Paris, the city most commonly referred to as the "City of Light”, gets enough attention. The City of Light we’re referring to here is Perth, Australia; and the story is a good one. Thanks Basil Zempilas, Lord Mayor of Perth, for putting it on our radar, so to speak.

On 20 February 1962 John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in the "Friendship 7" spacecraft. The mission set the stage for the "Gemini" and "Apollo" programs which culminated in NASA landing men on the moon in 1969.

On this particular mission, Glenn was scheduled to fly over Perth at night (the first land following a vast expanse of ocean blackness) and, in anticipation of that happening, the people of Perth decided to: turn on their lights, shine their torches, fire up their lanterns and do whatever they could to generate as much light as possible; to both acknowledge his mission and symbolically welcome him back to Earth … a token of friendship from the people of Perth, and indeed the people of Earth.

It was planned as a surprise and Perthites (yes, that’s what they are called; although, maybe because of this story, they might more appropriately be called “Perthlings”) got behind it in a big way. Lots of backyard Hills Hoists were draped in illuminated white sheets; and a then 14 year old James Trevelyan, today an internationally renowned mechanical engineer and Coolzy inventor, built a large aluminium foil dish to extract the greatest possible number of lumens from his 500w globe. See his backyard creation in our gallery of images.

Glenn sighted a small cluster of lights on the dark silhouette of Australia’s western coastline. In his recorded comments to Gerry O’Connor at the Muchea tracking station and Capcom astronaut Gordon Cooper, Glenn says: “The lights show up very well. So, thank everybody for turning them on, will ya?”

His delighted reaction prompted the world’s media to dub this most isolated outpost the “City of Light”, and the name has stuck; to the point where in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the event, Perth officially rebranded itself as the City of Light. Watch that brand launch video HERE.

The moment was very memorable for everyone involved. Living in the most isolated city in the world, the people of Perth understood the same feeling Glenn would have experienced, alone in the space craft.

Finally, the City of Light has been recently celebrated in a kids book of the same name by Julia Lawrinson. The publisher’s description is evocative:

“This true story is a snapshot in time that captures the excitement of human’s first forays into outer space. It is a time of Hills Hoists, friendly neighbours, and small TVs in the family lounge room. It’s a time when we received our news through newspapers, radio and television … or shared it with a neighbour over a cuppa or the back fence … It is also a story about connection – the connection of a community that came together to achieve a goal, and their connection with John Glenn who was travelling far from home.”

Story Idea: Basil Zempilas
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References

museum.wa.gov.au/city-lights
museumofperth.com.au/city-of-light-a-history-of-perth-since-the-1950s
about.soar.earth/blog-pages/how-the-worlds-most-isolated-city-became-the-city-of-light

Images

1. Perth captured by Night Time Lights satellite on the evening of 16 February 2022 at 1m resolution. Photo credit: Soar
2. Astronaut John Glenn, pilot of the Mercury Atlas 6 (MA-6) spaceflight, poses for a photo with the Mercury "Friendship 7" spacecraft during preflight activities. Image credit: NASA
3. Flight path of Friendship 7 over Perth and Muchea tracking station
4. "Godspeed John Glenn" © Mark Karvon
5. Muchea Tracking Station video includes recording of conversation with John Glenn HERE. Video credit: Collin Mack
6. The New York Times front page from 21 February 1962
7. 14 year old James Trevelyan's backyard light
8. Engineer James Trevelyan today
9. City of Perth, City of Light brand launch video from 2022
10 & 11. City of Light by Julia Lawrinson. Published by Wild Dog on 1 February 2023