Barrack Square, Heritage square at Perth waterfront, Australia.
Barrack Square is a public square on the Swan River foreshore at the southern end of Barrack Street, built on land reclaimed from the river between 1905 and 1907. It is bounded by the river to the south and east, Riverside Drive to the north, and Elizabeth Quay to the east. The square contains the Swan Bells bell tower, six jetties, and cafés and restaurants.
The square was built between 1905 and 1907 on land reclaimed from the Swan River, where a jetty had stood since 1845. Its paths originally formed a Union Jack, giving it the name Union Jack Square; it was later also called Flagstaff Square and Harper Square. In winter 1926, flooding of the Swan River submerged the square. The Swan Bells tower, begun in 1999 under Premier Richard Court, opened on 10 December 2000.
The square's first name, Union Jack Square, came from paths laid out in the pattern of the British flag. Four bronze black swan sculptures stand along the road opposite the DoubleTree by Hilton, unveiled in 2000. The Signature Ring, unveiled on 19 November 2015, replicates 2,375 copper tiles etched with signatures from over 2,000 Western Australian students.
Six jetties line the square, including the former Transperth Barrack Street Jetty; commercial operators run Rottnest Island trips and Swan River cruises from here. The river forms the southern and eastern edges, with Riverside Drive to the north and Elizabeth Quay to the east. The ground is level and paved, with the Bell Tower, cafés and jetties within a short walk of each other.
Four bronze black swan sculptures stand along the square's road opposite the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, unveiled in 2000. Nearby, the Signature Ring, unveiled on 19 November 2015, reproduces 2,375 copper tiles etched with more than 2,000 signatures from Western Australian students, originally laid around the Bell Tower and destroyed during Elizabeth Quay construction.
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