Innocence lost.......

I remember when I was young , everyone described Perth during the post Edgar Eric Cooke era as having lost its innocence .

Previously we left doors open when we left the house.

Windows were ajar to catch a summer breeze.

Our dogs were allowed to roam the street unfettered by leads and routine and returned at the end of each day much like neighbourhood children.

We lived on big blocks secured only by little picket fences and there was no such thing as alarms or security doors.

Most homes sported 'sleep outs' , wonderful open air bedrooms that effectively were just beds on back verandas ,open to the elements and possible advances from creepy crawlies.

When Cooke launched his infamous mark on history and made Perth aware of it's mortality - everything changed. We became paranoid and conscious of the fact that there are dangers and in a response to the unknown our homes became fortresses and our free and easy life style became a little more reserved .

That was the time when the most isolated city in the planet became isolated in perspective and attitude and inescapably parochial.

I spent many years working in the Pilbara and the Kimberley , wide open spaces that spanned majestically across the panorama for as far as the eye could see, seemingly unspoiled and liberated and full of promise and adventure.

I resisted returning to Perth during school holidays , preferring to travel to Bali or New Zealand or 4 wheel drive through the outback, discovering isolated outposts and settlements and really feeling alive.

Isolation is really a state of mind - you can be in the most lone place on earth and still feel King of the world - I feel Perth has embraced the tag of 'isolation' a little too literally

My first memory of returning to Perth was one of gratitude as I felt city life would offer more for my growing family .

My second memory was a little less positive.

Having come from Dampier where a trip to the shops for a loaf of bread could take a couple of hours because every second person wanted a chat, Perth was a little daunting.

People seemed to regard you suspiciously if you met eye contact and originally I found Perth very isolating. Gratefully I found friends when I went in search of friends and playgroups for my children.

Now at a new phase of my life I do not find Perth a welcoming environment - it is potentially a very lonely city.I love the gym and it has been a wonderful social experience and given me some new friends. I am grateful for the life of freedom that I enjoy but I also see the limitations of this little backwater.

I have always loved the freedom and energy of the North and have a natural aversion to city life - not to mention the weather.

I object to the shortsighted infrastructure - roads constantly in need of updating despite ever increasing immigration.

I object to a government which is leading us into an abyss once the mining boom really dissipates.

I remember when living in Kununurra the local businessmen called for secession from the rest of Australia as bureaucracy was blocking the progress of local trade .

Perth seems to have managed to have seceded successfully without too much effort

Yet again we are three hours behind the rest of the country.

I appreciate the beauty, the freedom and the pace of life makes Perth an Eden and in some ways idyllic.

Maybe it's just this interminable wintry weather that is making me a negative nelly

After all - weather is one of claims to fame - seems we are losing that notoriety as well 👍😀

#whingingforaustralia #parochialperth