The world's most isolated major city — where 4,000 kilometres of empty outback separate Australia's sunniest capital from the rest of the country, the Indian Ocean's turquoise water begins at Cottesloe Beach, and Kings Park's 400 hectares of native bushland overlook the Swan River from the middle of the CBD
Perth (2.2 million; metro 2.3 million) is the capital of Western Australia and one of the most geographically isolated major cities in the world — 2,700 km from Adelaide (the nearest Australian capital), closer to Singapore (3,900 km) than to Sydney (4,100 km), and connected to the rest of Australia by the Indian Pacific railway (65 hours from Sydney). The city enjoys more sunshine hours per year (3,200+) than any other Australian capital, with a Mediterranean climate that makes beach life genuinely year-round — Cottesloe Beach, Scarborough Beach, and City Beach are among the most consistentl…
The area around Perth was home to the Noongar people for at least 45,000 years before European contact — the wetlands and river systems of the Swan Coastal Plain supported a dense Noongar population that traded throughout what is now the southwest corner of Western Australia. Captain James Stirling arrived in 1827 and established the Swan River Colony in 1829 as the first free (non-convict) settlement in Western Australia — unusual among Australian colonies. The discovery of gold at Kalgoorlie (600 km east, 1893) transformed Perth from a struggling outpost into a significant city overnight —…