We have just received permission from the National Archives of Australia to use a magnificent collection of photographs from the Telstra Archive of Perth in the early years of the twentieth century.

 In the weeks to come we plan to publish a number of these photos to how some of the buildings of Perth we know and love today looked in their early years.

The collection is generally very well catalogued, but the photo below was rather vague and simply gave the location as “St George’s Terrace and Hay Street”. After looking at the photo for a while inspiration struck and we’ve now worked out exactly where it was taken …can you?

In 1910 Sewage did not just disappear down the toilet.  The streets of Perth were dirty and ladies’ hatpins could be lethal weapons!

This exhibition tells the story of how Perth grew into a modern city over five years from 1910 until 1915. It shows how Perth City Council was instrumental in laying down basic reforms which would transform Perth from a place where the streets were dirt and mud with no sanitation, into the liveable city it has become.

Using archival material, old photographs and memorabilia items from the City’s collection the exhibition promises you a surprising journey into how the Council began to address issues of modernisation and health regulation.