S Word 2024

With the exception of the optional walking trip on Sunday, 7 April, all sessions for the S Word conference running Thursday 4 through to Saturday 6 April inclusive will be held at the:

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA)
Edith Cowan University, Mount Lawley Campus
2 Bradford Street, Mount Lawley, WA 6050
Buildings 1 and 2

WAAPA is located six km north of the Perth CBD and is situated at the intersection of Alexander Drive and Central Ave. Buses stop at Alexander Drive. Travel from Perth CBD to WAAPA take about 10 minutes by bus or car. Download a campus map.

Most accommodation options are located around the Perth CBD or in Northbridge (a busy suburb with restaurants, theatres and other venues located just north of Perth Station; see below).

Perth has a public transport network of buses and trains connecting Perth CBD to the airport and to WAAPA, in addition to several taxi companies, rideshare, etc.

Perth public transport (including the train from the airport to Perth Station):

• Transperth

Taxi companies that operate in Perth:

• Swan Taxis
• Black & White Cabs
• 13Cabs

Rideshare companies that operate in Perth:

• Ola
• DiDi
• Uber

A train runs from the airport to Perth Station via the Redcliffe / High Wycombe line. The journey takes approximately 20 minutes and costs approximately AUS $4 (see more information on the Transperth website). If travelling in the direction to High Wycombe from Perth Station, be careful not to catch a Midland line train by mistake. See below for How To Pay.

Taxi ranks and dedicated rideshare bays are found outside the airport terminals (see more information on the Perth Airport website). Note there is an additional AUD $4 fee for pick ups from the airport (taxi and rideshare). Some taxi drivers may ask for payment in advance.

For most visitors, the easiest way to get to WAAPA is by bus (there is also a train, but the station is 30-40 mins walk from WAAPA). The Transperth 960 bus from Perth Busport provides the most direct route. The 360 and 361 buses will also take you, as will some others, depending on the time of day. If in doubt, download the Transperth app or check with the driver.

Payment is most easily made using a Smartrider card, which you can purchase for AUS $10- from offices at Perth Airport, Perth Busport, Perth Station, or other selected locations. You can put credit on your card at some but not all railway stations, or on the bus. You can only buy tickets directly with cash (not using a Smartrider) at selected railway stations.

There are Air BnB/Stayz/Booking.com etc options for Mount Lawley and surrounding suburbs of Inglewood, Yokine, Highgate and North Perth.

WAAPA has a discount code available on request for the Novotel and QT hotels listed below. Hotels in Northbridge and Perth CBD you might like to check out are:

Novotel Langley
221 Adelaide Terrace, Perth WA 6000
(contact conference organizers for discount code)
www.novotelperthlangley.com.au/

QT Perth
133 Murray Street, Perth 6000
(contact conference organizers for discount code)
www.qthotels.com/perth/

Attika Hotel
279 Newcastle Street
Northbridge
attikahotel.com/

Quest Apartments
several locations with different pricing
(many Australian unis have deals with Quest)
www.questapartments.com.au/properties/

Intercontinental Hotels
815 Hay Street,
Perth CBD, WA
perth.intercontinental.com/

Hotel Northbridge
210 Lake St,
Perth 6000
(pleasant 40 min walk to WAAPA)
www.hotelnorthbridge.com.au/

Alex Hotel
50 James Street
Northbridge
alexhotel.com.au/

DoubleTree by Hilton
2 X Perth locations (Perth CBD & Northbridge)
www.hilton.com/

Ibis Hotel
334 Murray St,
Perth WA 6000
ibis.accor.com/gb/city/hotels-perth-v5485.shtml

The suburb of Northbridge, just north of Perth Station, is a centre for restaurants and the arts. The State Theatre Centre is located there, as is the Blue Room Theatre, the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA, which regularly hosts performance), the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA; outstanding contemporary Indigenous paintings and more), the Western Australian Museum (look out for the blue whale skeleton, “Big Mouth”, and audiovisual displays) and from late 2025, is soon-to-be the site of the new, state-of-the-art premises of WAAPA after we move to the ECU City Campus.

Just down James Street from the State Theatre Centre you will find Chinatown, with a host of restaurants of various kinds in an area of around 4 blocks. Perth CBD also has many other dining options. For those willing to pay a bit more, truly exceptional regional cuisine can be sampled at Wildflower. Slightly more unusual, tucked away off Stirling Street, is Greek meze restaurant Brika. Italian, Korean and other regional cuisines are also widespread. Convenors and staff are happy to provide recommendations.

For a drink out afterwards, we recommend laneway bar Ezra Pound or for hi-fi fans, Astral Weeks where a peerless sound system meets good wines.

