List of public art in Western Australia facts for kids

Western Australia is full of amazing artworks you can see in public places! These aren't just inside museums; they're out in the open for everyone to enjoy. You'll find all sorts of public art, like cool statues, interesting sculptures, big monuments, special memorials, colorful murals, and detailed mosaics.

Back in 1989, the government of Western Australia started a cool idea called the "Percent for Art" policy. This means that when new public buildings or projects costing over $2,000,000 are built, up to one percent of the money for the project has to be spent on public artwork. It's a way to make sure our cities and towns are full of creativity and beauty! Since 1989, over 700 artworks have been put up thanks to this plan.

Perth City Centre Art

Let's explore some of the public art you can find in the heart of Perth City Centre. This area is bustling with unique sculptures and installations.

Name	Image	Location	Artist	Year
"Ascalon"		St George's Cathedral, Perth	Marcus Canning, Christian de Vietri	2009
Percy Buttons' Aspiration		Hay Street Mall, Perth	Joan Walsh-Smith & Charles Smith	1996
Bessie Rischbieth Statue		Elizabeth Quay	Jon Tarry	2016
Conic Fugue (Enigma)		QV1 Building, Corner St Georges Terrace and Milligan Street, Perth	Charles O. Perry	1991
"Connect(us)"		Kings Square, Perth	Warren Langley	2016
"First Contact"		Elizabeth Quay	Laurel Nannup	2015
"Footsteps in Time"		40–50 St Georges Terrace, Perth	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	2004
Alexander Forrest		Stirling Gardens entrance, Barrack Street and St Georges Terrace, Perth	Pietro Porcelli	1916
"Going Home" (Kangaroos with Briefcases)		Florence Hummerston Reserve, Corner Mount Street and St Georges Terrace, Perth	Anne Neil	1996
"Grow Your Own" (The Cactus)		Forrest Place, Perth	James Angus	2011
Gumnut Babies		Stirling Gardens, Perth	Claire Bailey, Indra Geidans	2001
Bishop Mathew Hale		The Cloisters, St Georges Terrace, Perth	Greg James	2008
Talbot Hobbs		Supreme Court Gardens, Perth	Edward Kohler, Alex Winning	1940
"Irrational Geometrics"		Kings Square, Perth	Pascal Dombis & Gil Percal	2016
"Kangaroos on the Terrace"		Stirling Gardens St Georges Terrace Perth	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	1997
"Memory Markers"		Stirling Gardens, Perth	Anne Neil	2005
Meteorite (Fire... Water... Earth)		Forrest Place, Perth	Malcolm McGregor	2000
Migrants Memorial		Ozone Reserve, Corner Plain Street and Riverside Drive, Perth	A.J.N Macdonald & Associates	2008
"Harmony of Minerals Obelisk" (The Ore Obelisk)		Stirling Gardens, Perth	Paul Ritter and Ralph Hibble	1971
"Oushi zokei" (Mobius in space)		Elizabeth Quay railway station, Perth	Keizo Ushio	2010
Paper Planes		237 Adelaide Terrace, Perth
People in the City		Central Park, Corner Hay and William Streets, Perth	Anne Neil	1999
John Septimus Roe		Corner Victoria Avenue and Adelaide Terrace, Perth	Greg James	1990
"Spanda"		Elizabeth Quay	Christian de Vietri	2016
Captain James Stirling		City of Perth Library	Clement P Somers	1979
"The Strike" (Miners)		Perth Mint, Perth	Greg James	1991
Bronze Swans		Swan Bell Tower, Barrack Square, Perth	Sue Flavell, Gina Moore	2000
"Totem"		Perth Arena, Perth	Geoffrey Drake-Brockman	2012
Unidentified Photographer		Barracks Arch, Corner Barrack Street and Elder Street, Perth	Anne Neil, Greg James	1996
De Vlamingh Memorial		Barrack Square, Perth	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	2008

Duxton Hotel lions, St Georges Terrace, Perth

Northbridge and Perth Cultural Centre Art

This section highlights public art in the lively Northbridge area and around the Perth Cultural Centre.

