DISTANCE: 3km (2 miles)
TIME: Three hours
START: Subiaco Square
END: Subiaco Arts Centre
POINTS TO NOTE: Visit on Saturday morning to experience the lively Subi Farmers Market, Subiaco’s last surviving marketplace.
Situated northwest of sprawling Kings Park, Subiaco is centred on the boulevards of Rokeby Road and Hay Street, historically home to many outlets offering tasty temptations and the odd den of iniquity – all a far cry from the suburb’s Benedictine beginnings.
The pace of change in Perth is relentless, and new developments in Subiaco and elsewhere have blunted this suburb’s reputation, with the loss of the Subiaco Oval and Station Street Markets. A victim of its own success, with high prices putting many Swansiders off, the suburb has also faced stiff competition in the coolness stakes from near neighbours such as Leederville, Highgate, North Perth and reinvigorated Northbridge (for more information, click here).
Still, it remains a top spot for an urban stroll, during which you’ll find exceptional food in some of Western Australia’s very best eateries, many of them newly opened. And, in defiance of a rumoured decline, an estimated 44,000 people attended the revamped 2018 Subiaco Street Party – a free event that takes place on Rokeby Road every April – signalling, perhaps, a Subiaco renaissance.
A vibrant jacaranda tree in the suburb of Subiaco
iStock
Hip to be square
Subiaco’s first railway station opened in 1881, a stop on the exciting Fremantle–Perth line. Skip forward a century and the tracks that once symbolised progress were a scar cleaving Perth in two. The Subi Centro project in the 1990s sent the line underground and prompted a renovation of the whole suburb.
Starting from modern-day Subiaco station, explore Subiaco Square 1 [map], a contemporary plaza that constitutes the community hub of Subi Centro, and home to numerous places to grab brekkie and a brew, including the funky Lion and Jaguar (see 1 [map]).
From here, hang a right on Brigid Road and then take a left along Dublin Close to reach Market Square 2 [map]. This public park has oak trees, a gazebo, barbecues and, since 2017, the An Gorta Mor (Great Hunger) sculpture – a memorial to the mid-19th-century Irish Famine, a period that saw some 4,000 young orphan girls transported from Ireland to Australia’s recently established colonies on ‘Famine Bride Ships’.
New Subiaco
The suburb’s name is borrowed from an Italian town near Rome, home of a holy order of Benedictine missionaries, two of whom – Dom Serra and Dom Salvado – set up camp here in 1851, after establishing the monastic town of New Norcia (for more information, click here). They planted olive trees and built a church near Lake Monger, now a popular place for picnics, barbecues and running, which is about 500 metres/yds north of Market Square via Bunton Drive.
Exiting Market Square by Bunton Drive, walk east along Robert’s Road to the Subiaco Oval 3 [map] – still standing, but redundant since the local cricket and Aussie Rules footy teams (West Coast Eagles and Fremantle) relocated to Perth Stadium (for more information, click here), and due to be demolished. The famous stadium gates and playing field will be saved, with the public sharing the egg-shaped space with a new school being built on Kitchener Park.
On the next block is Mueller Park, a leafy space named after the pioneering German botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, who did much of his best work in Australia. Head right, along Coghan Road, and then turn right again into Hay Street. Poke your open mind into the independent avant-garde Corner Gallery (corner of Olive and Hay streets; www.littlewingcollective.com), which hosts exhibitions, talks, performances and installations.
Subiaco Museum houses over 12,000 items
Subiaco Museum
Rokeby Road
Continue west along Hay Street to the junction with Rokeby Road and the Subiaco Hotel 4 [map] (www.subiacohotel.com.au). Built in 1897, in the midst of the gold rush, this legendary drinking hole is now one of Perth’s most iconic pubs.
Diagonally opposite is the National Trust-listed Art Deco Regal Theatre 5 [map] (www.regaltheatre.com.au), which opened as a ‘hard-top’ cinema in 1938, and bucked trends by morphing into a live-performance venue in 1977. Inside, the original chrome-and-jarrah fittings remain, as does the ‘Crying Room’ (during films, prams were once left in bays in the foyer, and if a baby started crying the parking bay number was flashed on the screen and the alerted mother could retreat to this soundproof room).
Subi Farmer’s Market
Alamy
Walk south along Rokeby Road, pausing at Forrest Walk corner to look at artist Ayad Alqaragholli’s Gods Chair sculpture. Grab a boutique brew in Psychomug (see 2 [map]), or something more substantial in Bistro Felix (see 3 [map]) or any of the many restaurants, pizzerias and bars lining this popular parade.
Theatre Gardens
Pause at the junction with Bagot Road to explore Subi Farmer’s Market (271 Bagot Road, www.subifarmersmarket.com.au; Sat 8am–noon), which survived the onslaught of development that robbed this suburb of the sensational Asian-influenced sights and smells that once percolated around Station Street and Subiaco Pavilion Markets – both now replaced by retail units housing characterless supermarkets.
Subiaco Arts Centre
Subiaco Arts Centre
Further south on Rokeby Road, in Rankin Gardens, the Subiaco Museum (239 Rokeby Road, tel: 08-9237 9227; Tue–Fri 1–4pm, Sat 10am–2pm) houses over 12,000 items. From here, head west along Hamersley Road to the Subiaco Arts Centre 6 [map] (180 Hamersley Road; tel: 08-6212 9292; www.ptt.wa.gov.au), which stages theatre productions ranging from plays and comedy to opera. Continue west to reach Daglish Railway Station, or go east to reach Kings Park (for more information, click here).
Food and drink
1 Lion & Jaguar
Shop 7, Subiaco Square; tel: 08-9381 6860; daily 6.30am–3pm, also Thu–Sat from 6pm; $$
A cool café and quality caffeine imbibing spot situated in Subiaco Square, excellent for breakfast, brunch or lunch paired with a brew, juice or smoothie. It’s licensed too.
2 Psychomug
115 Rokeby Road; tel: 08-9381 7393; daily 7am–4pm; $$
A place that takes its coffee very seriously (try the tasting platter) and brings an impressive level of experimentation and innovation to both brewing and presentation (charcoal killer latte served in a skull-shaped glass anyone? Or perhaps an almond latte in an ice-cream cone?). Some food is available too, but really this is all about the coffee.
3 Bistro Felix
118–120 Rokeby Road; tel: 08-9388 3077; www.bistrofelix.com.au; Mon–Sat 11.30am–late; $$$
Wine bar and restaurant offering modern European cuisine (from an à la carte to an express menu) and a large range of wines. With an in-house nutritionist there’s an emphasis on healthy ingredients. In summer they feature a seafood menu.