Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

SIDE TRIPS FROM PERTH 453
A$30-million (US$19 1 ⁄2-million) display of vintage cars, and one of the state’s
finest jarrah furniture shops.
GETTING THERE From downtown Perth, take Lord Street, which becomes
Guildford Road to Midland, where it becomes the Great Eastern Highway. Follow
this for 32km (20 miles) to The Lakes, then take the York turnoff right onto
the Great Southern Highway for 47km (29 miles). The drive takes about 75 minutes.
Westrail (& 13 10 53 in Western Australia, 1800/099 150 from interstate,
or 08/9326 2222) runs a daily coach service from Perth for A$10 (US$6.50)
adults, A$5.15 (US$3.35) children under 16, one-way. Check ahead if you plan
to travel on a public holiday or during Western Australian school vacations, as
schedules sometimes change then. The York Tourist Bureau is within the Town
Hall, 81 Avon Terrace at Joaquina Street, York, WA 6302 (& 08/9641 1301; fax
08/9641 1787; www.yorktouristbureau.com.au). It’s open daily 9am to 5pm.
EXPLORING THE TOWN Wandering the streets is the best way to soak up
the charm of York’s old buildings, like the restored railway station, the Town
Hall built in 1911, the library, the convent, old pubs like the York and the Castle,
St. Patrick’s church, the Uniting Church, the Holy Trinity Church with its
stained-glass windows, the fire station, and the old hospital. Among the sights
worth seeing is the Old Gaol and Court House, 132 Avon Terrace (& 08/9641
2072), housing a colonial-era courtroom still in use, cells, stables, and a trooper’s
cottage. It’s open Monday through Friday 11am to 4pm, weekends and holidays
from 10am to 4pm, although times can vary as the staff is volunteer; closed
Christmas and Good Friday. Admission is A$3 (US$1.95) for adults, A$1.50
(US98¢) for seniors and children under 14, and A$7.50 (US$4.90) for families.
It’s worth the short walk out of town to the excellent Residency Museum,
Brook Street (& 08/9641 1751), for its displays of everything from prayer books,
children’s toys, needlework, and old kitchenware to antique furniture, farm tools,
and other memorabilia of life in York in days gone by. It’s open Tuesday through
Thursday and holidays from 1 to 3pm, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4pm,
and also Monday through Friday from 1 to 3pm in school vacations (times vary
as the staff are volunteers; closed Christmas and Good Friday). Admission is A$3
(US$1.95) for adults and A$1 (US65¢) for children ages 5 to 16.
If you visit on a weekend or public holiday in autumn or spring (usually
Oct–Nov, and Apr–May), you can explore the evolution of the rose at the Avon
Valley Historical Rose Garden (& 08/9641 1469), 2km (1 1 ⁄4 miles) out of town
on Osnaburg Road. Admission is A$4 (US$2.60) adults, free for children under
15. Of the several special-interest museums in York, the York Motor Museum,
116-124 Avon Terrace (& 08/9641 1288), is the most spectacular. Among the
150 or so veteran, vintage, classic, and racing vehicles and motorcycles on display
are the world’s first car (an 1886 Benz), a 1904 Napier, and the Williams Formula
1 car in which Aussie Alan Jones won the world championship in 1980. The
museum is open daily from 9:30am to 4pm. Admission is A$6 (US$3.90) for
adults, A$5 (US$3.25) for seniors, and A$3 (US$1.95) for children under 12.
Take a peek at the superb craftsmanship at Jah-Roc the Mill Gallery (& 08/
9641 2522) in the wonderful Old Flour Mill on Broome Street, even if you
can’t afford tens of thousands of dollars for a dining table handcrafted from a
single slab of recycled jarrah. Open daily from 10am to 5pm.
WHERE TO STAY
Hillside Country Retreat Finds The romantic rooms in this gracious historical
homestead have all been refurbished in 2003 and by the time you arrive