OLD PERTH # 5

When I was a kid, one of the highlights of a trip along the Kwinana freeway at night was seeing the ships made of lights on the old Swan Brewery. There were two, in the set the Endeavour and a cruise ship - QEII?? - not sure. We used to count the seconds between the change of patterns, no idea what that total was now though.

Swan Brewery Lights

Swan Brewery Lights

In the late 80's, whilst we held the Americas cup, they added Australia II to the set

Swan Brewery Lights

All gone now, I doubt the people living in the apartments they've built there would approve of a few hundred light bulbs flashing in front of their windows all night.
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Comments

Jolly Roger said…
Thanks for this I remember seeing these too. Best wishes from Yorkshire :)
stu said…
you're more than welcome, glad you liked them
Anonymous said…
Great! Just trying to remember details for a story tomorrow night at the bird.
Were you a country kid driving up and over the narrows waiting for the big excitement of the ship?
Ali
stu said…
Well if you can call the suburb Wilson country then yes ;) always exciting to see the ships back when we were lil uns
Unknown said…
Love the blog. It's Michelle from Beautiful Buildings and cool places Perth has lost here. I need to add more to my page too! Thanks for visiting my pages too.

I have a memory of some other lights, as well as these, from when I was about 5 years old (1974) that no one else seems to remember, so I wonder if I just imagined them. I distinctly recall seeing some cartoon type animals somewhere along the freeway too around Canning Bridge area. They would flash and change too and the one that sticks in my mind is a octopus. Does anyone remember them?
stu said…
Hmmmm can't say I remember any of that.... you're not confusing Christmas pageant or something are you?
Zoe Poutoukalis said…
I have very fond memories of life in Perth from early 1976 - my first live concert ( Neil Diamond at the WACA) & my first kiss with my husband to be while sitting & watching the beautiful lights of Perth City Centre including the incredible "Ships of Light" on the old Swan Brewery!
stu said…
ahhhh awesome memories, thanks for sharing that Zoe :)
Peter G Withers said…
Myy name is Peter G Withers I used to service and change the light bulb,s on the two ship,s that used to be at the old swan brewery in the late 70,s When Australia won the America,s cup in 1983 . I was asked to build a model of the winning yauct on the old brewery site. I was given a mud map plan .and left to it. Iwas very pleased with my end result . Of course the credit was given to other.s. Not myself and my team of men . Peter G Withers STEEPLEJACK/
stu said…
Thanks so much for sharing that story Peter, always love reading things like this :) Sorry to hear you didnt get the recognition, but I think all of us will agree you did a great job of it :)