9 March 2000
Arrived Perth late this afternoon (early evening, really). Overwhelmed. By amount of traffic. By size of city and suburbs. Didn't know area. Didn't know suburbs. Didn't know streets or highways. Didn't know location of motels. Driving, driving, driving. Up one street and down another. Scratching head. Finally found some motels clumped together and picked one. Not too bad, but no television. Shock! Horror!
Since consulted maps of Perth in travel guide which show city centre and suburbs, so now know where we are in relation to other areas. Came past Burswood Casino on way in. Looks like a grotesque imitation of something you would see in Las Vegas. Horrible!
After leaving Gerldton a bit after 9:00 this morning came down Brand Highway to Dongara and Port Denison, then inland to Mingenew, down to Moora, then inland again to Great Northern Highway and down through New Norcia and Bindoon into Perth.
Was surprised by Dongara/Port Denison. These two towns, almost extensions of each other (the latter on the coast as the name would suggest, the former slightly inland from it), are quite large and substantial. They are older towns, and appear not to be reliant on tourism. Quite nice, both of them.
Hadn't planned on coming this way (was going to go the direct route) but where we had our coffee and raisin toast in Geraldton this morning, the guy told us he gets his special fruit bread from the monastery at New Norcia. We had seen this place on TV previously and as it was more or less in the direction we were going anyway, we decided to go and see it. The town began as a mission in 1846 when a Spanish Benedictine monk, Don Rosendo Salvado, set up to help the local aboriginal people. The mission became totally self-supporting and had all its own tradespeople (carpenters, artists, wood carvers, bakers, wine makers, gardeners, etc). It expanded over time to become also an orphanage and school for aboriginal boys and girls and continued in these roles until 1974 when changes in Government policy forced it to abandon these operations. It remains now as a monastery for about 16 Benedictine monks and as a major tourist attraction (I think it probably had to go this way just to survive). The original architectural style appears to be Spanish (I suppose only to be expected) and the later additions (to my eyes at least) Moorish. You come upon it unexpectedly and the impact is that much greater because it is totally at odds with the surrounding wheatfields, sheep farms and bushland. We spent a couple of very pleasant hours there going through the museum-cum-art gallery (the exhibits are fascinating) and then just wandering around marvelling at the place, the concept, and the will and commitment that made it all happen. Wonderful!
Don't want to spend too much time in Perth. Mainly just look around city centre and local major attractions (if any) and then head down to Fremantle, which is only 20 kms south. Want to be on SW tip of Oz sometime over weekend.