Elizabeth Quay, Perth (must see)

Elizabeth Quay is Perth’s main waterfront precinct, set on the north shore of Perth Water where the city center meets the Swan River. Named in honor of Queen Elizabeth II during her Diamond Jubilee, it officially opened on 29 January 2016. The precinct was created as a mixed-use redevelopment, combining public promenades, ferry access, residential and office space, shops, restaurants, entertainment areas, and an artificial inlet designed to draw the city back toward the river.

For visitors, the area offers a mix of walking space, river views, and modern landmarks. The Elizabeth Quay Bridge crosses the mouth of the inlet, linking The Island on the eastern side with the western side of the quay. The Island playground is on the small island at the river end of the inlet, close to the Florence Hummerston Kiosk and reached by the bridge connections from either side of the quay. The BHP Water Park is on the north-western side of the precinct, near the western promenade and close to the ferry terminal side of the quay.

Public art is one of the precinct’s strongest features. Spanda, the 29-meter white abstract sculpture by Christian de Vietri, stands at The Landing, the broad public area on the northern side of the inlet, where the city-facing promenade opens toward the water. First Contact, by Laurel Nannup, is on the south-western shoreline of the inlet, near the western entry to the Elizabeth Quay Bridge; its bird-in-a-boat form faces the water and recalls the first encounters between Noongar people and European arrivals. The bronze statue of Bessie Mabel Rischbieth is on The Island, near the playground and kiosk area, appropriately placed close to the river she campaigned to protect.

Elizabeth Quay works well as a natural pause or finishing point. Visitors coming from the CBD usually enter from the northern side, around The Landing and Spanda, then can continue down to the inlet, cross the bridge toward The Island, pass the playground and Bessie Rischbieth statue, and return along the western side past First Contact, the water park, and the ferry jetties.