Perth, Western Australia:

Central Park, not far from the Perth Underground train station. One of the most beautiful parts of the inner city. Photo iPhone 7, 3.99mm focal length, near midday 2018/04/03

Relics, the old beauties among the beasts This is typical of all that is left of some of the beautiful old buildings in Perth. A bit of history at the foot of tall box-buildings. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens 4.25mm focal length, early morning 2024/01/18 There are some beautiful old buildings remaining as more than just a relic or a facade - His Majesty's Theatre Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle lens 1.54mm fl, early morning 2023/03/19. I had to use the wide angle lens to avoid nearby clutter. Home Top Index Perth General Post Office, on Forrest Place A relic of a time when major buildings were expected to have architectural merit; and this one certainly does have. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens 4.25mm fl, early morning 2023/01/10 Hay Street Just the columned Greek style facade of a old building backed and surrounded by modern boxes. Half-hearted partial 'preservation' of just the face of an old building like this, with the remainder removed, seems to me almost worse than complete destruction. I've seen it in Adelaide too. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens 4.25mm fl, late afternoon 2023/12/19 Churches More relics, but beautiful relics As in so many Australian cities, Perth's churches are some of the most beautiful architecture to be seen. (St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney is another building of note.) It is ironical that some of the best architecture is devoted to a delusional belief in a God, for the existence of whom there is simply no credible evidence. I have written elsewhere on these pages about the absurdity of religion. St Mary's Catholic Cathedral Officially the building is the "Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary". (Atheists like myself should try to refrain from laughing at this.) Whatever it is called it is an impressive edifice.   Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens, 4.25mm focal length, 2022/04/21 A small part of the interior of the Cathedral. Note the pipe organ left of centre. There are two pipe organs in this church. Home Top Index The original cathedral was completed in 1865. Plans to extend the building were drawn up in the 1920s but work was interrupted by the Great Depression. After being incomplete for many years it was closing for construction in 2006 and reopened in its present form in 2009. See Wikipedia for more details. The present structure, while it is a hybrid of styles, seems to me to have worked successfully from the aesthetic point of view.   Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle lens, 1.54mm focal length, 2022/04/21 Another small part of the interior of the Cathedral. The bishop's throne is on the left. I learned in a course on geology at the university of Tasmania that the word 'Cathedral' comes from the latin for the 'seat' or 'throne' of a bishop. The term 'ex cathedra' means 'from the throne'; an ex cathedra statement is one that is meant to be accepted because of its source: a statement from the throne. Interesting in the context of religion as against science. Urban infill: replacing attractive open spaces with glass, concrete and steel monstrosities A view in Elizabeth Quay. This area was, not so long ago, mostly open park lands. The bell tower (peaking through a gap on the right) about ten years ago was the tallest structure in the area. I suppose we should be grateful that the loopy art work has been added. It breaks the monotony of the dull, ordinary, cliff-faced, commercial buildings. A small grant to aesthetics. The crescent Moon can be seen in the upper left, to remind us that nature is still out there - somewhere. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens 4.25mm fl, early morning 2023/03/19 Good architecture Not all the modern architecture in Perth is maximal floor-space for minimal cost. In addition to some of the outstanding older buildings there are a few modern building that are admirable. University of Western Australia Home Top Index As well as Uni WA I have visited Murdoch University and Curtin University. Neither of those seem to be comparable to Uni WA in the beauty of their grounds or buildings. Those in charge of Murdoch University have made one creditable effort at imaginative and creative architecture in the last couple of years. Winthrop Hall

Winthrop Hall, one of the most beautiful buildings in Perth (perhaps in Australia), was completed in 1932. The arched court area, shown in another photo below, can be seen just right of centre in this image. Winthrop Hall reminds me of the similarly beautiful Bonython Hall (opened 1936) in the University of Adelaide and the interior of the Mortlock Wing (opened in 1884) in the South Australian Library, also in Adelaide. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle lens, 1.54mm fl, 2023/11/07

