About Perth
In a city of two million people, does everyone know each other?
No, but in Perth …
… my Dad would go to lunch …
… with the father of a friend of the girl I went to kindergarten with …
… who was at school with the bestie of …
… the sister-in-law of …
… the identical twin of the brother-in-law of …
… the woman who sort of dated the guy who sat next to me in English Lit …
… who’s now married to the identical twin’s ex …
… but used to date the aunt of the girl who grew up with the niece of the woman who lived three doors down from the English Lit guy’s mixed doubles partner …
… whose brother was the only person who ever matched me in Spelling when we were in Year Five, and studied Medicine with …
… the surgeon who’s besties with …
… the guy who used to go out with …
… the daughter of a woman who played bridge with …
… the mother of the English Lit guy’s ex.
Can a city of two million people produce world-famous celebrities?
Yes, if the city is Perth.
Unfortunately, most are disgraced or dead. Or both.
Are Perth people travellers?
It’s possible.
In an Austrian ski resort, I bumped into the guy who used to live over the road from me; in Penzance, London and the Vatican, I encountered people I studied Law with; in Buenos Aires, it was a guy whose ninth birthday I went to; and in Bali … I don’t even like it, but I’ve still been twice, and both times … you can work out the rest.
Perth people can now fly non-stop to London; we soon may be able to do the same to Buenos Aires.
Do Perth people need to travel?
Far.
I once took a bus trip from Perth to Broome. More than 2,000 kilometres, and I still hadn’t left Western Australia. It was more than another thousand to the border.
As a kid, my sister and I sat in the back of Dad’s Holden Kingswood, driving three days to Adelaide, which at the time was the nearest city with more than 30,000 people. Part of the road was still gravel.
What’s the weather like?
I wrote the first draft of this on the day before Midwinter. I went out in a short-sleeved shirt for breakfast with friends and bumped into five different people I knew.
What’s a challenge facing Perth?
The challenge is to embrace and build on the small bars, cafes and cultural events that have enlivened it over the past decade, while keeping it as the friendly place it always was.
