How much do we really know about our beautiful city? Jump on a walking tour by Oh Hey WA and kids will be excited to learn about the culture and history of Perth (without them even realising it’s educational!). As well as bar tours for the big kids, Oh Hey WA runs street art tours that are perfect for families to enjoy together. Little Chef and I tagged along on a Street Art & Sculpture tour during the school holidays and we were so impressed!
We met Adie, our guide and Oh Hey WA founder, under the huge indigenous sculpture at Yagan Square. This was the first of many fun facts of the day and cleared up my mistaken assumption that the sculpture was of Yagan himself! It is actually “Wirin” (Spirit in Noongar) and represents the eternal force of creative power that connects all life of “boodja” (Noongar for mother earth). From here we walked towards Murray street, pausing to see the city’s newest mural – Mary Raine a trailblazer for Perth businesswomen.
Wolf Lane has to be THE BEST spot in town for street art lovers. We’d walked down this colourful laneway many, many times. We’d admire the art by many local and international artists, but what I loved the most on this tour, is that you get to delve much deeper into the stories behind the masterpieces. Adie is a wealth of knowledge.
For instance, Little Chef had always loved this mural of robots. But what it actually signifies is the environmental impact of remote mining of the Pilbara region. Who knew?! I found it absolutely fascinating.
And the tour is not just about commissioned art. Adie talked a little about graffiti. And I was surprised to hear sticker, stencil and tile graffiti are things in Perth too – like this random tile Lego Jesus.
We walked down Prince Lane. This isfull of murals depicting the area’s history of the clothing industry, as well as the “prince” by renowned Perth street artist, Stormie Mills.
On our way to Northbridge, we lingered at beautiful indigenous sculptures with a heart-warming story. We respectfully admired the dancers from afar, before Adie told us that the artist made them “climbable”.
As well as the sights and smells of China Town, Little Chef was amazed to see the vibrant street art down a hidden lane.
There’s SO much to discover!
With more public art at every turn.
Oh Hey WA are well worth checking out. The holiday tours are best for school aged children. The tour lasted 1.5 hours and we walked at a leisurely pace. We loved Adie’s enthusiasm and infectious love of our home town. You’re bound to learn something new on this very fun wander around Perth city.
Find out more on their website.
Discover more things to see and do in Perth with kids here.
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Amanda Carlin has her own food and travel blog. Established in 2013, “The Chef, His Wife and Their Perth-fect Life” has enjoyed an exciting name change in 2021, as “The Chef’s Ex-wife” embarks on new adventures with Simply PERTHfect. Amanda loves getting out and about in Perth and WA, as well as brunching, tapas or something a little fancy in equal measures. With her son “Little Chef” in tow, Amanda always has plenty of family friendly eating options to recommend too! Be sure to check out Simply PERTHfect.