Another view of Winthrop Hall - with ducks Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens, 4.25mm fl, 2023/11/07 Home Top Index On giving the matter more thought, Winthrop Hall is more beautiful than Bonython Hall. The interior of Winthrop Hall An exam had just been completed. The hall was not open to the public. I was asked, very politely, to leave soon after I took this photo. Why the hall appears to be asymmetrical in this image I do not know. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens, 4.25mm fl, 2023/11/07 More University of WA architecture This arched court area is adjacent to the main entrance of Winthrop Hall Home Top Index The rear of another building in the Uni WA grounds. The creeper adds to the impression of the university being long-standing. It is the first university in WA. This is adjacent to Winthrop Hall, on the western side. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, telephoto lens, 6mm fl, 2023/11/07 A view of the entrance way to the University Club of WA. One of the more recent additions to Uni WA, the building was opened in June 2005 and cost $22 million to build. An example of architecture as art rather than simply for function. The same amount of functional space could probably be constructed for a half the price. Uni WA, as the oldest and most prestigious university in WA is fortunate in receiving many generous bequests. Good architecture: Murdoch University Boola Katitjin, building number 360 Murdoch University says of this new building that it provides 'An award-winning learning experience'. It was under construction when I attended a renewable energy conference in December 2022. I was impressed then with what seemed to me to be some very unusual features. This photo was taken using an iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens, 4.25mm focal length in 2024/02/05. Murdoch University say about it: "The building’s architects, Lyons with Silver Thomas Hanley, The Fulcrum Agency, Officer Woods Architects (WA), and Aspect Studios, received both the Daryl Jackson Award for Educational Architecture and the National Award for Sustainable Architecture." "Sustainability was front and centre of the design of the largest mass-engineered timber building in Western Australia, earning it 6-Star Green Star certification, and earlier this year the top architectural honour, George Temple Poole Award, at the WA Architecture Awards." Home Top Index Murdoch University and Lyons both have pages on the building. Photos from other angles are below...

Boola Katitjin from four angles. All except the first have high-definition versions - click on the image to view them. Photos iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens, 4.25mm focal length, 2024/02/05

Good architecture: Library of Western Australia This is one of more recent public buildings of Perth that has been beautifully and imaginatively designed. It was completed in 1985. The state museum and art gallery nearby are, similarly, very attractively designed. (As I've remarked elsewhere, I have been very disappointed with the 'art' in the Art Gallery of WA. In my own experience far better art is to be seen in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne and even in several of the regional cities of Victoria: Warrnambool, Ballarat and Bendigo. While it is not outstanding the art gallery in Bunbury could compete with the Perth Gallery.) One of the upper floors of the Library of WA. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens, 2023/03/18 A view of a part of the interior of the State Library of Western Australia Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle lens, fl 1.54mm, 2023/03/18 Home Top Index

The view over the city centre from the upper level of the library Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle lens, fl 1.54mm, 2023/03/18

Good architecture: Western Australian Museum Also see the museum's own Web site. Other sites run by the same authority are: WA Maritime Museum and WA Shipwrecks Museum, both at Fremantle; Museum of the Great Southern, Albany; Museum of Geraldton and the Museum of the Goldfields, Kalgoorlie.

The rear courtyard of the WA Museum. The new parts of the Museum (opened in late November 2020) in the distance centre and on the right, some parts of the old museum are on the left. Home Top Index Previous to the reopening, the people of Perth had to get along without a main museum for about three years while the rebuilding was going on. A very long time for such an isolated city (and state) to not have a main museum. Photo iPhone 7, 2020/12/30

