Langley Park is an open space in the central business district of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia. Running alongside Riverside Drive, it is grassed, rectangular in shape and has approximate dimensions . It was created by

reclaiming In linguistics, reappropriation, reclamation, or resignification is the cultural process by which a group reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. It is a specific form of a semantic change (i. ...

land from the adjacent Swan River between 1921 and 1935, to provide open space near the city. As a pioneer of civil aviation in Western Australia, Major

Norman Brearley Sir Norman Brearley (22 December 1890 – 9 June 1989) was a commercial and military pilot and one of the pioneers of the airline industry within Australia. Early life Born in Geelong, Victoria on 22 December 1890, Brearley moved to Perth, We ...

used the park as an airstrip in the 1920s. That tradition continues with "fly-ins", where small aircraft land in the park. In 2003, to celebrate 100 years of powered flight, 10 aircraft – one representing each decade of the 20th century – landed. Aircraft have also used the park to perform emergency landings. In 1997 a

Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

TMK had an engine failure and put down in the park. While not an official airfield, Langley Park makes Perth a place where fixed-wing aircraft can land in proximity to the central business district.

Modern usage

For many years, Langley Park's location made it a popular place to view the annual City of Perth Skyworks fireworks show on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

, which were held over the river. After Skyworks' retirement in 2022, Langley Park has continued to host a smaller scale fireworks display and

drone show Drone art (also known as drone display or drone light show) is the use of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), often quadcopters which fly in a coordinated fashion with light fixtures attached. They are usually equipped with multiple LEDs ...

as a replacement for the event. The Telstra Rally Australia World Rally Championship held events at the park for 11 years from 1992 to 2002, and once more in 2005.www.rallyaustralia.com.au
''The Road Ahead for 2005''. Accessed 21 March 2006 During November 2006, 2007 and 2008, the final stage of the

Red Bull Air Race The World Championship Air Race is a series of air races sanctioned by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). Originally established in 2003 as the Red Bull Air Race, and created by Red Bull GmbH, the event involves competitors navigating a ...

World Series was held over the Swan River and

Perth Water Perth Water is a section of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River on the southern edge of the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. It is between the Causeway to the east, and Narrows Bridge (Perth), Narrows Bridge to ...

, using Langley Park as the airfield.

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

has used the park many times for its shows whenever a big top touring production visits Australia. Shows performed at Langley Park have included ''Saltimbanco'', ''Alegria'', ''Quidam'', ''Dralion'', and ''Ovo''. On 30 September 2018, the park was the site of the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

homecoming celebrations after winning the

2018 AFL Grand Final The 2018 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the West Coast Eagles and the Collingwood Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2018. It was the 123rd annual grand final of the Australian ...

. In 2019, Langley Park hosted the

2019 WMF World Cup The 2019 WMF World Cup was the third edition of the WMF World Cup, the biennial world championship for national minifootball teams organized by the World Minifootball Federation (WMF). The tournament was contested in Perth in Australia between 1 ...

References

External links

{{commons category, Langley Park Parks in Perth, Western Australia Perth waterfront State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Perth East Perth, Western Australia