This year’s Heritage Perth Heritage Days are fast approaching and will be held on Saturday, 13th and Sunday 14th November.

The program features nearly 30 different venues in the centre of Perth and offers the whole family an opportunity to enjoy places and events that are not usually available to the public. There will be trails to follow, tours to take, presentations, talks, debates to attend, enticing live performances to see and special children’s activities – all of which add up to a weekend of fun that celebrates the exceptional people, remarkable places, buildings and historically fascinating events that have made Perth great.

Grab your walking shoes and see how much of the heritage Perth you can discover in two days. For example, even if you don’ have a green fingers, you are sure to enjoy a gentle meander through Stirling Gardens (WA’s oldest public garden), or Queens Gardens with its whimsical statue of Peter Pan. Go behind the scenes and discover how the gardeners at Government House manage the 3.2 hectare gardens that date back to the 1850’s.

There will also be some fantastic buildings open for the first time including; St Mary’s Cathedral which reopened last December after 3 years closure whilst extensive work was carried out to conserve and enlarge the building. You can also take a look inside the Supreme Court building, which has been the seat of West Australian justice since 1903.

A visit Mercedes College is a ‘must’. Opened in 1846 this was the first Catholic school in the Swan River colony. For those interested in military history, there will be a rare opportunity to view the incredible World War 1 archive at the RSL Club on St George’s Terrace.

Last year The Melbourne Hotel opened some of their historic rooms to the general public f and also offered guests the opportunity to purchase a ‘setters lunch’ at an historic price …it was a sell-out! Hundreds of people took the opportunity to visit the hotel, reminisce and enjoy a delicious lunch complete with locally brewed ale. If you didn’t get there last year, try this year but be early.

Another food option this year will be to buy Sunday lunch at the stunning Western Australian Club in St Georges Terrace. Founded in 1893, it is the leading business and professional persons’ Club in W.A. The Club is hosting guided tours of the historic building that will include a look inside the old gold vaults from the days when the building was the ANZ Bank. The Club is also offering a rare opportunity to experience their restaurant where quality food and service meet to bring guests an exceptional dining experience. Bookings are essential.

For families there is even more to do this year than last year. The Old Central Fire Station (opened in 1901), now the FESA Education and Heritage Centre is hosting a museum open day with rides on vintage fire engines, displays and a spectacular water pumping competition. Just up the road the RPH Museum will have story-telling and the WA State Library, Francis Burt Law Museum and the City Local Studies Library will all host activities specifically for children.

Unless specified, all Heritage Perth Heritage Days activities are FREE and offer fun for all the family.

A full program of events will be published nearer the time.

Back-stage tours of His Majesty's

‘Art Deco’ is an architectural style that became popular between the two World Wars (1920-1940). Art Deco is characterised by clean, geometric and elegant lines that are in stark contrast to the excessively decorative styles that were in vogue prior to this period. The style’s introduction coincided with a period of great technological innovation which introduced a whole range of new materials and manufacturing techniques that allowed the mass-production of many household goods and, as such, reflects the essence of popular twentieth century design.

Perth is well endowed with examples of architecture in the art deco style that was so popular during the 1920s and 30s. Buildings such as the Gledden Building, on the corner of Hay and William Streets and the Piccadilly Cinema are excellent examples of this lavish style which was also used in the design of consumer products such as furniture, china, cars and jewelry.

To download a copy of the Art Deco Walk leaflet, click here [PDF: 1.13 MB]

Interior of the Art Deco Piccadilly Cinema, Hay Street

Through its innovative projects and high media profile, Heritage Perth has significantly increasing public awareness of the importance of heritage. This heightened awareness is demonstrated by significant increase in enquiries the City of Perth receives for its various heritage incentives and the number of people attending heritage events – Heritage Perth’s first Heritage Day attracted an estimated audience of over 6,000 people.

Help us promote community spirit and foster a celebration of our heritage that inspires a strong cultural identity for the people that live, work, play and visit Perth by becoming a supporter. You can help to ensure a ‘future for our past’ by supporting Heritage Perth and getting involved with an organisation the does for Perth’s heritage what others just talk about doing.

To find our more, download a copy of our case for support document, ‘A Future for our Past’ by clicking here [PDF 1.82 MB]

Heritage Perth’s Executive Director, Richard Offen, recently visited Tasmania where he had been invited to be keynote speaker at a Heritage Tourism Conference.

Richard Offen and some of the other presenters

“Tourism Tasmania and Heritage Tasmania, who jointly organised the conference, were looking for a speaker from an organisation that they considered to be leading the way in promoting heritage as a positive tourism asset. They found our web site and decided that Heritage Perth fitted the bill perfectly,” explained Richard.

“It was extremely flattering and a great affirmation of the work we are doing,” said Heritage Perth’s Chairman, Dario Amara. “To be described as an ‘extremely dynamic heritage organisation’ and to be invited to present our work at such an important conference marks a real coming of age for Heritage Perth and demonstrates the high regard our Executive Director is held in by other heritage practitioners.”

