6 days in Perth, Australia- 5/22- 5/27/2024

Day 2-Elizabeth Quay-5/23/2024

 Elizabeth Quay is one of Perth’s most striking and symbolic waterfront precincts, a place where the city has quite literally reconnected with the Swan River (Derbarl Yerrigan). Historically, this area was part of the original shoreline where the Noongar people lived and gathered for thousands of years. When the British arrived in 1829, the riverfront became central to Perth’s early development, it was where goods arrived, ferries departed, and the young colony grew around the water. But over time, land reclamation projects in the 19th and 20th centuries pushed the river further away, and by the 1950s, the once-bustling foreshore had been replaced by roads and parking lots.

In 2012, the Western Australian government launched the Elizabeth Quay redevelopment project, named in honor of Queen Elizabeth II, to restore that lost connection between the city and the river. The project reimagined the area as a mixed-use precinct with a pedestrian-friendly promenade, a new inlet, and striking public art. It officially opened in 2016.

Today, Elizabeth Quay is a lively destination, home to waterfront restaurants, bars, and hotels, along with the ferry terminal and the iconic Elizabeth Quay Bridge, whose sweeping design mirrors the curves of the Swan River. The area also features major artworks like “Spanda”,  the tall white looping sculpture (far left) that represents the ripple effect of water, people, and connection.

As we are walking on Elizabeth Quay, the scene unfolds in a blend of gleaming glass, water, and open sky. Straight ahead are the two blue mirrored towers rise gracefully, their surfaces catching the light and reflecting the clouds and river below.

These are part of the Ritz-Carlton and The Towers at Elizabeth Quay, completed in 2019, symbols of the city’s modern transformation. In their mirrored façades, the skyline and water seem to merge, creating a constantly shifting play of color and light.

On the right of the Quay, the tall square building with a broad, solid look and a flat roof is Allendale Square, one of Perth’s classic high-rises. Built in 1976, it stands about 433 ft. tall and is known for its clean, geometric design and reflective façade that mirrors the surrounding skyline.

Next to it, the rectangular building with sleeker lines and a slightly more modern appearance is Brookfield Place Tower 1, one of Perth’s most prominent skyscrapers. Completed in 2012, it rises 768 ft., making it one of the tallest buildings in the city. The tower is home to major offices,  including the BHP headquarters, and is admired for its elegant glass design and energy-efficient features.

Below, the boats you see docked are part of the Elizabeth Quay marina, where small ferries, river cruises, and private yachts are moored. The marina reestablishes Perth’s long-lost connection to the Swan River, the very reason the city was founded here nearly two centuries ago.

Panoramic view from the Quay.

In the distance is the Elizabeth Quay Bridge is one of Perth’s most recognizable landmarks and a beautiful centerpiece of the quay. Opened in 2016,the bridge was designed by Arup and AECOM as part of the city’s effort to reconnect the Perth CBD with the Swan River. It stretches over 360 ft., linking the eastern and western promenades of Elizabeth Quay in a graceful pedestrian and cycling loop.

One of the great white arches of the Elizabeth Quay Bridge rising gracefully over the water.  Beyond the bridge, across the river, a cluster of buildings lined the far shore.

Its most distinctive feature is the pair of sweeping white arches that cross each other in midair, one leaning toward the city, the other toward the river. The arches are connected by a curving deck that dips and rises gently, allowing you to walk almost at water level. As you cross, you feel surrounded by open sky and rippling reflections from the river, with the skyline on one side and the wide waters of the Swan River on the other.

Slender steel cables fan out from the arch, holding the curved walkway below like delicate threads, giving the whole structure a light, floating appearance.

View of the Elizabeth Quay as we are closer to the Bridge

 The silver bird sculpture on Elizabeth Quay is called “First Contact” by artist Laurel Nannup. It is a large aluminum sculpture of a bird in flight, standing on a tall, curved pedestal right by the water’s edge. The bird represents a Noongar messenger spirit, and the artwork tells a story from the Whadjuk Noongar people about the first encounters between Aboriginal people and European settlers. According to the story, when the Noongar people first saw the arriving ships coming up the Swan River, they believed they were giant birds with white wings, bringing visitors from across the sea. Nannup’s sculpture captures that moment of wonder and curiosity, the gleaming wings symbolizing both the meeting of cultures and the enduring presence of Noongar stories in this landscape.

