Northbridge is an

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia, historically separated from Perth's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

by the

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

and

Joondalup Joondalup () is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, approximately north of Perth's central business district. It contains the central business district of the regional City of Joondalup and acts as the primary urban centre of Perth's outer ...

railway lines. It is part of the

City of Perth A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...

local government area.

Location

Located immediately north of the CBD, Northbridge is officially bounded by William Street,

Roe Street Roe Street is a street in Perth, Western Australia. The central section of the street forms the southern boundary of the suburb of Northbridge, while the eastern end borders the Perth Cultural Centre to the north and Perth railway station to ...

, Newcastle Street and the

Mitchell Freeway The Mitchell Freeway is a freeway in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with the city of Joondalup. It is the northern section of State Route 2, which continues south as Kwinana Freeway and Forrest High ...

. The name Northbridge is often misapplied to areas and landmarks east of William Street and/or north of Newcastle Street, such as the

Perth Cultural Centre The Perth Cultural Centre is an area of central Perth, Western Australia, near the James Street Mall. It is home to a number of cultural institutions including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum, State Library o ...

, which are technically still part of the suburb of Perth. The area is accessible by foot from

Perth railway station Perth railway station is the largest station on the Transperth network, serving the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. It serves as an interchange between the Airport, Armadale, Fremantle, Joondalup, Mandurah and Midland ...

and

Perth Busport Perth Busport is an underground bus station, located underneath Wellington Street, Perth, Western Australia. It was officially opened by then Premier of Western Australia Colin Barnett and then Minister for Transport Dean Nalder on 13 July 201 ...

. It is served by a free Central Area Transit bus and also has a significant number of public car parks, both open and high rise. The area is largely a mix of commercial, public and residential properties.

History

The area now known as Northbridge originally hosted freshwater swamps where the current railway station and railway lines are. Draining of the swamps commenced in the 1860s, by convict labour, facilitating the construction of more permanent buildings. The gold boom of the 1890s saw the construction of many hotels for the accommodation of prospectors, including The Great Western Hotel (built 1896, now the Brass Monkey Hotel). The 1890s saw the area home to the state attorney-general and many other wealthy or influential people. Several private schools were also established in the late colonial area, such as Scotch College (1897) and Presbyterian Ladies' College (1915). These schools have since relocated. Around the time of World War I, the area became a hub of European immigration, especially Greek and Macedonian. In the 1950s and 60s post-war European migration changed the culture of the city, creating an al-fresco lifestyle of restaurants, cafes and bars that people enjoy today. The area was once a part of the

Perth central business district Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, and was known by informal names such as "North of the

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

" and "North of the ailwayLine". It was split from Perth and officially gazetted as a suburb in 1982.

Culture

Northbridge presently is a multicultural precinct, and contains a wide array of cuisine, including Asian and Mediterranean cuisine, and contains Perth's main nightlife district, which is centred on James Street and Lake Street. Northbridge's restaurant, cafe and bar scene varies from laneway bars and hole in the wall eateries, to prominent multi storey venues such as the Brass Monkey and Metro City concert club. Northbridge also hosts Perth's main

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Aust ...

area centred around Chung Wah Lane. The area has a historical connection to the Greek and Italian communities, with Perth's first Orthodox Church located on Parker Street. The main public open space area in the suburb is at

Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Museum. Almost exactly square, to the ...

. The Northbridge Piazza also serves as an open air communal space, which has been used as a venue to show free movies, live music performances, and broadcasts of popular sporting events. In March 2018,

Yagan Square Yagan Square is a public space and a component of the Perth City Link in Perth, Western Australia. It is situated between the Horseshoe Bridge and the Perth Busport in the eastern part of the Perth City Link precinct, occupying . Construction o ...

was officially opened, a new public space between the CBD and Northbridge. The Digital Tower, the Marketplace and recreational areas are now available for tourists and residents.

Northbridge History Project

In the early 2000s the Northbridge History Project was supported by the Government of Western Australia, on the recommendation of a report to the Premier

Richard Court Richard Fairfax Court (born 27 September 1947) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001 and as Australian Ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Liberal Party, ...

. The project finished in 2010. Northbridge History Study Days were conducted in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. During the project duration publications were produced, and an archive of the project was made, with publications and reports available on the project website. The book published in 2009 compiling the Study Days papers had the following items from two years:

Papers from 2007

* Felicity Morel-EdnieBrown ''The swamp stealers : topography and change in Northbridge'' * Jenny Gregory ''Northbridge and Carlton : ethnoscapes of consumption?'' * Susanna Iuliano ''Espresso bar lifestyle : Italian migrants and cafe culture in Northbridge, Western Australia'' *

Nonja Peters Nonja Yvonne Huberta Maria Peters is a Western Australian author and academic of Dutch ancestry. Her books produced on migration and Dutch Australians have received wide acclaim. She has served on a number of Australian and Western Australia ...

''On the street where you live : inner city immigrant enterprise'' * John N. Yiannakis '' 'The chicken of the egg', Greek settlement in Northbridge : Greeks in metropolitan Western Australia''

Papers from 2008

* Emma Benichou ''Northbridge through the eyes of a 'Flaneur' '' *

Geoffrey Bolton Geoffrey Curgenven Bolton (5 November 1931 – 3 September 2015) was an Australian historian, academic and writer. Life He attended Wesley College, Perth from 1943 to 1947. He published works on Australian history, authoring 13 books, his fina ...

''Northbridge as microcosm'' * Richard Offen ''Northbridge heritage : friend or foe'' * Peter Conole ''The Northbridge era in Western Australian policing '' * Bobbie Oliver '' 'Be workmen true, to workmen still', labor history and heritage in Northbridge'' * Keith B. Shilkin ''Jewish Northbridge'' * Christine Choo ''Socially and economically disadvantaged in Northbridge : a recent history (1960s-2007)'' * Kirrily Jordan and Jock Collins ''Cosmopolitan Northbridge : a changing inner-city ethnic landscape''

Perth City Link

The former separation of the Perth CBD and Northbridge has been changed through the

Perth City Link Perth City Link is an urban renewal and redevelopment project in Perth, Western Australia. The projectbounded by the Mitchell Freeway, Wellington Street, the Horseshoe Bridge and Roe Street is on land that was once the Perth/City railway ya ...

project - which saw the former railway yard that was just to the west of the Perth railway station changed to an urban development project. Northbridge now connects through to the Perth CBD through

and Manatj Park.

Notable people

Notable people from or who have lived in Northbridge include: * Gum Yuen (1875 – 1943),

Chinese Australian Chinese Australians () are Australians of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Chinese diaspora, and are the largest Asian Australian community. Per capita, Australia has more people of Chines ...

furniture maker and restaurateur

Gallery

File:Northbridge Sign and The Rechabite.jpg, The Northbridge sign and the Rechabite File:View from William Street, Northbridge.jpg, View of the North Metropolitan TAFE buildings File:Russell Square Perth 9261.jpg, Russell Square File:Public art - Arch, Northbridge.jpg, Arch, Northbridge File:St Brigid's Church with St Brigid's School.jpg, St Brigid's Church with St Brigid's School File:Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helene, Northbridge.jpg,

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helene

References

External links

*
The Northbridge History Project
{{Perth landmarks Restaurant districts and streets in Australia Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia Suburbs in the City of Perth