Not one to let the grass grow under his feet, Richard made a whistle-stop tour of Tasmania, managing to fit in a visit to the Port Arthur Convict Settlement, where he met with the Director of Conservation and Infrastructure. He also visited Hobart’s premier hotel situated in a superbly converted former jam factory dating from the 1820s. The success of this adaptive reuse of a heritage building highlighted the potential for similar projects with buildings in Perth. Richard also met with the Tasmanian National Trust who run a very progressive Community Heritage Program and visited a number of smaller heritage sites to see how these were interpreted.

“Tasmania is cram-packed full of beautiful heritage places,” said Richard. “Hopefully the result of the conference will be a much more strategic approach to marketing the island’s heritage as a vital ingredient in any visit.”

Port Arthur Convict Settlement, Tasmania

As a not-for-profit organisation, Heritage Perth relies upon its wonderful volunteers to make events like Heritage Perth Heritage Days happen. In 2009 approximately 50 volunteers took on the role of tour guides, assisted with bookings, research, organised distribution of posters and programs, assisted with catering for the incredibly popular cream teas at the Town Hall and many other activities.

For many people the most memorable part of a visit to any historic building is the personal insight they receive from a knowledgeable guide. Volunteers are vital in bringing heritage places to life, inspiring visitors and helping them to discover the place in an interesting and enjoyable way.  

We like to call our guides and our volunteers our Heritage Hounds – they have their nose on the ground, their eyes in the air and their ears are listening to our visitors. They also have a lot of fun doing it!

Once again we are looking for people to fill these important roles for the 2010 event in November. If you are interested in helping please send an email to info@heritageperth.com

Volunteers from the Hollywood Dance Club preparing for a cream tea rush at the Town Hall on Heritage Day 2009

Click here to download a PDF version [788 KB] of this poster.

The afternoon’s activities were jointly organised by Heritage Perth and National Archaeology Week to mark the start of the 2010 National Archaeology Week.

“We were blown away by the number of people who took part.” Said Heritage Perth’s Executive Director, Richard Offen. “We had youngsters and adults alike digging up relics in sand trays, trying to glue ‘ancient’ pots back together and then classifying the artefacts to record them. It was all great fun.”

During the afternoon Governor James Stirling paid a visit to the event, telling people what it was like to live in the First Government House and giving his thoughts on what Archaeologists will make of his former residence in the future. There were also be displays featuring the archaeology of Perth’s Government Houses past and present, the Perth city are4a, the Peel region, Manning Park Estate and also exhibits from the Archaeological Society of WA.

“The event was intended to be a ‘taster’ for the Heritage Perth Heritage Days even on 13/14th November, when we intend to have some more ‘hands on’ archaeology for people to try their hand at.” Explained Gaye Nayton, the WA Representative of National Archaeology Week.

To download an electronic copy, please click here [677 KB]

The inaugural Heritage Perth Heritage Day was held in November 2009. It was an historical success with thousands of people converging on the streets, buildings, parks, theatres, museums, libraries and hotels of central Perth to celebrate its heritage.

Thanks to the unprecedented response Heritage Perth has decided to expand the celebrations across a weekend. In 2010, Heritage Perth Heritage Days will be held on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 November.

An exciting program of activities is planned, which aims to make the weekend Perth’s biggest ever heritage event that will showcase the City’s history going back many thousands of years. The expanded 2010 program will include numerous exciting new venues including; Council House, the Perth Mint, West Australian Club, the Supreme Court, Government House and the Royal Perth Hospital Museum.

A programme of events for the weekend will be published on this web site shortly.

To download a copy of the full release, click here

Ever wondered about past human societies? What artifacts, architecture, biofacts and environmental data from the past tell us? Well this month you may find the answer when Heritage Perth hosts an event in the Perth Town Hall for National Archaeology Week.

On Sunday 16 May, the foyer of the Town Hall will showcase an amazing display of pre-history, maritime and historical posters including Australian archaeological work overseas in Jordon and the Pilbara ARC and Cossak Projects. There will also be displays featuring the archaeology of Perth’s Government House, the Peel region, Manning Park Estate and the Archaeological Society of WA.

Look around and you might just see Governor James Stirling who can tell you about living in the First Government House and his thoughts about what Archaeologists will make of it in the future or try your hand as an archaeologist. Either by your self or as a family team of archaeologists, why not see if you can work your way through a series of activities using real artifacts and learn about the behaviours of people of the past.

The State Representative of the National Archaeology Week will give a talk at 3.30 pm and Ambika Flavel will tell us about her work as a Forensic Archaeologist including the excavation of soldiers at Fromelles. You can hear this fascinating talk at 4 pm

Investigate archaeology and take a look at the past on Sunday 16 May, Perth Town Hall from 2 – 4.30 pm. This is a FREE Heritage Perth event.

Carrying out an archaeological dig (Photo: Heritage Council of WA)