Kings Park in Western Australia
Botanical Gardens and War Memorials Overlooking City of Perth
Not many cities have such a large and beautiful parkland as Western Australia's capital, Perth. Kings Park looks over the Swan River and the central business district.
Kings Park in Perth is one of the first places that every tourist to Western Australia visits, and most have their photograph taken overlooking the Swan River and the city center. But there’s so much more to discover in this 1000 acres of parkland.
History of Kings Park
Perth is a large and sprawling city. With over 1.5 million inhabitants and a rapidly growing population due to an economic boom, the city covers over 2000 square miles with its low density housing stretching up and down the Indian Ocean cost. Yet right in the middle of the city center you can find 1000 acres of bush and parkland, in the form of Kings Park.
Back in the early 1800s when Perth was just being established, a public officer with a lot of foresight set aside the area as being public land that shouldn’t be logged or built upon. In 1895 the area was opened as Perth Park but was renamed in 1901 when King Edward VII came to the throne in England. These days it is controlled by the Botanic Gardens and Park Authority and two thirds of it is natural bushland.
Visiting Kings Park
To explore Kings Park, it’s best to take a short bus taxi ride up the hill from the city – bus numbers 37 or 39 are free shuttles to the park. If you’re extra fit, it’s easy enough to walk there, but you’ll also want to walk around a lot within the park.
Most visitors begin at the main war memorial area reached along Fraser Avenue. It is here that the largest Anzac Day dawn memorial services are held each April 25 to honour Australians who have died in war. As well as the large State War Memorial, smaller memorials honouring particular wars and battles are located throughout the park.
If you’ve come for the nature, you won’t be disappointed. The Western Australian Botanic Garden, reached by crossing the bridge named the Federation Walkway, is full of incredible examples of local species of flowers, bushes and trees. As such, it’s also a popular home for a lot of native wildlife and birdlife, so keep your eyes out for things like the kookaburra, the bird that sounds like it is laughing. Special flowers to look for include the bright red kangaroo paws, a native plant with a flower that looks a little like the paw of a kangaroo.
It’s also popular to picnic in Kings Park, and as well as large areas of parkland for picnicking and playing sports, there are also barbecue areas with free barbecues for the public to use. It’s popular, even amongst tourists, to buy some meat and bread in the city, take the bus up to Kings Park and enjoy lunch overlooking the Swan River below.
