Perth SKATEBOARDING

Perth city has been in a constant state of change over the past 10 years. The infrastructure has been improved by a serious influx of mining money from the iron ore being extracted from the ground, up in the north of our state. When this mining money first started to trickle in, Perth turned from a big country town to a real city. Before the boom, you would head into the city to skate after business hours and barely see a soul on St Georges Terrace, which was a young skateboarder’s dream. Then Perth city exploded with cultural developments. New buildings, restaurants, coffee shops, bars and shopping precincts opened, giving the city new life. But, more importantly to me, new skate spot after new skate spot has arrived.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2011 brought many of the world’s leaders to Perth, including the Queen. In the areas that the leaders were scheduled to travel through, redevelopment works were undertaken by the city council. The meeting turned out to be very important for skaters, because a few key sections of ground were replenished with granite footpaths, rather than the old style of small, exposed aggregate concrete slabs.

Perth’s rank as the seventh most liveable city in the world is a great achievement for a place that also holds the title of the second most isolated capital city in the world. This isolation has forced our skate scene to be very independent, but has traditionally held back some of the up-and-coming Perth skateboarders from getting the national and international coverage they deserve. Many of the skaters featured in this article are currently working or studying to work in industries outside of skateboarding. But Perth makes up for this with the lifestyle; this is why people choose to live here. With great weather, great beaches, no heavy traffic, a lack of security guards