Way down upon the Swan River

Perth, Australia seems about as far away as one can get from Sydney. Sydney is over 1200 miles, due east, by car through the empty wilderness that is the interior of Australia. Yet Perth is a thoroughly modern metropolis situated on the banks of the Swan River. Its port, eponomously named Fremantle, is analogous to Piraeus, Greece in proximity and function. A train runs to Perth every 15 minutes or so. It’s about a 30 minute ride. There is a dock in Perth but bridges across the Swan River have made it inaccessible to large ocean-going craft. Perth is a business center for the mining and sheep-raising industries. I counted at least 8 large freighters off shore, waiting to load. We visited King’s Park, located on a high point above the river, from where one can see the high-rise office and apartment buildings of the city. It contains botanic gardens. The central focus of the park is a large stone monument to the fallen soldiers of World War I. I found another monument way off to the side, almost hidden by a large tree.