Name	Image	Location	Artist	Year
"Arch"		Corner of Lake and James Streets, Northbridge	Lorenna Grant	2010
"Between 1979–1980"		Art Gallery, Perth Cultural Centre, James Street, Perth	Clement Meadmore	1981
Der Rufer (The Caller)		Art Gallery, Perth Cultural Centre	Gerhard Marcks	1981
"Gateway 2: Coalesce"		Perth Cultural Centre, James Street, Perth	Akio Makigawa	1987
"Luminous"		Chinatown, Rowe Street, Northbridge	Geoffrey Drake-Brockman	2015
"Nexus"		Plateia Hellas, Lake Street, Northbridge	Simon Gauntlett	2002
"Spiral"		Perth Police Station, corner of Rowe and Fitzgerald Streets, Northbridge	Geoffrey Drake-Brockman	2012
"Unfolding Lives"		Perth Cultural Centre, eastern end of the James Street mall, Northbridge	Judith Forrest	2010

East Perth and Claisebrook Cove Art

Since the late 1980s, the Claisebrook Cove area has been transformed. Old industrial sites were replaced with homes and beautiful waterfronts, featuring many public artworks.

Name	Image	Location	Artist	Year
"Channel Markers"/"Marker Seats"		Claisebrook Cove	Malcolm McGregor	1995
"Impossible Triangle"		East Parade Roundabout, East Perth	Brian MacKay, Ahmad Abas	1999
Peter Pan		Queens Gardens, East Perth	George Frampton	1929
Concrete Poem Sculpture (Spiral Sculpture)		Claisebrook Cove	Rob Finlayson, PlanE
"Sea Queen"		Claisebrook Cove	Tony Jones
"Shimmer"		Claisebrook Cove	SURF (Jurek Wybraniec/Stephen Neille)	2012
"Shoreline Marker Posts"		Claisebrook Cove	Malcolm McGregor	1995
"Standing Figure"		Claisebrook Cove	Tony Jones
"The Red Surveyor"		Corner Saunders and Glyde Streets, Claisebrook Cove	Jon Tarry

Kings Park Art

Kings Park is a huge park on the edge of Perth. It's famous for having more memorials, statues, and special avenues than any other park in Australia! You can find everything from old war monuments to life-sized dinosaur models here.

Name	Image	Location	Artist	Year
Bali Memorial		Fraser Avenue, Kings Park	David Jones, Kevin Draper	2003
The South African War Memorial		Fraser Avenue, Kings Park	James White	1901
Bullockornis		May Drive Parkland, Kings Park
Cenotaph, Eternal Flame and War Memorial		Fraser Avenue, Kings Park	Designed by Sir J. Talbot Hobbs	1929
Arnold Cook Memorial		Entrance to the Ivy Watson Playground, Kings Park	Greg James	1989
Edith Dircksey Cowan Memorial		Fraser Avenue and Kings Park Road, Kings Park	W. Ogilvy	1934
Diprotodon		May Drive Parkland, Kings Park	Travis Tischler	2010
Floral Clock		Fraser Avenue, Kings Park	Bequest from Frank Wittenoom	1962
"Lord Forrest"		Fraser Avenue and Lovekin Drive, Kings Park	Sir Edgar Betram MacKennal	1927
Muttaburrasaurus		May Drive Parkland, Kings Park
George Leake Fountain		Fraser Avenue, Kings Park		1902
Phytosaur		May Drive Parkland, Kings Park	Travis Tischler	2010
Pioneer Women's Memorial		Forrest Drive, Kings Park	Margaret Priest	1968
Queen Victoria		Fraser Avenue, Kings Park	Francis John Williamson	1903
Vietnam Memorial		May Drive Parkland, Kings Park		2002
"Wood Be Good"		Ivy Watson Playground, Kings Park

Fremantle Art

The City of Fremantle is another great place to discover public art, with many sculptures telling stories of its history and people.

Name	Image	Location	Artist	Year
The Explorers' Monument		Esplanade Park, Fremantle	Pietro Porcelli	1913
Child Migrant Statue		Victoria Quay, Fremantle	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	2006
John Curtin		Kings Square, Fremantle	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	2005
Sir Hughie Edwards		Kings Square, Fremantle	Andrew Kay	2002
The Fishermen		Fishing Boat Harbour, Fremantle	Greg James, Jon Tarry	2004
John Gerovich ("Mark of the Century")		Fremantle Oval, Parry St (at Queen St), Fremantle	Robert Hitchcock	2006
C. Y. O'Connor		Fremantle Port Authority entrance, Fremantle	Pietro Porcelli	1911
Ribbon Sculpture		Challenger TAFE, Fremantle
Sculptor Pietro Porcelli		Kings Square, Fremantle	Greg James	1993
Bon Scott		Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour, Fremantle	Greg James	2008
Vasco da Gama (Portuguese Memorial)		Esplanade Park, Fremantle	Ciare Bailey, Edgar Nailor, John Kirkness	1997
Southern Crossing		Victoria Quay	Tony Jones and Ben Jones	2002
Tom Edwards Memorial		Kings Square, Fremantle	Pietro Porcelli	1919
The Family		Newman Court, Fremantle (moved from 99 Plain Street, East Perth in 2019)	Margaret Priest	1974

Other Metropolitan Artworks

Beyond Perth's main areas, the wider Perth metropolitan area also has many interesting public artworks.

