalizing on the dysfunction in Canberra. I've seen at least one ad that reminds West Aussies about what a mess the current Australian Government is in. This will be highly...
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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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Oxford St Leederville is a cafe strip close to the city

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, January 16, 2013,
Perth has several entertainment districts. The main one is Northbridge. Then there's Subiaco. There are also quite a few cafes, restaurans and pubs on Albany Highway in Victoria Park, although they're quite spread out.

Aside from Northbridge, the closest to the CBD is Oxford St Leederville. The shot below (taken from the overpass leading from Oxford St to the Leederville train station) gives an idea of its proximity to the CBD.



The actual cafe strip in question is quite short. But it's a pleas...
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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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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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The old Royal George Hotel in East Fremantle

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, December 7, 2012,
If you're anywhere near the intersection of Canning and Stirling Highways you can see an isolated and stately old building surrounded by vegetation called the Royal George Hotel. In its style and appearance it's quite similar to the Brass Monkey Hotel in Northbridge.

It hasn't been used as a hotel for a long time, however. It's most recent function was as an arts and community centre, although I'm not sure if it's still being utilized as such. I think it might currently be empty and unused. It...
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The red Dingo Flour sign and Alan Bond

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, December 5, 2012,
Pretty much everyone who lives in Perth has either seen, or at least knows about, the big Dingo Flour sign on the side of an old mill on Stirling Highway, North Fremantle. They are also certain to have heard that it was supposed to have been painted by Alan Bond when he was a lowly signwriter in his youth.

That particular story has been around for as long as I can remember. I recall it being cited on a few occasions when going past it as a child and even as a teenager. I always thought that it...
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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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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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Lake Jualbup, formerly Shenton Park Lake

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, October 8, 2012,
There are several pleasant little lakes in the Perth suburbs. One of these is Lake Jualbup in Shenton Park.

I have fond memories of it from my childhood. Friends of the family lived just nearby, in Onslow Road. And we would wander down there sometimes. It doesn't seem to have changed much since then.

Its future does seem in doubt, however, due to hugely varying water levels. There is a local campaign to ensure that it is permanently full of water.







I do recall seeing tortoises there. And they ar...
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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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Hyde Park Deli has changed little in forty years

Posted by Matt Hayden on Sunday, September 23, 2012,
As I've mentioned previously on this blog there are many locations around Perth that have been so completely transformed in recent years that they bear little or no resemblance to what I remember from my childhood. But there are a few places and buildings that have hardly changed at all.

One of these is the little deli situated on William St, just opposite Hyde Park.



I used to wait at the stop on the edge of the park for the school bus out to Kingsley Montessori every morning for years, after ...
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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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Ecstasy rating site's popularity here doesn't surprise me

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, September 12, 2012,
A website that rates the relative quality of different batches of ecstasy is proving to be very popular with users of the drug in this city. While the site's stated intention is to aid the process of harm minimization, medical authorities are appalled by it.

It doesn't surprise me that this site gets a lot of traffic from Perth. There are obviously a lot of users here. And they often turn to the internet to find drug related information.

I've learned this from the traffic stats to this site. ...
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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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The rising cost of coffee and dining out

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, July 9, 2012,
Cost of living is a big issue here in Perth. There seem to be many causes for the city's general expensiveness -- with the mining boom being often cited. The most obvious (and alarming) price rises have been in the housing and rental market along with utilities. But there is also much anxiety about the cost of other goods and services.

Dining out, for example, is getting increasingly pricey. I eat at restaurants rarely so haven't noticed this much. But I did catch up with some old school frien...
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South Terrace cafes on a sunny Sunday afternoon

Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, June 16, 2012,
Even though it's become a good deal more crowded than it used to be, Fremantle is still a very laid back place. And one of its most well known destinations is South Terrace. Along this short stretch of road there are many charming cafes, restaurants and pubs, as well as the iconic Fremantle Markets.

It's really buzzing on Friday and Saturday nights. But it can get pretty rowdy, with lots of young people hitting the bars, and often overdoing it.

The best time to go is during the day on a weeken...
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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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Flag and Whistle next to gleaming new apartments

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, June 8, 2012,
Still on the subject of Fremantle and how its obvious sense of history can jar with other aspects of the place: One very distinctive and highly visible old building is the Flag and Whistle Hotel in Beach Street.

This is very close to the railway line and quite near the station itself. You can see it clearly from the train as you travel in or out of Freo.

