Perth has a pleasant climate with cool winters and warm-to-hot summers: average maximum temperatures in January and February are about 31° C (87° f); in June and July minimum averages fall to about 9° C (48° F). The city has a fine natural setting, curling round the River Swan and Perth Water, and has grown steadily throughout this century, particularly since World War ll. Suburban expansion has been marked, especially to the north; south-east of the city centre there has been further significant growth of low-cost housing within accessible distance of southern industrial plants.
Perth has had in the past a stolid reputation, resulting from its extreme isolation. With the lifting of the Federal Government embargo on iron-ore exports in 1960, Perth threw off this image in the mineral boom that gathered momentum during the 1960s and increased exponentially thereafter until the early 1990s. The city's remoteness, which was, in any case, mitigated to some extent by the Indian-Pacific rail link with the east coast, by greatly enhanced and more efficient and frequent air transport, and by high-technology communications systems, was further reduced when mineral boom excitement made Perth of central economic and investment interest to the rest of the continent. As well, new wealth and buoyant entrepreneurialism transformed Perth's façades, streets, and skyline, and underwrote many cultural and other contributions to life in what was now seen as one of the nation's most vibrant and productive cities.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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