As the capital city of one of the world’s most significant mining regions, Perth is rapidly growing in both population and economic prosperity.

 
The strength of our economy, especially our capabilities in the resource sector, ensures that both the city and the state are competitively placed for future investment and growth.

Perth's close proximity to Asia opens great potential for investors in energy, minerals, tourism and hospitality, education and agriculture and food.

Perth is in the midst of an exciting period of expansion and new developments. The large-scale capital works projects throughout the city and surrounding areas means Perth will change dramatically over the next ten years, better reflecting the growing global importance of the city.

These developments provide great opportunities for investors and will drive further economic growth, creating more jobs and stimulating commerce in all industries.

While the state of Western Australia is fortunate to have world-class reserves of natural mineral and energy resources, the city has become home to an equally impressive resource - a highly educated, skilled and productive workforce – gathered here by the strength of our tertiary institutions, economic climate and world-class lifestyle opportunities, making Perth the state's leading destination for creative innovation and cultural diversity.

For more information on Perth’s greatest strengths as an investment destination visit the Economic Development section.

Now refurbished, the old station characterises both past and present emergency services’ through displays dedicated to the history of Western Australian (WA) fire services and a natural hazards and disasters education gallery.

HISTORY AND TOURS OF THE MUSEUM OF PERFORMING ARTS

Throughout its colourful and exciting history, His Majesty's Theatre has hosted a myriad of performance genres - from ballet to contemporary dance, opera to musical theatre, vaudeville to stand-up comedy, Shakespearean drama to pantomime and more.

Performers who have graced the stage at 'The Maj' include: Dame Nellie Melba, Anna Pavlova, Gladys Moncrieff, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Sir Robert Helpmann, as well as Academy Award winners Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Sir John Gielgud, Claudette Colbert, Rex Harrison and Geoffrey Rush.


These performers, and thousands more who have performed at His Majesty's Theatre since 1904, have all contributed to the cultural and social livelihood of Western Australia. In a fitting celebration of this, in February 2001, His Majesty's Theatre opened the Museum of Performing Arts.

The Museum of Performing Arts is curated by Theatre Historian Ivan King and Friends of His Majesty's Theatre are only too happy to assist with enquiries.

Read the biography of Theatre Historian Ivan King.

The Museum of Performing Arts houses more than 40,000 catalogued items of theatre memorabilia collected by the theatre's historian. Items such as glamorous costumes, photographs, press clippings, scripts, scores and other historic pieces are publicly exhibited at the Museum, DownStairs at the Maj, with a new exhibition to view every six to eight weeks. The oldest item in the Museum collection dates back to 1854 - a beautiful silk programme from a Perth performance of amateur theatricals.

Find out about our various theatre tours including: Grand Historical, Behind the Scenes, School Education and Technical.

To access the extensive collection of archival production photographs, visit the Museum of Performing Arts website at www.mopa.com.au 

This exhibition gallery serves as a meeting place of ideas and stories, a retail space, micro-cinema and a cultural hub in a part of the city that is in flux. 

The Museum is an initiative of the Perth History Association Inc, a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2015. 

The museum's objective is to promote understanding of the law, legal issues and the legal profession in Western Australia’s community and to preserve the history of the law and the legal profession in this state. The museum is a community service managed by the Law Society of Western Australia and is sponsored by the Public Purposes Trust and the Department of the Attorney General.

Early Days
The Old Court House is Perth’s oldest remaining public building and was the most prominent building in the early days of the Swan River Colony. For the first six years of the Colony, court was held in the Anglican Church of St James: a small building with rush walls and thatched roof.

In 1836 Governor Stirling called for tenders for the construction of a new court and accepted the lowest bid of £698. The building was designed by the Colony’s Civil Engineer, Henry William Reveley. When it opened in 1837 it also served as a church for all denominations and a schoolroom.

Concert Hall
The Old Court House was important in the early musical life of the colonists and was the scene of the first public concert. In 1846, Dom Salvado, a Spanish Benedictine Monk, gave a piano recital in the courtroom to raise funds to develop a mission. Salvado walked more than 100 kilometres to Perth from near New Norcia and gave a Bellini recital to a packed audience in the ragged clothes he arrived in.


Trial of John Gaven
The trial of John Gaven, the first European executed in the Colony, took place in the Old Court House in 1844. Gaven, a petty thief, was 15 years old when he was transported from Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight and apprenticed to the Pollard family in the South West. Within a few months of his arrival, he was accused of the murder of 18 year old George Pollard. He was found guilty in the Old Court House and was hanged three days later outside the Roundhouse in Fremantle on Easter Saturday.


Convicts
In February 1849 a meeting of State importance was held in the Old Court House. In response to a labour shortage, farmers and merchants called a meeting at which a motion was passed in favour of a full penal colony. The following year convicts began to arrive.


Representative Government
The Old Court House was the venue for a public meeting to demand Representative Government. The demands were unsuccessful until 1870.

Arbitration Court
From 1905 to 1964 the State Industrial Arbitration Court proceedings were held in the Old Court House.

Law Society of Western Australia
From 1965 -1987 the Old Court House served as the office of the Law Society of Western Australia.

In 1987 the building was refurbished and opened to the public as the Francis Burt Law Education Centre and Museum - one of the few law museums worldwide.

In 1992 the Court House was listed by the National Trust as a Heritage Site.  

Today the Old Court House Law Museum houses exhibition galleries and court room.  It is  home to the Francis Burt Law Education Programme.

Designed by Richard Roach Jewell and James Manning in the Victorian Free Gothic style, the hall was built by convicts and free men between 1868 and 1870. Its decorations contain a number of convict motifs, including windows in the shape of the broad arrow, and decorations in the shape of a hangman's rope.

The foundation stone for Perth Town Hall was laid on 24 May 1867 by Governor Hampton in a ceremony involving a lot of pomp and parade. However there were torrential downpours. The ceremony went on anyway with an official procession from Government House and a mock battle performed by the Volunteer Regiments, Enrolled Forces of Pensioners, and the WA Country Regiment.

In 1929, the Centenary of Western Australia one of the events in the city of Perth was the placing of a commemorative plaque in the north west corner of the building by the Governor Sir William Campion. 

Situated in the heart of the city of Perth, St George's is the principal cathedral of the Anglican Province of Western Australia and the metropolitical Diocese of Perth.

Consecrated in 1888, St George's Cathedral stands as an architectural gem to the glory of God, to the pioneers who funded and constructed it and to the generations of faithful people who have maintained and preserved its fabric and traditions over the years.

St George's is one of only a few cathedrals constructed of handmade bricks.

Its gothic revival design is enhanced by a blend of local and imported materials, including local jarrah roof trusses and arches, limestone from Fremantle, bricks manufactured in three different brickyards along the Swan River, bluestone pillars from Victoria, Oregon pine ceilings, marble reredos manufactured in Italy with English alabaster inserts and a Caen stone pulpit carved in France.

Within the Cathedral are numerous icons, beautiful stained glass windows and memorials to Western Australian pioneers, community leaders and those who served in the wars of the twentieth century. The Soldiers' Chapel is a place of special interest.

The Cathedral's peal of bells, founded as a memorial to Queen Victoria, can be heard each Sunday before the 10.00am Choral Eucharist and 5.00pm Choral Evensong. These services also feature the widely acclaimed Cathedral Choir.

This historic Cathedral in the heart of the city offers traditional Anglican worship, challenging preaching, and a lively Christian community for people of all ages. We hope that you enjoy your visit to our website, and that you will worship with us whenever you are in Perth.