The History Of Perth's Kings Park In 1 Minute

Following the establishment of the State Government in 1890, the newly appointed Premier John Forrest began development the same year, introducing park fences at either end of the then-newly constructed Perth Park Road (now known as Poole Avenue, Forrest Drive and Fraser Avenue in different sections). In 1895, the land was named ‘The Perth Park’. By the turn of the millennium, King Edward VII came to the British throne, and to mark this momentous occasion, the park was renamed in 1901 to Kings Park.

The following years saw the addition of a Memorial Statue of Queen Victoria and the Cenotaph of the State War Memorial. In 1965, the State Government opened a 17-hectare Botanic Garden, with the subsequent addition of a DNA Observation Tower and Vistas and playgrounds. Adding to the memorial site, the Flame of Remembrance was officially opened in 2000 by the HM Queen Elizabeth II, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island War Service Memorial was presented in 2001. Since then, the park has continued to thrive with several memorial sites, playgrounds, cafés, art shops, a restaurant and so much more to discover.

Kings Park has long been a sacred place to Aboriginal people, and to honour their culture associated with it, the Botanic Gardens and Park Authority are committed to preserving it. In 2008, the estimated 750-year-old Giga Jumulu Boab tree was relocated to Kings Park from the Kimberley as a special gift to Western Australians from the local Indigenous people, the Gija – the traditional land owners.