It's a beautifully ramshackle old pub. I'm not sure if it's currently being used as such. But it certainly was a few years ago because I went ...
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Fremantle Town Hall houses psychic fair

Posted by Matt Hayden on Friday, June 8, 2012,
As anyone who's ever been to Fremantle knows very well, it's a charming old place. You can really feel the history there. The atmosphere is strongest in the town centre, where there are many old buildings that have been well preserved.

The other characteristic of Freo is that it's a haven of tolerance, and there are lots of greenies, hippies and New Agers living there. I find this quite incongruous because the age and history of the place evoke a strong, staid and Christian tradition.

Not so lo...
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Bayview Terrace in Claremont is being upgraded

Posted by Matt Hayden on Thursday, June 7, 2012,
As I've mentioned in previous posts, there's a lot of construction going on in this city. Obviously you tend to see it more in the CBD, where there are some big commercial projects going on. And there are quite a few apartment blocks and the like going up in newer and outlying areas.

But some of the older, more established suburbs have some big projects underway, too. There's the odd "facelift" occurring as well.

Take Bayview Terrace in Claremont. This is a pleasant retail and cafe strip in one...
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Unfinished Oswal mansion is the exception that proves the rule

Posted by Matt Hayden on Tuesday, June 5, 2012,
With Western Australia continuing to enjoy the fruits of the resources boom there's still a lot of construction going on in Perth. If you go through an area that you haven't visited for a long while, you may well see the odd busy building site with lots of big beefy blokes in yellow safety jackets milling about. You pass by again a year later and lo and behold, there's a gleaming new apartment block there!

Sure, some of these big projects have been plagued by long delays. Take the Perth Arena,...
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The Mosman Park Memorial Hall in Lochee St

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, June 4, 2012,
Having recently moved to Mosman Park from Yokine, I've been having the occasional stroll through the streets to get a feel for the suburb. It's a unique place and a bit of a mishmash demographically.

It's just on the eastern side of the busy Stirling Highway, which runs right alongside the railway line. On the other side of that is the very upmarket Cottesloe. But right near the train station there's a basin containing a whole plethora of apartment blocks, a couple of which are very tall inde...
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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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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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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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Murals at Shenton Park train station

Posted by Matt Hayden on Saturday, January 14, 2012,
Not unlike the Daglish station nearby, the railway station at Shenton Park is covered in many colourful murals. It seems that the ones now present are a second edition. (The first batch were painted back in 1998, but peeled away over the years.)

This photo shows the station from the western side.



Here's the view as you walk down the steps into the station.



The artwork on this side is generally train-related (appropriate considering the location!).







Then it becomes a pretty wacky and surreal sce...
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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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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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Valentino Cafe Restaurant in Lake St Northbridge

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, November 21, 2011,
Northbridge, which is just across the railway line from the CBD, is Perth's main entertainment district, with a whole host of bars and nightclubs. It's also the most popular restaurant and cafe strip in the city.

James Street seems to have the bulk of them. The ones just west of Lake Street are the most elegantly designed. And Valentino, a cafe-restaurant on the corner of those two streets, creates quite a striking picture, particularly when seen in daylight through the sculpture that looms ov...
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More shark sightings and attacks at Perth beaches

Posted by Matt Hayden on Monday, October 17, 2011,
Something a lot of Perth people must have noticed with alarm is the rise in the number of shark attacks in recent years. The latest one resulted in the death of Bryn Martin. Another poor bloke called Ken Crew was taken off Cottesloe about ten years ago. And there have been others.

These fatalities are both tragic and terrifying. But there are all those shark sightings as well. These days, you often hear about them on the news. There was one recently off Mullaloo beach. And here are details of...
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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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The Lincoln Street Ventilation Stack in Highgate

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, September 7, 2011,
Perth is obviously undergoing great change at the moment. That's exciting. But it's also nice to see certain buildings, structures and landmarks that have been in much the same condition for as long as you can remember. One of these is the Lincoln Street Ventilation Stack in Highgate.

From time to time back in the seventies and eighties I would go near it and it always caught my eye. I never knew what its function was, however. I was a bit curious, but never enough to actually do some research...
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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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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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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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More strong contrasts in changing Balga

Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, May 4, 2011,
As I mentioned in a previous post, the poorer suburb of Balga has changed substantially, with lots of new construction. Of course it's not unusual that such a thing would occur, least of all in economic boom times. Still, it's something you really notice, and certainly gives the whole suburb a very different atmosphere.

Here's another example of the transformation. Below is a shot of an old, pretty run down block of flats near the Reid Highway. I suspect that there were quite a few more like ...
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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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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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