Perth

PERTH

Perth  is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000. Perth became known worldwide as the "City of Light" when city residents lit their house lights and streetlights as American astronaut John Glenn passed overhead while orbiting the earth on Friendship 7 in 1962. The city repeated the act as Glenn passed overhead on the Space Shuttle in 1998. Perth is tied for eighth place in The Economist's 2011 list of the World's Most Livable Cities.

The nearest city to Perth with a population of more than 500,000 is Adelaide, South Australia, which is 2,104 kilometres (1,307 mi) away. Author Bill Bryson states that Perth is the most remote city on earth, which he justifies by noting that the population of metropolitan Perth is greater than the combined populations of the rest of Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia, west of Adelaide.

Perth receives moderate though highly seasonal rainfall, making it the fourth wettest Australian capital city after Darwin, Sydney and Brisbane. Summers are generally hot and dry, lasting from December to late March, with February generally being the hottest month of the year, while winters are relatively cool and wet, making Perth a classic example of a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). Summer is not completely devoid of rain with sporadic rainfall in the form of short-lived thunderstorms, weak cold fronts and on very rare occasions decaying tropical cyclones from Western Australia's north-west which can bring significant falls. The highest ever recorded temperature in Perth was 46.2 °C (115.2 °F) on 23 February 1991, although Perth Airport recorded 46.7 °C (116.1 °F) on the same day. On most summer afternoons a sea breeze, also known as "The Fremantle Doctor", blows from the south-west, providing relief from the hot north-easterly winds. Temperatures often fall below 30 °C (86 °F) a few hours after the arrival of the wind change. Perth is a particularly sunny city for a Mediterranean climate, receiving between 2800 and 3000 hours of annual sunshine.

By virtue of its population and role as the administrative centre for business and government, Perth dominates the Western Australian economy, despite the major mining, petroleum and agricultural export industries located elsewhere in the state. Perth’s function as the State’s capital city, its economic base and population size have also created development opportunities for many other businesses oriented to local or more diversified markets.Perth’s economy has been changing in favour of the service industries since the 1950s. Although one of the major sets of services it provides are related to the resources industry and, to a lesser extent, agriculture, most people in Perth are not connected to either; they have jobs that provide services to other people in Perth.

Perth is home to four public universities: the University of Western Australia, Curtin University, Murdoch University, and Edith Cowan University. There is also one private university, the University of Notre Dame. Perth Cultural Centre is both an area of central Perth and the collective name for the main buildings of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum, Alexander Library, State Records Office and Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA). The Perth International Arts Festival is a cultural festival which has been held annually since 1953.

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