Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
A harbour on the coast.
An introduction to Hillarys Boat Harbour, the marina north-west of Perth where AQWA stands.
On this page
Read the harbour
Hillarys Boat Harbour lies on the Indian Ocean in the suburb of Hillarys, north-west of Perth. Construction began in September 1985, boats moved into its pens at the end of 1986, and the marina was officially opened in January 1988.
A guide can give context without turning a place into a backdrop. Notice how the breakwaters shelter the water, how the boat pens and jetties meet the shore, and how the aquarium sits among them.
A sheltered beach and a ferry
Inside the breakwaters the harbour has a sheltered beach, and a ferry leaves for Rottnest Island every day. Sorrento Quay and Hillarys Boardwalk gather shops and places to eat around the water.
Begin with a detail and ask who uses it, who looks after it and how it changes through the year. A photograph alone cannot tell you that.
An aquarium chapter
AQWA shows one side of the harbour: the coast beyond the breakwaters, brought indoors.
Look at the meeting of the two: the boats and the beach outside, and the reefs and shipwreck coast inside the glass.
Make room for context
Pair this reading with the aquarium’s history and the Journal. This is an introduction for visitors, not a claim that our team manages these places or represents the people who run them.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