In the warmer weather there are misters in the front courtyard of the museum. They provide a welcome slight cooling effect. The interior and exterior design of the museum are aesthetically very pleasing. It could be argued that the space could have been more efficiently used to increase the area available for display. There must be a compromise between excellent architectural aesthetics and efficient use of space. Doing justice to the materials on display in the museum is well beyond the scope of this page. Inside the museum, looking down in the main escalator shaft. Home Top Index Two small boats can be seen, suspended from wires. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle lens, 2022/04/24 The entry area to one of the exhibit divisions. Perhaps overdone? Could the space be better used by exhibits of what the museum is in existence to exhibit. To each his own opinion. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle lens, 2022/04/24 One of the more impressive of the great many impressive specimens. This is a slab of jasper from the 'rusting of the oceans' period. I will make no attempt to provide photos of even a small proportion of the outstanding exhibits. I would have to say that while three years was a very long time for WA to go without a general state museum, the end result was well worth waiting for. Photo iPhone 7, 2020/12/30 Home Top Index Good architecture: Perth Children's Hospital This building was announced in 2008, construction started in 2012 and it was officially opened in 2018. This hospital shows beautiful and imaginative architecture both exterior and interior. Wikipedia gives more information. The Children's Hospital is a part of the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre (QEIIMC).

Perth Children's Hospital on the left, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital on the right and a part of the Kid's Bridge in the foreground. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle camera, focal length 1.54mm, 2024/02/23

A view of a part of the atrium in the Perth Children's Hospital Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard camera, focal length 4.25mm, 2024/02/23 The Kid's Bridge, also named Koolangka Bridge. The bridge crosses over Winthrop Avenue and connects the hospital complex with Kings Park. Perth Children's hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital are in the background of this image. Quoting from Wikipedia: "The bridge was proposed in 2012, as part of the Perth Children's Hospital, but deferred to give priority to completion of the hospital. Construction commenced in January 2021, with the bridge opening on 4 August 2021." Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle camera, focal length 1.54mm, 2024/02/23 Home Top Index Good architecture: QV1 plaza and building I had walked past the front of the QV1 building many times and noticed the big red sculpture (one could hardly not notice it; see the last photo in this series), but I had not been into the plaza until this visit. I've read that the name, QV1, is from the latin phrase 'quo vadis', which is sometimes translated as 'whither goest thou?' I find this curious in more ways than one: the name seems an odd choice, and why translate the latin into old English rather than modern English, 'where are you going?'.

Part of the QV1 Plaza taken from the upper level Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle camera, 1.54mm focal length. This and the four photos below were taken 2024/12/03.

Looking up at the QV1 building from the lower level of the Plaza. This is a part of the view from near the Hay Street (northern) side of the plaza. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle camera, 1.54mm focal length   Elevated garden at QV1 The upper level of the plaza. The gardens are all elevated well above ground level. Elevated gardens are common in Singapore, but rare in Perth, but there is another one at the conference centre. The much higher humidities in Singapore than in Perth would make growing vegetation on buildings easier. Even so, I feel that far more elevated gardens would be possible in Perth and would considerably improve the environment and beauty of the city. Home Top Index Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle camera, 1.54mm focal length Main foyer of the QV1 building. There was a string quartet playing when I visited, because it was getting on toward Christmas I suppose. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle camera, 1.5mm focal length A small part of the QV1 building, front steel sculpture and a small part of the well looked after garden, from St Georges Terrace. I had seen this many times while walking along St Georges Terrace but had not realised what an attractive area was behind it. A friend told me that the building was owned by the NSW Gov't Superannuation Fund when new and was empty or nearly empty for quite a long time. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard camera, 4.25mm focal length Home Top Index Engineering Matagarup pedestrian and cyclist bridge

This is a beautiful bit of engineering. It seems to be where it is to carry pedestrians between the WACA cricket ground and the Optus stadium. The roadway is very wide for a pedestrian cum cyclist bridge. There's a couple of trees in the middle just so that one can't forget about the existence of nature on the way across. (Last time I looked, early November 2024, the trees looked like they had died!). Home Top Index There's also a zip line from the top to the eastern shore. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle lens, fl 1.54mm, 2024/07/29. I'm very pleased with the photo, the tree and the rocks frame the bridge well, the light in the sky and on the water is good, the clouds are good, and the ripples on the water are just right. Most of that was good fortune rather than photographic skill - but who cares? Also see Matagarup Bridge, Wikipedia.

