Kings Park

Kings Park in Perth is one of the nicest places to be. It sits at the western end of the city and can be reached by walking - a good hike, or by the cat bus. The park is home to the botanical gardens, an aboriginal art centre, the suspended viewing platform, the outdoor stage and cinema, tea rooms and shop and the usual Anzac memorials, as well as supporting various other Australian gardens and cultural walks. Apart from the weekend when it is thronging with people, it is peaceful and beautiful and a great place to walk away your stresses, if indeed you have any in this laid back city.
One of the major attractions is the Boab Tree which came from the Kimberleys in the north and was replanted here in Kings Park. This tree is 750 years old and weighed 37 tonne. It took 7 days to get to Perth. It is the longest known land journey of a living tree of this size. The tree left the Kimberleys to a traditional smoking ceremony by the Gija people and was equally welcomed to Kings Park by the local Nyoongar people with a reciprocal smoking ceremony. It is in a magnificent position overlooking Perth City and the harbour.
Walk along a while and you come to the suspended walkway, the view here is again fantastic.
The water, the skyline and the wonderful temperature all add to the pleasure you can feel in this park shaded by the giant eucalypts. The people of Perth are proud of the war memorials in the park because they have more memorials, statues and honour avenues than any other park in Australia. There is, among others, the Court of Contemplation where the flame of remembrance within the pool of reflection burns continuously. It symbolises the promise of all Western Australians that 'We will remember them'. The walls feature the names of major battlefields. Another intersting monument is the ANZAC Bluff commemorative plaque dedicated to the 2500 ANZAC men who lost their lives in the Gallipoli campaign of 1915. ANZAC Day is April 25th and is a big day in Australia. It is a public holiday and is celebrated in a similar way to our Remembrance Day.

Kings Park hold little treasures at every turn, ranging from fantastic trees, to walkways celebrating women, to aboriginal stories, to a variety of parrots flying freely in the trees. It is an important scientific park for botanical research, being linked with our Kew Gardens. To date only about a third of the park has been developed.