Two prisons might not sound like a natural start to a sightseeing tour but Perth’s Freemantle Prison—the largest convict-built structure in Western Australia is also the most intact convict establishment in the whole nation and tells the story of the early settlers better than any textbook. Operational until 1991, the 1850s lockup is now open for tours which take in everything from the cells to the gallows, the yard, the kitchens and the holding area. The second gaol—the Roundhouse is the oldest public building in Western Australia and has an equally fascinating, even if dark history.

The Bell Tower, on the other hand seems like a much more usual suspect. This striking glass and steel tower on the banks of the Swan River near Barrack Street Jetty house the royal bells of St-Martins-in-the-Fields, gifted to the people of Western Australia by the British Government in 1988 in celebration of the national bicentennial.