This section added 2024/11/19 Boorloo pedestrian and cyclist bridges When I first saw these bridges under construction I assumed that they would be combined vehicular, cycling and pedestrian bridges; the existing Causeway road bridges carry vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians and are very busy. Certainly cycling and walking across the Swan River at this point will be very much more pleasant on the new bridges.   I believe the tower is meant to symbolise a boomerang The first photo is of the western of the two new bridges, Heirisson Island is on the right, east Perth mainland on the left. The eastern, two-part, bridge can be seen in the distance on the right of this photo and in detail on the next photo. Interestingly this bridge has 18 wires each side of the central tower, the other bridge has only seven wires on each side of each of its two towers. The photo shows that that the tower on this bridge is considerably taller than the two towers on the eastern bridge. The length of the eastern bridge is much longer, at about 220 metres (measured on Google Earth), than the western bridge which is about 100 metres. So each of the three spans, the one span of the western bridge and the two spans of the eastern bridge, are of about equal lengths, around 100m. This being so, one wonders why the western bridge has such a tall tower and so many support wires compared to the eastern bridge. I unsuccessfully tried to find specifications for the bridges online and an inquiry didn't give any useful result.   I believe the towers are meant to symbolise digging sticks This second photo is of the eastern bridge, Heirisson Island is on the left, Burswood is on the right. The two photos were taken by my Mavic Mini drone, fairly early morning, 2024/11/19. Home Top Index The bridges were getting close to completion at this time. They were due to be officially opened on 2024/12/20. Also see Boorloo Bridge, Wikipedia. Pedestrian bridge at Elizabeth Quay The pedestrian-cyclist bridge at Elisabeth Quay The buildings in the background, which took the place of previous attractive mostly lawned open spaces, were still under construction. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle lens 1.54mm, morning 2023/01/10 There are interesting things to be found A stone ball with a big story to tell There are still scattered, attractive, open spaces to be found in Perth; this is Forrest Place (named for the first Premier of WA). More on the stone sphere in the foreground below... Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens 4.25mm fl, morning 2022/04/21 Home Top Index   Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens 4.25mm fl, morning 2022/04/21 This is a near photo of the stone sphere of the above image. What a story this stone has to tell a petrologist (a scientist who studies stones)! I'm just a has-been worker in hydrogeology with a long standing interest in geology and mineralogy (that developed while I was dairy farming), but even I can see a lot in this stone. The circular mostly black objects (spheres in section) would probably be the oldest part of this. I at first thought that they would have grown from the centre out, but maybe not (see the text box below). The cloudy white mineral would be one of the feldspar group of minerals. The clear light coloured mineral would be quartz (silicon dioxide, silica, SiO2). I'm guessing that the black minerals would belong to the pyroxine or amphibole groups, and some of the black pieces could be tourmaline. I'd be pretty sure that there would be some biotite mica in there too.   