{"id":482348,"date":"2025-12-31T12:21:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T12:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/482348\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T12:21:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T12:21:26","slug":"wa-families-gather-along-the-river-to-get-a-prime-spot-for-the-fireworks-and-to-toast-in-the-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/482348\/","title":{"rendered":"WA families gather along the river to get a prime spot for the fireworks and to toast in the new year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Families packed out Elizabeth Quay from Wednesday afternoon in a bid to grab a good vantage spot to watch the New Year\u2019s Eve fireworks and toast the start of 2026.<\/p>\n

Revellers were determined to celebrate the year that was, and the new year to come, with smiles, laughter and plenty of fun, enjoying the family-friendly entertainment on offer.<\/p>\n

The City of Perth expects about 120,000 people to attend major events in the CBD, including the double fireworks extravaganza, circus performances and free carnival.<\/p>\n

Many in Perth began their New Year\u2019s Eve heading to beaches and the riverfront, which were overflowing with revellers starting their celebrations early.<\/p>\n

Sophie Amos, 26, was at Floreat Beach enjoying the heat after moving back to Perth from Melbourne recently.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great getting back to the sun and the beach,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"SophieCamera IconSophie Amos, Ronan Cash and Cliona Thompson at City Beach. Credit: Andrew Ritchie\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the best time to be with friends in the warm weather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sophie headed to a friend\u2019s house party in Scarborough to celebrate, but didn\u2019t have a resolution ready as the clock struck midnight.<\/p>\n

For 10-year-old Hudson Walsh and brother Bailey, 11, New Year\u2019s Eve started with a trip to Floreat Beach and mum Carin said she might even let them stay up until midnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to a friend\u2019s for a barbecue tonight,\u201d Carin said on Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to spend New Year\u2019s Eve with the kids, and we\u2019ll be back down here (at the beach) in the morning.<\/p>\n

\"RowanCamera IconRowan Partridge (8), Hudson Walsh (10), Lucas Partridge (12 buried and Bailey Walsh (11) at Floreat Beach. Credit: Andrew Ritchie\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in the area every day, they\u2019re always boogie boarding and surfing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the revelry, this year\u2019s festivities came with a tinge of sadness and increased security efforts around the country in the wake of the Bondi massacre.<\/p>\n

WA Police, and interstate counterparts, made sure there were extra security measures in place as celebrations ramped up.<\/p>\n

WA Police commander Jason Longhorn said officers were deployed at all major events across the State and some would be carrying rifles.<\/p>\n

\"ArmedCamera IconArmed WA Police stand watch at Elizabeth Quay carrying rifles. Credit: Gary Ramage\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

\u201cThese high-visibility patrols are a deliberate and proportionate measure designed to ensure WA police are well positioned to respond quickly and effectively to an emerging threat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

NSW Police carrying Colt M4 carbines were deployed at Bondi Beach and other locations after the Bondi Beach terror Chanukah attack which left 15 innocent people dead.<\/p>\n

Premier Chris Minns earlier said the sight of heavily armed police would be confronting but was likely here to stay.<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he said Sydney residents should \u201cbe respectful to one another and have some joy and enjoy yourself\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t be in a situation where this horrible criminal terrorist event changes the way we live in our beautiful city,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Police in Perth used edged-weapon scanning and wand devices and charged anyone caught carrying a weapon.<\/p>\n

But the measures didn\u2019t dampen spirits.<\/p>\n

The City of Perth started the party early with roving performers, a live DJ and food trucks at Elizabeth Quay, free carnival rides were on offer in Supreme Court Gardens and Grammy-award winning producer and DJ Kaytranada headlining an open-air festival in Langley Park.<\/p>\n

Yagan Square also proved to be popular, with performers, DJs, and lip-sync battles ahead of a countdown to midnight on the digital tower.<\/p>\n

\"LargeCamera IconLarge crowds gathered in Perh\u2019s CBD to see in the New Year 2026. Credit: Gary Ramage\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

The City of Rockingham\u2019s New Year\u2019s Eve fireworks were scheduled to go ahead, despite calls from some community members to cancel the display because of local fires, which had been burning in the area since Monday.<\/p>\n

Fireworks were also on the cards for Gloucester Park, Claremont Showground, Breakwater Marina at Mindarie, Halls Head, and HBF Arena at Joondalup.<\/p>\n

Regionally, the skies were set to light up with fireworks in Kalgoorlie, over the Hanover Bay jetty in Albany and on the Cocos Islands.<\/p>\n

For the Thornton family the early fireworks display was a great way for the whole family to celebrate.<\/p>\n

After spending the afternoon paddleboarding on the Swan before heading home to Wembley for dinner mum Briony said her children would get to stay up for the early show at 8.30pm.<\/p>\n

\"SiblingsCamera IconSiblings Makaela (10), Lewis (4) Chelsea (7) and Tara (9) Thornton are enjoying the sunshine on Matilda Bay. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

On the other side of the country, huge crowds descended on to Sydney\u2019s streets for their early display, too.<\/p>\n

Defiantly packing out the harbour \u2014 following a devastating few weeks for the city \u2014 revellers arrived early to nab some of the best spots to see the city\u2019s world-famous fireworks display.<\/p>\n

More than 2500 police officers \u2014 a record number \u2014 patrolled the city\u2019s streets after the terror attack at Bondi Beach that claimed the lives of 15 people on December 14.<\/p>\n

Despite heightened community fears in the wake the worst act of terror on Australian soil, there were massive queues outside Sydney\u2019s Royal Botanic Garden.<\/p>\n

\"FriendsCamera IconFriends Ahmed Aliovouri and Robert Kovacev are enjoying the sunshine on Matilda Bay. Credit: Justin Benson-Cooper\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

To get the best spot harbourside hundreds of eager revellers even spent the night before sleeping in tents on the banks of the river.<\/p>\n

At 11pm, the Harbour Bridge was set to be flooded in white lights, and a menorah projected onto the pylons as a precursor to the traditional fireworks display at midnight.<\/p>\n

Weaved into the show were illuminated native flora and fauna like koalas, cockatoos, bottlebrush and waratah.<\/p>\n

A minute\u2019s silence was held for the victims of the Bondi attack \u2014 marked by three bells at its beginning and end.<\/p>\n

South of Sydney, in NSW\u2019s third-largest city, Wollongong, fireworks were cancelled because of dangerous swells affecting the harbour.<\/p>\n

The council said the decision was not taken lightly and that members of the community would be \u201cdeeply disappointed\u201d.<\/p>\n

In Melbourne, more than half a million revellers hit the city\u2019s CBD, which Lord Mayor Nick Reece described as the \u201cbest organised\u201d new year\u2019s the city had put on.<\/p>\n

Four designated celebration zones were created across Melbourne City, including the Kings Domain, Flagstaff Gardens, Treasury Gardens and Victoria Promenade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Families packed out Elizabeth Quay from Wednesday afternoon in a bid to grab a good vantage spot to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":482349,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,210562,50,8632],"class_list":{"0":"post-482348","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-new-years","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-wa-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115814157722059631","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}