Perth, Evan’s home

I haven’t as yet written about my main character, Evan (Evandros, as he is known in back in Ancient Greece) Chronis’ home, where he is from in the twenty-first century. Oddly enough, it is where I currently live ;D I grew up in a country town, but have made Perth my home now for about 25 years. It’s also where I teach.

Perth, Western Australia is regarded as the most remote city in world. Bruce Springsteen, when he came here to perform about 5 years ago even mentioned how remote Perth is! I was there at his concert when he said it; BTW, awesome concert. There is the Swan River that runs from the mouth of Indian Ocean at our port city, Fremantle and splits the city in two, and meanders off into the Swan Valley where there are world renowned wineries. Sittella, Oakover, Jarrah Ridge, Lancaster, Houghtons, Sandalford to name some and there is a lot more, and the nice part they are not far from Perth’s CBD. Evan is a big fan of the Swan Valley and Margaret River, as I am.

The Swan River was used by the early settlers of Perth, founded in 1829, to transport goods from Fremantle and into the oldest suburb of Guildford. The Swan River Colony started out by free settlers but by 1850, the British sent convicts to construct roads and buildings, but mainly to reduce the number of felons in their prisons, and Australia hence was known as the convict settlement. The river is still used as a mode of transport, today we have ferries that run from Fremantle into the city, and from the southern suburb across to the city. Evan’s office overlooks the river. It is salt water and dolphins come into the river as well as sharks. I’ve seen both while teaching at Trinity College, which is situated within cooee of the river.

Perth has a Mediterranean climate, and our winters are mild, though it does get cold and chilly. So far this year, and throughout Western Australia, it has been a dry winter with little rainfall. We are behind the average by about 200mm from last year, which is not great for our primary producers. Australia is experiencing a nationwide drought, and we have water restrictions in place, especially in the Summer. The weather is amazing most of the year, though the summers can be very hot, and not a lot of people like it. I love summer as does Evan, he likes to go swimming at our pristine beaches. Our long coastline is open to the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean.

Most people are familiar with the cities Sydney and Melbourne, mention Perth, and you’ll get blank looks. Perth has approx. 1.7 million people living within it’s radius and we have the largest city park in the world, called Kings Park. Western Australia is the largest state in Australia and the second largest in the world after Sakha in Russia. We also are the largest producer of diamonds and pearls, plus we produce 70% of gold, nickel, salt and other metals.

I guess by now you can work out why I used Perth for part of Evan’s setting.

Thank you for your continued support and as always, I look forward to your comments and will respond.

Historical fiction novelist and a secondary teacher, Luciana Cavallaro, burnt out but not done… yet.

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