Could the black spherical parts within the stone sphere have grown from the outside inward? In a crystallising (solidifying) magma the more basic minerals crystallise out (in this case the pyroxenes and amphiboles) before the more acidic minerals (feldspars and quartz). This suggests that the black minerals would have crystallised around the outside of the spheres with the light coloured minerals filling in the centres of the spheres later. See Intrusive Igneous Rocks: Crystallisation of Magma Interpretation The amount that can be interpreted just by looking at a rock is somehow impressive. How much of what I interpreted here is correct is another matter. What would have induced the spheres to grow the way they have I wouldn't even dare to guess. The spheres would have been concreted into a solid rock by the feldspar and quartz crystallising around them. By this time the percentage of silica in the crystallising melt must have increased and the percentage of elements such as iron and magnesium decreased; hence the lesser proportion of the mafic (dark coloured) minerals. Then there's the light coloured band running from top left to lower right, made up of much the same minerals the cementing minerals between the spheres. It is apparent that at some point the older rock (composed of the spheres and cementing minerals between them) was fractured. The crack opened up and was then filled with more crystallising feldspar and quartz. How could anyone not find geology fascinating? Interesting things: Standing out from the crowd This one limb of (I think) a lemon-scented gum (Corymbia citriodora) in Kings Park decided it wanted to go any direction but upward. It didn't want to do the normal, accepted, standard, ordinary, thing. Home Top Index I can identify with that. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens, 2024/01/18 While the photo above recorded a limb that wanted to do its own thing, here, in the grounds of the University of Western Australia, is a whole tree with a mind of its own. Again, I think it's a lemon scented gum. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lens, 2024/01/03 Parks and gardens Of course one can't mention parks and gardens on the same page as Perth without referring to Kings Park. Perhaps I will add a section on Kings Park to this page, but for the present a link to a section on another page will have to suffice. And then there is Araluen to the east of Perth in the hills. Elevated gardens Perth Conference Centre and QV1 Plaza Apparently the Perth City Council is encouraging more Micro Greening in the City. Certainly more vegetations on balconies and upper levels of buildings generally would greatly improve the attractiveness of the city. I saw a lot of the incorporation of vegetation into architecture in Singapore, but it is very unusual in Australia, and certainly in Perth, in my experience. The higher humidities of Singapore would make balcony and similar elevated gardens easier to maintain than in the relatively low humidities of Perth, but much more could and should be done. Perth Conference Centre These trees are on the upper level of the Conference Centre and Bus Port. They are paperbark (Melaleuca) trees. I thought it a pretty impressive piece of engineering/design/architecture. I wonder if there have been any problems with water seeping through into the level below. Home Top Index Photo iPhone 11 Pro, Standard lens, 4.25mm fl, early morning 2024/01/18 Parks and gardens: John Oldham Park John Oldham Park is between Elizabeth Quay train station and Kings Park. I can recommend the walk through the park between the two. It is one of the attractive parks in the vicinity of the central Perth area and is itself overlooked by Kings Park. You can go via the Convention Centre and the Bus Station then continue to the west, or you can go south from the train station to William Street and then due west. Either way you'll have to cross a number of roads before you get to John Oldham Park. The photo shows one of the more attractive features of the park. From the park, if you like, you can continue around the base of Kings Park to the Kokoda Track and use it to climb up to Kings Park public areas. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, standard lense, 4.25mm fl, 2023/08/22 John Oldham Park in the early evening, Perth city in the distance. Photo iPhone 7, 2022/03/12 19:31 Home Top Index Parks and gardens: University of WA grounds A magnificent Morton Bay fig tree in the grounds of Uni WA Home Top Index and two Asian girls. The university also has some beautiful architecture, shown elsewhere on this page.   This section added 2024/11/19 Parks and gardens: Queens gardens

