Perth Suburb Profiles

Perth

Situated 1km from Perth GPO.

The story of the naming of Perth begins with the instructions given to Captain Stirling, Lieutenant Governor designate of the proposed colony of Western Australia, who was given the choice of establishing the chief town on Cockburn Sound, or "on various points on the Swan River". It has been established that Murray actually gave Stirling explicit instructions, and advised him that failing the establishment of the town at Cockburn Sound, he was to fix the site for it at the confluence of the two rivers, the Swan and the Canning, or in other words, at Point Heathcote. Stirling had good reasons to disobey Murray, but briefly they were that it was that the Perth site was "decidedly preferable in building materials, streams of water, and facility of communication".
Stirling did however gladly comply with Sir George Murray's command that the new town be called Perth. Murray's reasons for choosing the name, Perth, were purely sentimental and quite understandable, for he was both a Perthshire man and represented his birthplace in the House of Commons. The choice suited Stirling, himself a Scotsman, although it is recorded that at least one early settler, William Leake complained to the Home Office about the name. August 12, 1829, marked the day of the founding of the town, when Mrs Helen Dance cut down a tree. August 12 was also the king's (George 4th) birthday.

2011 Census Summary	Perth	Perth Metro Region
Population - Usually Resident	9,237	1,645,573
Median Age of Residents (Years)	31	35
Residents less than 19	10%	27%
Residents 20-64	85%	62%
Residents over 65	7%	13%
Average Household Size (persons)	1.00	2.55
Couples without children	32%	28%
Couple family with children	10%	34%
Single parent family	4%	11%
Other families	2%	2%
Lone Person	41%	24%
Group Household	14%	5%
Total Households	3,837	604,425
Number of Occupied Dwellings 1	4,729	595,499
House	14%	79%
Duplex, Villa, Town House	18%	12%
Flat,Unit, Apartment	69%	10%
Other 2	1%	1%
Number of Unoccupied Dwellings	895	57,529
Fully Owned 2	14%	30%
Being Purchased 2	25%	42%
Being Rented 2	62%	28%
Other 2	1%	2%
Median Weekly Household Income	$1,749	$1,481
Median Monthly Mortgage Repayment	$2,210	$2,008
Median Weekly Rent	$400	$327
Local Schools:	Mercedes Ladies College, North Perth P.S., Alexander Technology Institute
Other Nearby Schools:	Our Ladys Assumption School (Dianella) , Trinity College (East Perth) , Sacred Heart Primary School (Highgate) , Aranmore (Leederville) , St Columa's Catholic Primary School (South Perth) , Perth College (Mount Lawley)
Shops:	Perth
Train Stations:	Perth
Bus Services:	Perth Bus Station
1. Excludes visitor only households 2. % Calcs exclude Not Stated Component