Name	Image	Location	Artist	Year
	Professor H.E. Whitfeld	University of Western Australia.	Mr John Dowie	1941
	Wednesday's Child	Burswood Park, Burswood	Abdul-Rahman Abdullah	2013
	Age Shall Not Weary Them	Cnr Hamersley & Rokeby roads, Subiaco	Greg James	April 2015
Aboriginal Family		Minim Cove, Mosman Park	Greg James	1999
"Asteroids"		Broadway (cnr The Avenue), Nedlands	Rick Vermey	2001
Bibbulmun Yorga woman and her dog		Neil Hawkins Park, Joondalup	Ron Corbett
Ethereal Hand		Spearwood Avenue (near Doolette St), Spearwood	Artforms collective	2016
Norman Brearley		Perth Airport, Redcliffe	Gerard Darwin
Catalpa Memorial		Esplanade, Rockingham	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	2005
Henry Camfield		Burswood Park, Burswood	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	1992
Centaur Memorial (1874 shipwreck)		North Beach	Kevin Hayes	1979
Centrefold		Marine Parade (at Eileen St), Cottesloe	Mark Grey-Smith	2006
Dr Arnold Cook and Dreena		VisAbility (formerly the Association for the Blind), Kitchener Avenue, Victoria Park	Greg James	2007
"Curl"		Carter Lane Park, Subiaco	Geoffrey Drake-Brockman	2015
John Curtin		Cottesloe Civic Centre, Cottesloe	Peter Gelencsér	1987
"The Dancer"		Sir Lawrence Jackson Courtyard, University of Western Australia, Crawley	Greg James	1979
Mary Durack and child, "the Storyteller"		Burswood Park, Burswood	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	1995
"Feathers"		Marine Parade (at North St), Swanbourne	Anne Neil	2004
"Fledglings"		Shenton College, Shenton Park	Greg James	2000
May Gibbs		Windsor Park, South Perth	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	2005
"Girl With Two Dolphins"		Centro Galleria, Morley	Andrew Kay	1996
Gumnut Fountains (4 locations)		• Corner Kalamunda and Canning Roads, Kalamunda • Corner Hale and Morrison Roads, Forrestfield • Corner Kalamunda and Newburn Roads, High Wycombe • City of Kalamunda offices entrance statement, 2 Railway Road, Kalamunda	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	– – 2008 -
Paddy Hannan		Burswood Park, Burswood	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	1998
"Here Birdy Birdy!"		Stirling Library, 895 Beaufort St, Inglewood	Clare Bailey	2004
3 Children, "Hopscotch"		Burswood Park	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	1995
"Interlace"		Central Walk, Joondalup	Geoffrey Drake-Brockman	2015
"Iris Metropolitan"		81 Walcott Street, Mount Lawley	Greg James	2008
unnamed Islamic artwork		Riverside Gardens, Bayswater	Arif Satar. Commissioned by Dar Al Shifar (Inc.)	2005
"Lina"		City of Stirling Offices, Cedric Street, Stirling	Tony Jones	2005
Leopard Heads		Spearwood Avenue (cnr Beeliar Drive), Yangebup	Artforms collective	2011
"Lotus"		Edith Cowan University, Joondalup	Nigel Helyer	2006
"Marble Bun"		Edith Cowan University, Joondalup	Rodney Glick	2004
"Nurture and Growth"		Scotch College, Swanbourne	Greg James	1997
C. Y. O'Connor		C. Y. O'Connor Beach, North Coogee	Tony Jones	1999
Herb Elliott and Shirley Strickland, "the Olympians"		Burswood Park, Burswood	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	2001
"Oneness"		Edith Cowan University, Joondalup	Ron Gomboc	2003
"Pas de deux"		Belmont City College, Belmont	Greg James	2000
"Peace" – Midland Junction Railway Workshops Memorial		Midland Railway Workshops, Yelverton Drive, Midland	Pietro Porcelli	1925
Pitman and Walsh Memorial (marble)		Joondalup Police Academy.	Constable Douglas Cummings (uncertain)	1929
"Readwrite"		NEXTDC Data Centre, Malaga	Geoffrey Drake-Brockman	2014
Scarborough Hand		The Esplanade, Scarborough	Kylie Graham	2017
Scouting monument		Perry Lakes Reserve		1982
"Sky Marker"		Tarlton Crescent, Perth Airport	Jon Tarry	2007
"Water Wing"		Tarlton Crescent, Perth Airport	Jon Tarry	2007
"Seed Carrier"		Tarlton Crescent, Perth Airport	Jon Tarry	2007
Socrates		University of Western Australia, Crawley
	Diotima	University of Western Australia, Crawley
"Speakers"		Victoria Park railway station		2010
"Spirit of the Community"		Belmont Civic Centre, Belmont	Andrew Kay	1999
Tribanga III		Station Street, Cottesloe	Clara Hali	2008
unnamed bronze		356 Oxford Street, Leederville
unnamed bronze		Western Australia Police Academy, Lakeside Drive, Joondalup
"Waterlines"		Terry Tyzack Aquatic Centre, Inglewood	Tony Jones	2001
Vlamingh Memorial		Curtin Avenue, Cottesloe	Tony Brand	1974
Willem de Vlamingh		Burswood Park, Burswood	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	1996
Aboriginal tribal leader Yagan		Heirisson Island, Perth	Robert Hitchcock	1984