Near WAAPA itself, visitors are recommended to head to Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley (approximately 35 mins by foot or 5 mins by car) where, in either direction from the intersection of Beaufort Street and Walcott Street, can be found a range of food and bars catering to various tastes and pricing. The Elford for example is a nice all rounder bar/hotel. There are four different French bistros (La Rebelle, Madelaine, Le Vivant and French Accent), to say nothing of excellent Italian, Indonesian, Mexican, Indian and more. The 950 bus runs the length of Beaufort Street to the city for those who decide not to walk. Further up Beaufort Street in Inglewood, Chakra Indian Restaurant is also recommended (try the cocktails!).

Finally for those looking for a special treat, bibliophiles are recommended to visit Muir Books in Northbridge. Specialising in rare and antiquarian books, first editions, and estates, the books are not cheap, but they are exceptional. A place to wander amongst the shelves.

Western Australia is well known for the wines produced 4 hours drive south of Perth in the Margaret River region. Less well known but just as good are wines from the much closer Swan Valley region (25 minutes drive from the CBD). The Conference Dinner will be at Swan Valley winery Pinelli’s. Many companies offer wine tours (we particularly like Out & About). Or for a quiet stroll past antique shops and then down to river meadows, we also recommend the Perth satellite town of Guildford, which has Australian National Trust status because of the preservation of the town plan and selected buildings arrayed about a central church square in the British fashion. Guildford can be reached by train from Mount Lawley and the CBD on the Midland Line.

A short ride by train or bus from the CBD brings you to Fremantle, where the America’s Cup race was held in 1983. Fremantle is a beguiling combination of residents, hippies, backpacker accommodation, restaurants, and historic buildings—mostly old warehouses and shipping company premises, as well as the Roundhouse fort, the World Heritage Fremantle Prison, the wonderful Fremantle Arts Centre (housed in a converted asylum), and the Western Australian Shipwreck Museum (site of the premiere staging of Australian theatre classic Cloudstreet and where one can gaze in bemusement at the remains of the infamous ship, the Batavia). For those of a nautical mind, there is also the Western Australian Maritime Museum (where you can see the ship from the 1983 America’s Cup).

We particularly recommend a stroll from Fremantle Station, past the Fort, through the old whalers’ tunnel, to Bathers’ Beach and then past historic Kidogo Arthouse and on to Little Creatures Brewery. Although Little Creatures is often very busy, it has great locally made beer, wines, pizzas, small plates, meals and a small deck out the back overlooking the harbour. You might even spot the reproduction seventeenth century Dutch ship, the Duyfken, which often anchors here.

Directly opposite the historic Fremantle Station and the E Shed Markets is the main terminal for those wishing to take the ferry (40 minutes) to the former prison island and now tourist destination of Wadjemup or Rottnest Island, home of the small rat-like marsupials known as quokkas. In addition to signage recording the island’s colonial history, there are wonderful beaches and thousands of birds taking advantage of the rich resources there.

If not joining the walk on Sunday, 7 April or going to Rottnest, but you would like a taste of local bushland, we recommend John Forest National Park (40 minuntes drive from Perth), where kangaroos may almost always be found lolling about beside the tavern. Or overlooking Perth CBD is Kings Park, which has some quite wild sections.

If you are planning on travelling around the state, Western Australia has many wonderful locations, sights and experiences. Note that driving long distances is seen as fairly normal when travelling in Australia, so be prepared.

Approximately 4 hours drive south of Perth, for example, you will find the Margaret River wine region—and several other fine wine regions (Geographe, Pemberton, Great Southern and more). Margaret River is located near the coast that runs between the two attractive Capes of Naturaliste (north) and Leeuwin (south). There are wonderful national parks, hiking trails (Cape to Cape and Bibbulmun Track), cycling (Munda Biddi trail), the beautiful forests of the Great Southern and Pemberton region and further south (approximately 5-6 hrs drive from Perth) the southern coast facing onto the straits that separate Australia from Antarctica (Denmark and Albany townships). A particular highlight down south is the Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk (5 hours drive from Perth).

Approximately 75 mins drive east of Perth, you will pass through the Perth Hills and on to the township of York, from which one can head inland and north to the Wheatbelt region—or for those willing to drive inland approximately 4 hours, the amazing feature of Wave Rock.

North up the coast from Perth you will find beautiful beaches and townships, leading along the Coral Coast Highway to the famous Pinnacles rock formations (2.5 hours drive), as well as slightly inland from the highway, the town of the New Norcia Benedictine community, an unlikely collection of historic Spanish style buildings resting in a dry red valley, run during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by mostly Spanish and German monks and once home to a religious school for First Nations children of the Stolen Generations (1.5 hours drive from Perth). Still further north one can reach many other sites, leading all the way up to the tropical township of Broome and on to the Kimberly (most would however take air transport if going this far).

This is, of course, only a selection. For more tips and advice, chat to convenors and staff.