Right in front of you is Murray Street, an energetic pedestrian mall lined with shops and crowned by sleek walkways and glass arcades above-just look for the busy crowds, modern storefronts, and those rooftop curves to make sure you’re in the right spot!
Now, welcome to the heartbeat of Perth’s central business district, where every step along Murray Street feels like diving through layers of city life-old, new, and sometimes just a bit quirky. This avenue was named for George Murray-a British Secretary who, despite the street’s fame, probably couldn’t have found Perth on a map. But don’t hold that against him.
Imagine, you’re marching along the only main road in Perth that salutes you with a cathedral at the eastern end: the grand St Mary’s Cathedral. Years ago, the west end had its own church too, St Patrick’s, sounding church bells at Havelock Street, before it gave way just so they could extend the street-Devine intervention for greater traffic, you might say! In 1937, Murray Street stretched even further off to Outram Street, and then on again to Thomas Street, never satisfied standing still.
Now picture this: The central chunk of Murray Street, the very pedestrian mall you’re standing on, didn’t always look this lively. There’s history layered beneath your sneakers. Once, this stretch was filled with cars and trams; today, it’s a paradise for shoppers and window gazers. In the early 2000s, when Perth railway station got a shiny new entrance, the mall got a facelift too-luckily for it, botox wasn’t required.
Here in the city’s stylish heart, renowned department stores like Myer and David Jones brush shoulders with trendy newcomers like Zara and Nespresso. Murray Street is where you could drop your shopping bags and trip over both the past and the present-hopefully not over your own feet! If the central strip gets a little overwhelming, imagine the luxury: arcades linking straight to Hay Street, more intricate than your average rabbit warren.
Step east and you’ll find yourself in the Murray Street East Precinct, where heritage holds strong. The Young Australia League Building looms, a three-story classic with quirky colonnades and proud history. Built for the League and its founder, Jack Simons, it welcomed thousands of youth on their journey to become-well-young Australians. Next door, at 55 Murray Street, stands a stately house once home to politician and philanthropist Timothy Quinlan, who helped carve up land for the city’s Connor-Quinlan Estate. The whole precinct between Pier Street and Victoria Square is a history buffet-so much so, you might wish you brought a time machine.
Let’s not skip the former Government Printing Office either-today the Curtin Graduate School, but yesterday it was the city’s information superhighway, minus the high-speed Wi-Fi.
And if you’re lost, Perth’s railway station sits just at the mall’s western edge, calling out commuters as reliably as a rooster at dawn. Multi-story parking garages are tucked close by, just in case those shopping bags get the best of your arms. Murray Street, spanning east to west, is Perth’s living, breathing, ever-changing promenade-a place where stories of churches, epic shopping, youth leagues, and dazzling arcades all come together in an endless parade.