This is a panorama showing much of Queens Gardens in winter, taken from the western end with the pink of the sunrise in the sky. Queens Gardens are in East Perth. The light towers of the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) grounds showing in the distance. Photo iPhone 11 pro, standard camera, 4.25mm fl, 2024/06/17

Australian wood ducks (Chenonetta jubata) with ducklings in Queens Gardens. Wood ducks are good parents, the drake in particular puts on a good show of aggression if he thinks the ducklings are being threatened. Home Top Index Wood duck are grazers, like geese. Most of their feeding is on the land rather than in the water. Alternative names are maned duck or maned goose. Photo iPhone 11 pro, telephoto camera, 6mm fl, 2024/10/17   This section added 2024/10/11 Parks and gardens: Heirisson Island Heirisson Island, northeastern end Heirisson Island is in the Swan River a few kilometres east of the Perth central business district. At the time of writing this section it is only accessible by a very busy road that crosses it and the two sections of the river each side of the island. Another bridge is being built for pedestrians and cyclists. It will be far more pleasant to use for pedestrians and cyclists than the present one which is constantly busy and constantly noisy. I have some photos of the new bridge elsewhere on this page. There is no bus stop on the island, to get there by public transport one must get off a bus on the mainland at one side of the island or the other and walk across a bridge with the noisy traffic. Getting to the island across the bridge right adjacent to the continuous flow of noisy traffic takes much of the potential enjoyment out of a visit to Heirisson Island. I suspect that this is a large part of the reason that I saw only a couple of people in the hour I was on the island in October 2024. An Australasian darter, Anhinga novaehollandiae, often called a snake bird because of its long thin neck, is drying its wings in the lower right of this photo. Like cormorants darters swim underwater to catch their prey. There is a large pond each end of the island. This is the one on the north-eastern end of the island. Looking at it from the SE side. All the photos in this section were taken with my iPhone 11 Pro. Another view of the pond on the NE end of the island, this time from the NE end of the pond. There is an island in this pond. It would be an ideal place for nesting water birds. There are another couple of islands in the pond in the SW end of the island. The Optus Stadium is a kilometre or so to the north of Heirisson Island. Home Top Index Over the last few years I've been donating blood plasma fortnightly (whenever I'm able to), most time at the Perth Donor Centre. I often catch the first bus from home, then the train from Mandurah to Perth, and walk for a couple of hours before my plasma appointment. These photos, and many others in Perth, were taken during those morning walks. Xanthorrhoea, Heirisson Island

A view of a section of the Heirisson Island park lands with Xanthorrhoeas. This is toward the NE end of the island. Xanthorrhoea 'grass trees' in the centre.

