Forrest Place

While the renovation of this space seems to require continuos work, it has created a space that is well utilised by the peoples of Perth and the city council.
The markets, festivals, special events or just parents taking their kids to play in the fountains; this area demonstrates what is best about Perth; laid back, active, and occasionally present you with something new and interesting.

I love everything that Perth can offer, the food is amazing, the clothes are becoming more and more great.

Once upon a time, this was where you could find any Goth in Perth at any time of day. In the days before even texting was widely accepted, one would come here in full makeup and hang around for a few hours until whomever it was that one was waiting for inevitably arrived. While it is now much less useful as a subcultural hangout (and all the gothy/​emo teenagers have headed to Central Park now), it is a fairly great public space. The stage is surrounded by a small waterfall; I’ve had the pleasure of playing a show on it and took the opportunity to splash around in the fountain as part of the gig. There are a number of cafes dotted around the perimeter, along with the Commonwealth Bank and GPO. It is also very close to the city railway station. Occasionally there are events and community programs here — it’s a great place to host these as it really does feel like the centre of Perth. I most often use this space as a meeting point, as if my rendezvous is running late, I can always wander around the shops or get a coffee without making myself too difficult to find.

I like what they’ve done with the redevelopment of Forrest Chase. By day, the giant blob-​like sculpture by Perth artist James Angus stands out like a big plastic cactus in what used to be desolate surrounds.
Now Forrest Chase also boasts a massive shaded area, bolsted up by sturdy metal poles and lit up beautifully at night.
The redevelopment reportedly cost 32 million dollars. It’s a bit much in these tough economic times and you would think the City Of Perth had cheaper access to construction materials what with our close connections to the resources industries but, hey, it makes our city a prettier place.
A good, obvious location to meet friends in the city.

Forrest Place is one of the landmarks of the CBD. It is home to a variety of events, and also to some very interesting members of various sub-​cultures. Forrest Place seems very popular for «gogans» [aka a mixture of goth and metalhead] to gather, as well as a variety of other city dwellers and characters who will happy [and loudly] shoot the breeze while sitting on the benches.
Since it is an accessible and easily recognisable part of the CBD, Forrest Place has been the chosen gathering place for many rallies. Occupy Perth and the anti-​CHOGM protests are just a few amongst many rallies that have come and gone. The rallies against the Iraq invasion started at Forrest Place. The first Refugee Rights Action Network rally gathered at Forrest Place before taking to the streets… and the list goes on.
The City of Perth has also tried to invigorate the otherwise stark-​looking place by holding weekly music events, where musicians plied their trade on the semi-​circular stage. It apparently didn’t work as well as the council would have liked, as the music events seem to have stopped, to be replaced by an ever-​present flock of pigeons fighting over food scraps.
Forrest Place is part of Perth’s identity, and it can be fun to people watch.

Forrest Place is a pedestrian square in Perth’s CBD. In addition to containing the City of Perth visitors centre – and, at this time of year, a large Christmas tree – it is used throughout the year for various different events and purposes.
This year has been no different. Let’s take the last two months as our sample. In October, the anti-​CHOGM Action Network staged a large protest against the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting there, and Occupy Perth set up camp outside the Commonwealth Bank. (The occupation didn’t last long.) Every Friday from October to March it hosts an awesome twilight hawker market with all manner of international fare: Turkish gözleme, Spanish paella, Mexican burritos. Last month saw it host events as part of the AWESOME International Arts Festival for Bright Young Things. I have fond memories of seeing little kids run around the Polyglot Theatre’s Sticky Maze, a labyrinth of shredded newspaper and sticky tape, squealing in the delight as the performers played hide and seek with them.
The square is not exactly pretty, and indeed can come across as stark and oppressive when not filled with the sort of events mentioned above. Not everyone is going to be fond of Perth artist James Angus’s million-​dollar sculpture, which was installed in August at the square’s railway station end. But you’ve got to appreciate the blank canvas the square represents, as well as the way various groups have chosen to paint it.