The Big Boom Walking Trail - Barn Bidi Perth
- Out and About
- Jan 27
- 4 min read
Updated: 11 hours ago
This trail through Perth City explores historic buildings and areas influenced by the gold rush in the 1890's. The surge of growth, wealth and prosperity that followed the discovery of gold retains an enduring presence in the city today.
Perth Railway Station is one of the oldest operational train stations in Australia. The original building built in 1881 soon became inadequate and a new building was constructed in 1894 with additional wings added in 1897, creating the building as it exists today. Gold was transported in unmarked carriages from the goldfields through this railway station to the Perth Mint for processing. Two security guards were locked inside the carriages with food and wine to prevent the gold being hijacked but more often than not the guards emerged quite intoxicated on arrival in Perth!
The Globe Hotel, built in 1884, provided accommodation and refreshment to locals and visitors. It's proximity to the Railway Station ensured it was a social hub at the time. The hotel was reopened as The Globe in 2016.
The Royal Hotel across the road from the Globe was originally built in 1882 but substantial additions were added at the turn of the century including the big balconies offering relative coolness to guests on hot nights. The Royal Hotel was redeveloped as part of the Raine Square Complex in 2018.
Glyde Chambers has a very large entrance door which reflects it's use as a livery stable. Visitors could house their horses overnight while staying at one of the nearby hotels and locals could hire horses and buggies.
King Street is named after King William IV and is one of the best preserved gold rush period streetscapes in Perth. Originally it was a residential street with working class cottages surrounded by coal yards, blacksmiths and laundries but the wealth from gold turned the street into a bustling area for small businesses such as milliners, druggists, shoemakers and dentists. It's proximity to the railway line made it an ideal site for warehouses and wholesalers.
Prince Lane has rows of warehouses on it's eastern side with doors at street level and also on the upper levels where goods would be lifted in by pulley systems.
City Hotel was built in 1898 and although it offered some accommodation it's main purpose was as a worker's bar. Today it operates as the Belgian Beer Cafe.
His Majesty's Theatre opened in 1904 and is the only remaining Edwardian theatre operating in Australia. The theatre reflected the class structure of the time with separate entrances for the upper echelons of society and the working class.
Palace Hotel was built in 1897 to accommodate the growing stream of gold seekers and no expense was spared in creating this elegant and beautiful hotel. It operated as a hotel favoured by mining magnates until the 1970's.
London Court is a mock reproduction of a 16th century Elizabethan London Street and was built in 1937 as a gift to Perth. The arcade features an ornate mechanical clock featuring two jousting knights at the Hay Street entrance and St George slaying the dragon at the St Georges Terrace entrance.
The Metropole Hotel and Theatre Royal on Hay Street were built in 1897. The Theatre Royal was state of the art for it's time with a roof that could slide open on hot nights. The Metropole Hotel was built next door.
McNess Building was built by a property developer during the gold rush and was known for it's generous interior and exterior facade.
Government Printing Office built in 1894 was home to the Government Printer who was responsible for printing Parliamentary papers, the Government Gazette (still in print) and scientific papers.
Fire Station No 1 and Museum was constructed in 1901 as a state of the art purpose built fire station, the first in Australia. The station could house the fire departments horses which were trained to respond to the fire alarm bell. They would trot into place under the fire equipment harness and would be harnessed up in as little as 18 seconds!
The Perth Mint was the final destination for the gold coming from the goldfields and here the raw product was formed into coins to be used as currency. It was built in 1899 as a branch of the British Royal Mint. At the time income from gold was responsible for 90% of the colony's wealth. Ownership was only transferred to the Western Australian Government as late as 1970. Today it is one of the oldest mints still in operation.
Download the PDF to read all the heritage notes about the sites on this trail.
The Big Boom Trail is a revamped offering of what was previously know as the Boom or Bust Trail which also featured: Perth Town Hall, Albany Bell Tea Rooms, William Street, the General Post Office and Royal Perth Hospital.
To read more blogs go to:
Other Perth Heritage Trail blogs include Icons of Influence
and Historic Heart of Perth https://www.outandaboutfnc.com/post/2018/10/03/historic-heart-of-perth
There are also 3 different art trails through the CBD - many of the artworks can be found alongside these heritage buildings.
I love wandering along trails, both marked and unmarked, and sharing my discoveries with my Out and About FNC community. If you enjoy reading my blogs please consider a small donation which will be used towards the costs of keeping the website up to date and relevant.
In the spirit of reconciliation Out and About- Family Nature Connection acknowledges the traditional owners of the Wadjak Boodjar (Perth land) and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
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