We are now heading to the bridge.

As we walked closer to the bridge, the elegant design becomes even more striking. From behind the metal fence, I can see how the white steel arches curve boldly over the water, each one leaning gracefully toward the river as if drawn by its flow.

The arcs are really leaning over as you get closer to the bridge.

As we stepped onto the bridge, the walkway curves gently above the water, drawing us toward the center where the river opens wide on both sides.

I looked up at and white arch soars overhead, smooth and graceful against the blue sky.  Beneath me, the water ripples quietly, and for a moment, it feels as though I’m suspended,  walking between the city skyline and the calm expanse of the river.  The view across the river is also beautiful and calm.

Looking across the river from the Elizabeth Quay Bridge, we are gazing toward the South Perth foreshore, a beautiful stretch of green parks and calm waterfront that offers one of the best panoramic views of the city. The buildings across the water are mostly residential towers and riverside apartments, but a few stand out: The Mill Point Tower, a tall, slender residential building that’s long been a South Perth landmark, easily recognizable from the city side, The Civic Heart development, a newer, modern high-rise nearing completion, set to become one of South Perth’s most prominent towers, designed to reflect the city lights at night.

The Swan river

We just crossed the bridge and this area is the Barrack Street Jetty

The Barrack Street Jetty is the oldest and busiest passenger jetty in Perth.

This jetty is mainly used as a dedicated terminal for passenger services, including Rottnest Island ferries, Swan River tourist cruises, Commercial charter boats.

Barrack Square is the historical and public space that hosts The Bell Tower, serving as a critical gateway between Perth's central business district (CBD), the Swan River, and the modern Elizabeth Quay precinct. The tower offers an open-air observation deck with excellent 360-degree views of the Swan River, Elizabeth Quay, and the city.

The Bell Tower is one of Perth's most unique and often-discussed pieces of architecture. The tower is instantly recognizable for its unusual, contemporary design. Its 271 ft. tall spire is clad in copper and glass, often giving it the appearance of a sleek, space-age rocket or a futuristic obelisk, a stark contrast to the historic city buildings around it.

The bell tower was completed to commemorate the new millennium (opened in 2000) and was designed by local architects Hames Sharley. The tower houses a set of 18 bells, making them one of the largest sets of change-ringing bells in the world. Fourteen of the bells are of immense historical value. They were gifted to Western Australia by the British Government and are the historic bells of St Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square, London, which is the parish church of the British Royal Family at Buckingham Palace. These bells date back to the 14th century, with most being recast in the 1700s.

Both of us standing at the Elizabeth Quay.

The elegant, white, arching structure you are seeing is called the Spanda that represents the ripple effect of water, people, and connection. The sculpture was created by Australian-born artist Christian de Vietri. The title, Spanda, is a Sanskrit word that translates to "divine vibration" or "pulse." The artist intended it to represent how consciousness or energy moves in waves of expansion and contraction, celebrating the "union of the individual with the universal."

The Spanda is composed of a series of six nested, gloss-white arches that are identical in shape but vary in exponentially increasing size.

The form is designed to suggest ripples or a continuous, ever-expanding vibrational pattern that links the Swan River, the land, and the sky.

The smallest arch is just large enough to frame a human body, while the largest one encompasses all the others, creating a sense of scale between the individual and the infinite.

The largest arch reaches an impressive 95 feet high, which is about the height of a nine-story building.

It is famous for being the world's tallest freestanding structure made of carbon fiber. This high-tech material, often used in the aerospace industry, was chosen to achieve the necessary strength and rigidity while maintaining the sculpture's incredibly slender and elegant form.  It is strategically placed on The Landing at Elizabeth Quay, near the water's edge, creating a stunning visual centerpiece for the entire precinct.  You can also see the Bridge in the background.

Essentially, Spanda is a captivating piece of public art that invites visitors to walk through it and reflect on the connection between themselves and the expansive environment of the city and the Swan River.

NEXT... Downtown Perth