A closer view of several of the Xanthorrhoea in the photo above. Other references to, and photos of, Xanthorrhoea, aka yaccas, on this site: Gleeson Wetlands at Clare; yacca seedlings and later, in October 2021; A group of yaccas in Alligator Gorge; A striking specimen in Alligator Gorge; Yacca at Elysium; on a page created in 2007; Yaccas at Hucks Lookout, in the Flinders Ranges, 2014; Heavily browsed yaccas at Hucks Lookout in the Flinders Ranges, 2020; Yaccas on Kangaroo Island in 2009; Yaccas in regenerating bush on Kangaroo Island in July 2021; Yaccas in Kings Park, WA, 2018; Yaccas in Singapore's Flower Dome, 2015; Yaccas in Spring Gully Conservation Park, 2021; Home Top Index Yacca in the Stirling Range, WA, 2018; The yacca-look-alike Kingia australis in the Stirling Range, 2018; Yaccas in an old page on wildflowers; Plants that grow well in Crystal Brook; And several references in Western Australia. Most of the leaves on this gum tree were dead. But there were shoots coming from epicormic buds in a few places on the trunk, as can be seen in the photo. I would think that its leaves died following the long dry summer and spring of 2023-2024. It may now be recovering after the wet winter of 2024. Time will tell whether it survives. The stress could also be due to possible increasing salinity in the ground water. I noticed other dying trees in Mandurah in May of 2024 and again ascribed it to the long hot spell. It seems likely that climate change is the ultimate cause. Heirisson Island, southwestern end The big pond at the southwestern end of Heirisson Island I think I sow only one other person on the morning I visited this end of the island. It's remarkable how few people seem to visit. Photo iPhone 11 Pro, wide angle lens, 1.54mm fl, early morning 2024/08/12 A drone view of the ponds on the southwestern end of Heirisson Island Photo by my Mavic Mini drone, fairly early morning, 2024/11/19 Home Top Index Incongruous, disparate, heterogeneous? The artificial world of man and the natural world - juxtaposed. The world of money (and environment destroying fossil fuels) and the makeshift 'home' of a homeless person. I'm not sure of the right words for this section. It is mainly about the contrasts to be seen in Perth (and in most cities). The first section is the mis-match between the vegetation in Perth and the huge structures of glass, concrete and steel that dominate the city centre. The second section touches on the contrast between great wealth and poverty. All photos were taken using an iPhone 11 Pro on 2024/05/10 between 0718 and 0810, before I visited the Perth Blood Service to donate plasma. In this section I hope the images will do most of the talking... A tree, a small boxy building, a glimpse of an old building (with some rounded parts) and several tall modern things, with all straight lines and right angles, in the background. Home Top Index Tree, glass and some sky While this building is all straight lines, it is not a box and it does have some angles that are not 90°. It does have architectural merit. Still, the incongruity with the tree in the foreground could hardly be greater. Just north of Mounts Bay Road and The parallel lines of architecture and the relative beautiful 'chaos' of vegetation Home Top Index Perhaps this could be seen as a hint of what the city will move toward when it is abandoned by humanity, with nature reclaiming it. Converging lines and some nature (partly controlled, partly concealed) Between Mounts Bay Road and St Georges Terrace A hodge-podge. A glass fronted box in the upper-left, a concrete and glass tower-box in the upper-centre, a blank-faced box on the centre-right and another boxy building on the far right. The old, tastefully designed, art gallery in the centre is a reminder that once urban architecture could be beautiful, and a lonely tree perhaps left as a reminder that nature has not been entirely obliterated. (The man in the middle distance looks bemused.) Then there are the cranes, building more monstrosities. Photo iPhone 11 pro, 6mm focal length (telephoto), 2024/03/17 Incongruous, disparate, heterogeneous: huge wealth - and poverty The next two photos were taken a minute apart, fittingly they were taken facing in opposite directions. Huge wealth: The Woodside Energy Building in the centre of this photo; a monument to greed, selfishness, and the pursuit of profits at the expense of our shared environment. Woodside's market capitalisation at the time was $53 billion. Woodside's CEO is Meg O'Neil, a woman seemingly of low ethical standards, as you might expect considering the damage that Woodside's activities are doing to our shared environment. The burning of the fossil fuels such as Woodside takes from the Earth is widely recognised as the main cause of climate change, ocean acidification, sea level rise and ocean warming. The air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels kills millions of people world-wide each year. See also Corporate Greed: Society is suffering from the greed of the few. Home Top Index The photo was taken from Elizabeth Quay bus station. The theme of contrast, wealth and poverty, continues below... In contrast to Woodside's wealth, nearby is poverty: A homeless person sleeping rough. The Woodside tower was symbolising wealth on one side of me and this person was symbolising poverty on the opposite side. Both were symbolising a failing of our shared society. Drone photos of the Swan River and Burswood park lands The photos below are of the area on the east side of the Swan River between Burswood, the Perth Stadium and Heirisson Island. One can't fly a drone in most of the central Perth area because of the numbers of people and concerns about being intrusive. These photos were taken in the fairly early morning (before my visit to the Red Cross blood donation service) and before there were many people about. This area seems usually to not have many people. The photos were taken using my Mavic Mini drone on 2024/11/05. The originals were 4000 × 2250 pixels, most of the low definition images here are 940 × 529, and the high definition images (click on the low definition ones) are all 2000 × 1125 pixels. I have retained the originals.

Matagarup pedestrian/bicyclist bridge, Perth Stadium and some of the gardens on the eastern side of the Swan River

Looking east, Crown Towers with Crown Perth behind (I think), and some of the surrounding gardens in the foreground Home Top Index

The Swan River, Matagarup pedestrian/bicyclist bridge on the right, Perth city centre on the left. Some more of the gardens on the eastern side of the river in the foreground.

Home Top Index Crown Towers and Crown Perth on the right and the lawned park lands to the north of that on the left.

Swan River, Windan Bridge and the northern part of the Chevron Parkland (part of the Burswood park lands) in the foreground. One of the lagoons of the Burswood park lands on the right. It is not obvious in the photo, but there is a short pedestrian bridge linking the Chevron Parkland to the land on the north.

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