Forrest Place - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Forrest Place is a pedestrianised square

Pedestrian mall

Pedestrian malls in the United States are also known as pedestrian streets and are the most common form of pedestrian zone in large cities in the United States. It is a street lined with storefronts and closed off to most automobile traffic...

located within the CBD

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

of Perth, Western Australia

Perth, Western Australia

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....

. The street was created in 1923, and has a history of being a focal point for significant political meetings and demonstrations.

History

Named after Sir John Forrest

John Forrest

Sir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....

, the first Premier of Western Australia

Premier of Western Australia

The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...

, Forrest Place was for most of its history a roadway between the Perth railway station

Perth railway station

Perth Station including Perth Underground is the largest railway station in Perth, Western Australia, and functions as an interchange between the Transperth Trains Armadale / Thornlie, Fremantle, Joondalup, Mandurah and Midland railway lines, as well as the Transwa Australind.-History:The Victorian...

and Murray Street

Murray Street, Perth

Murray Street is one of four main east-west roads within the Perth central business district.The street, the central portion of which has become a pedestrian mall, was named after Sir George Murray, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies from 1828 to 1830.It is the one main road in Perth that...

.

It was originally a plot of land issued to Patrick Farmer 1840. Prior to Forrest Place's construction, an arcade between Wellington and Murray Streets existed on the site known as Central Arcade. It was considered an "unhealthy" establishment, which led it's demolition. The construction of Forrest Place deemed to have "changed the face of Perth".

Prior to the building of Forrest Chase

Forrest Chase

Forrest Chase is a major shopping centre in Forrest Place located in Perth, Western Australia.-Transport:As the centre connects with major pedestrian malls there is no direct vehicular transport to the location. However, the area is well serviced by bus links along St Georges Terrace, as well as...

complex (containing Myer

Myer

Myer is Australia's largest department store chain, retailing a broad range of merchandise including women's, men's and children's clothing, footwear and accessories; cosmetics and fragrance; homewares; electrical; furniture and bedding; toys; books and stationery; food and confectionery; and...

and numerous other retail stores), the central building on the eastern side of Forrest Place was the Padbury Buildings (built in 1925 and demolished in 1986-1987). While the buildings on the east side have changed a number of times in the street's 82-year history, the General Post Office

General Post Office, Perth

The General Post Office is a heritage landmark building in Perth, Western Australia. Located on the western side of Forrest Place in the city's central business district, its imposing stone facade is in the Beaux-Arts style. The building was completed in 1923 after almost a decade of construction,...

(completed in 1923 ) and the Commonwealth Bank building (completed 1933 ), both designed by John Smith Murdoch

John Smith Murdoch

John Smith Murdoch was the chief architect for the Commonwealth of Australia from 1919, responsible for designing many government buildings, most notably the Provisional Parliament House in Canberra, the home of the Parliament of Australia from 1927 to 1988.-Personal Life:John Smith Murdoch was...

in the Interwar Beaux-Arts style and faced with Donnybrook

Donnybrook, Western Australia

-Tourism:Donnybrook has many town icons bearing the apple. On the main street, apple-shaped lights line the entrance of the Old Railway Station. These lights have recently been restored. Atop the east Donnybrook hill is a high tower with an apple at the top...

sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

, have endured significant change around them.

Parades, meetings and rallying place

In the 1940s returned soldiers marched through Forrest Place.

It was a meeting place and focal point for political meetings in the 1950' s through to the 1980s considerable use was made of the steps of the Post Office being above the roadway level. There were clashes with police during the battle of Forrest Place on 11 June 1966.

The attempt to defuse the political nature of the space and ban meetings in Forrest Place was carried out by Charles Court

Charles Court

Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, was a Western Australian politician, 21st Premier of Western Australia and member for the seat of Nedlands for the Liberal Party for nearly 30 years.-Early life:...

, on 18 November 1975, when his government used Section 54B of the Western Australia Police Act to ban meetings. Considerable numbers of demonstrations resulted from this ban. This was later repealed by the Public Meetings and Processions Act of 1984.

Forrest Place became a large paved area with the closing of the roadway in the late 1987 It still links Wellington Street

Wellington Street, Perth

Wellington Street is the northernmost of the four primary east-west streets in the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. It contains several of Perth's key facilities, including the new Harbour Town shopping development, the Wellington Street Bus Station and the Perth railway...

and Perth railway station

Perth railway station

with the Murray Street Mall

Murray Street, Perth

, but the addition of steps to the northern end prevents vehicle thoroughfare.

Uses

Forrest Place is used in many ways throughout the year, including cultural displays, children's activities and parades, and contains the City of Perth

City of Perth

The City of Perth is a local government area and body, within the Perth Metropolitan Area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government body is commonly known as Perth City Council. The city covers the Perth central business district and surrounding suburbs...

visitors centre.

Transport

Nearby transport facilities include:

Transperth Trains
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
Path Transit
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
CAT buses
Perth Central Area Transit
The Perth Central Area Transit System , or simply CAT, is three bus routes in the centre of Perth, a bus route in Fremantle, and three bus routes in Joondalup. Also included is the Rockingham City Centre Transit System...

External links

Original title and later map of site