Perth Travel Guide
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About Perth
Perth (Nyungar: Boorloo) is the capital and largest city of the state of Western Australia. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.2 million in the city and 2.3 million within Greater Perth as of 2023. The world's most isolated major city by certain criteria, Perth is part of the South West Land Division of Western Australia, with most of Perth's metropolitan area on the Swan Coastal Plain between the Indian Ocean and the Darling Scarp. The city has expanded outward from the original British settlements on the Swan River, upon which its central business district and port of Fremantle are situated. Perth was founded by Captain James Stirling in 1829 as the administrative centre of the Swan River Colony. The city is situated on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people, where Aboriginal Australians have lived for at least 48,000 years. Perth was named after the city of Perth in Scotland. Initially established as a free settlement, the colony accepted transported convicts from 1850 to supply labour for public works and construction. Perth was proclaimed as a city by Queen Victoria in 1856. Substantial population growth occurred during the late 19th-century Western Australian gold rushes, and the city has continued to expand, particularly after World War II due to a high net migration rate.