Elizabeth Quay

Encompassing an area located on the north shore of Perth Water near the landmark Swan Bells, the precinct was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II during her Diamond Jubilee.

[1] Construction of the inlet and associated infrastructure were completed in January 2016, ahead of the Perth International Arts Festival and Fringe World.

[8] Construction of the associated buildings will be completed at varying times thereafter, with the first – The Ritz Carlton Hotel and an adjacent residential tower – opening on 15 November 2019.

Directly north of The Landing, across Geoffrey Bolton Avenue which bisects the area from west to east, is the 19-storey Nine The Esplanade office tower development (under construction as of August 2023), with the 29-storey Australian headquarters of Chevron Corporation located in the north-east of the precinct.

[11] The western shore features the Elizabeth Quay Jetty for Transperth ferry services to South Perth as well as commercial moorings.

In February 2011, Premier Colin Barnett and Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi confirmed plans for the project and funding which included $270 million from the 2011/12 state budget.

The JJ Talbot Hobbs memorial, a feature of Anzac Day ceremonies for over sixty years, was relocated to the entrance of the Supreme Court Gardens.

[15] While some of the trees in the reserve and surrounding areas were retained, the Moreton Bay Figs along Barrack Street were removed and replaced with London planes.

[29] Construction included a new inlet, associated roads, parks, promenades, and an island with connecting bridge within a 10 hectares (25 acres) parcel of land.

Following the announcement, the proposals created extensive public debate and opposition due to its supposed failure to sustain respect for heritage, and potential risks to the ecology of the river.

[41][42][43] As part of the proposed works the Graham Farmer Freeway had additional lanes installed in the Northbridge Tunnel to encourage motorists to bypass the city.

The City Gatekeepers also released a number of alternative concept designs, one of which included a land bridge over Riverside Drive, and all featuring the retention of all or most of the Esplanade, based upon the heritage values of the site.

[52] Supporters of the project noted that the parcel of land was reclaimed from the Swan River in the 1930s,[53] leading to questions of its heritage value as a decades-old predominantly grassed area and road.

The memorial, which was built in 2003 and designed so that a shaft of sunlight would fall between two columns and illuminate a plaque with the names of 16 Western Australian victims of the 2002 Bali bombings at sunrise on the anniversary of the bombings on October 12 each year, had this aspect of the memorial disrupted as the 52-storey building gained height and began to block the intended sunlight as it continued construction in 2022.