The Quarry Amphitheatre is an outdoor venue located close to the ocean in
City Beach,
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. It has a sprung wooden stage and changing facilities for around 80 performers. It was officially opened on 9 November 1986 and is owned and operated by the
Town of Cambridge
The Town of Cambridge is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the inner western List of Perth suburbs, suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, about west of Perth central business district, P ...
.
The amphitheatre is located in an old limestone quarry, first quarried in 1834 by
Henry Trigg. The limestone from the quarry was used for construction and lime-burning. In 1847 Trigg sold the landholdings to
Walter Padbury
Walter Padbury (22 December 1817 – 18 April 1907) was a British-born Australian pioneer, politician and philanthropist.
Early life
Padbury was born in Fawler in the English county of Oxfordshire on 22 December 1817 and baptised on 11 Ja ...
, who continued the quarrying operations. At the height of the limestone kiln operations, more than 50 men worked at the site. The land was then sold to brothers Henry and Somers Birch in 1869, and then on to Joseph Perry in 1879. Perry kept the quarry and lime kilns working, with the last lime kiln being built in 1897. The quarrying ceased in 1906. In 1917 the land was sold to the Perth City Council.
The concept of converting the quarry into an amphitheatre was conceived by Diana Waldron, the director of the Perth City Ballet Company, in the early 1980s. With funding support from the Commonwealth Government, Lotteries Commission and the former
City of Perth
The City of Perth is a local government areas of Western Australia, local government area and body, within the Perth metropolitan area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government is commonly known as Perth City Council. T ...
, the vision finally became a reality and the Quarry Amphitheatre was officially opened on 9 November 1986. It is set in natural bushland and supports a capacity audience of .
It is a licensed
BYO facility.
The venue is used extensively between October and May for a range of events from ballet to concerts and large weddings.
See also
*
List of contemporary amphitheaters
This is a list of Amphitheatre#Modern amphitheatres, amphitheatres in use today with a capacity of at least 1,000.
Amphitheatres by capacity
See also
* List of concert halls
* List of jazz venues
* List of opera houses
* List of Roman amphithe ...
References
External links
*
{{Cinemas in Western Australia
Music venues in Perth, Western Australia
Quarries in Australia
State Register of Heritage Places in the Town of Cambridge