COLOURFULWORLD

Monday 3 June 2013

WA Day or Foundation Day

Today, the 3rd of June was a public holiday in Western Australia - WA Day.
This is held on the first Monday of June, and is only celebrated in WA, commemorating the foundation of the Swan River Colony near Perth, in 1829.
Throughout the weekend from Saturday to Monday, there were plenty of other activities from horse-racing, to the Western Australian of the Year Awards, music concerts...



It was originally called Foundation Day, but the name was changed last year, as a recognition of the Aboriginal people as the original owners of this land.

I thought I would go into the city just for a change of scenery, to have a look at the shops...but as I stepped off the train station I came across a vibrant and noisy city centre.

Forrest Place, a pedestrian only square located in the CBD, was awash with kids and adults, engaged in various fun activities and enjoying a beautiful and sunny winter day with a balmy temperature of 20.C.
Merry-go rounds, bouncy castle, climbing wall, face painting, animal zoo, balloon artists, water fountain....the kids were ecstatic!
There were also some tents sponsored by one of our supermarkets, giving out hot dogs and cold drinks, and this was the spot with the longest queues around lunchtime!


Merry go-round and other fun things for kids
Kids jumping around in the fountains
Wall climbing

These 3 ladies were very entertaining with their song and dance routines
A colourful piano was available to anyone wishing to belt out some notes
The Art Museum and the Western Australian Museum were opened to the public for free, and I took the opportunity to visit both.
Outside the Art Museum people could get some tips from an Aboriginal artist on how to paint a huge canvas with the traditional dots.
Painting with an Aboriginal artist
Another canvas with the traditional dots
Western Australia Museum
Dinosaur inside the museum
 
Colourful seating area by the Wetlands
The singing/dancing trio at another venue by the "wetland" area.

Young kids were invited to make origami boats and make a wish for WA, then sail them on the pond in an event to remember the European settlers and the many migrants who have
come to the State of Western Australia.


Kids put their ships in the water in the "wetlands" area.


It was a wonderful day out for me and it must have been a pretty exciting day out for the thousands of kids enjoying themselves with all the outdoor activities.
Next year I will try and visit other venues.
Hope you had a good Monday too and enjoy the rest of your week.

















9 comments:

  1. Que céu tão bonito, dá mesmo vontade de andar na rua e brincar com as crianças!
    Já estou em Portugal e estou lentamente a voltar à vida online ;)

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  2. That looks so fun! My hubby just applied to two jobs, on in Perth and one in Sydney. he tells me that Perth is "the most desolate city on earth."

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  3. Sara = tudo de bom em Portugal.

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  4. Lovely light - Perth, desolate, I don't think so,far away from everything, known as the remotest city, yes! But it's a great city to live, great quality of life, in my opinion superior to any city in the eastern states...but I'm sure a lot of people would disagree.
    Good luck to your husband in his job applications.

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  5. Hear, hear Sami..as you say Perth is isolated, but there is no way in the world that its desolate.. There is just so much going on nearly all year round. My daughter is in her twenty's and is always out and about at trendy little places. I love these shots you've taken of the city, and the best part of all this fun is that most of it is free..you don't see that anywhere else very much these days oui!

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  6. Grace - absolutely agree with you! There is plenty going on in Perth, and these types of events are usually free, which is a bonus.

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  7. Cheira mesmo a festa! :-) Óptima série de fotos.

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  8. This seems like a nice event! :) I was in Australia couple of years ago, but I didn't know you guys have something like this. Respecting Aboriginal people is really decent attitude.

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