Abandoned: The Parkerville Amphitheatre

These photos and written description are from April, 2015.

It’s amazing what you discover and are surprised by. Did I know that there was a 70s-era hub of creativity and rock ‘n’ roll in my locality that I've lived in for 20 years? I did not - and when I found out it had been abandoned since the 1980s, my interest certainly peaked.

The Parkerville Amphitheatre was an amazing venue in the 1970s based in the bush and built around a damned section of Jane Brook. The amphitheatre showcased plays, orchestra performances, the first wine festival in WA and of course plenty of rock ‘n’ roll, folk and blues shows. Famous artists that played there included John Farnham and Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs.

What followed eventually led to the end of the Parkerville Amphitheatre however, with accidents, local council problems and eventually money woes unfortunately signalling the end of this very unique venue in the Perth hills. It has been abandoned since the 1980s (from what I can tell) and the bush has not been kind. There are quite large trees growing out of the amphitheatre and all the bridges, remaining buildings and walkways are now partially destroyed and unstable.

It’s all quite sad, but it’s been said that it has new owners who want to transform it into a new, smaller venue. The Parkerville Amphitheatre may live on soon, and as much as I love abandoned places, this is certainly a location that deserves to be revived.

[2024 amendment]

It appears the site has been turned into a meditation retreat. The amphitheatre is still there, although appears to have been rebuilt.

There's a documentary that's since released about its glory days called Parkerville Amphitheatre: Sets, Bugs and Rock N Roll

You can watch it here: https://vimeo.com/122621542