Regional Artworks

Western Australia's country and regional towns also have many public artworks, often reflecting their unique local history and environment.

Name	Image	Location	Artist	Year
Kondinin ANZAC Horse		Kondinin, Western Australia	Artforms	2015
Aboriginal Female Pearl Diver		Foreshore, Broome	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	2010
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk		Middleton Beach, Albany
Antony Gormley Statues, Lake Ballard		Lake Ballard	Antony Gormley	2003
Nicholas Baudin		Albany	Peter Gelencser	2005
Nicholas Baudin		Busselton	Peter Gelencser	2005
"Fish (the sea in her belly)"		Busselton Jetty	Nicole Mickle	2011
Lord Forrest		147A Victoria St (cnr Stephens St), Bunbury	Mark Le Buse	1979
"Box Jellies"		Geraldton Lotteries House – Sanford St, Geraldton	Peter Zappa	2010
"Brother and Sister"		Roundabout on Victoria Street, Bunbury	Russell Sheridan
Camel Train (Tin Camels)		Prinsep Street Roundabout, Norseman
"Circus Train – Slow Down"		Leschenault Inlet Foreshore, Bunbury	Alex Mickle, Nicole Mickle	2010
Desert Mounted Corps Memorial		Mount Clarence, Albany	Charles Gilbert, Paul Montford, Sir Bertram Mackennal	1968
"Red Dog" (The Pilbara Wanderer)		High Street, Dampier
Paddy Hannan		Hannan St, Kalgoorlie	John MacLeod	1929
Hard Hat Pearl Diver		Carnarvon Street, Broome	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	1999
Miners Monument		Corner Burt and Lane Streets, Boulder	Clement. P. Somers	1984
Mokare		Albany	Terry Humble	1997
"The Navigators" ("Gateway"/"Four Winds Monument")		Australind Bypass Roundabout Bunbury	Jon Tarry	2000
"Norseman" (Prospectors horse)		Corner Roberts and Ramsay Streets, Norseman	Robert Hitchcock
Onslow War Memorial		Onslow	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	2006
"Patrick" (pelican)		Mandurah Terrace, Mandurah	Claire Bailey
Frederick Henry Piesse		Austral Terrace, Katanning	Pietro Porcelli	1916
Brigadier A.W. Potts		Kojonup	Greg James	2007
"Shirely Shell"		Mandurah railway station, Mandurah	Coral Lowry	2007
HMAS Sydney Memorial		Mount Scott Park, Corner George Road and Brede Street, Geraldton	Joan Walsh-Smith, Charles Smith	2001
"Water Dance"		Forrest Highway, Lake Clifton	Anne Neil	2009
Unnamed sculpture		Indian Ocean Drive near Cervantes		2010
"Whale Tail"		Waterfront, Esperance	Cindy Poole and Jason Wooldridge	2014

Into the Blue 2019, Foreshore Esplanade, Rockingham