North of the official Perth Chinatown stands Chua Chanh Giac, a heritage-listed Vietnamese Buddhist Temple run by the Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Western Australia (VBAWA). The association, formally established in 1980 built the temple in 1990.¹ The temple and garden serve as ‘an oasis of tranquillity’ amidst the backdrop of the hustle and bustle of inner-city Perth.² A ‘simple modern brick building’,³ its ‘modest street frontage’, belies a large and spacious prayer hall. A shrine in the temple garden houses a four-headed Thai Buddha, a gift to the temple from a Thai national.⁴ As well as providing the space for religious prayer and practice, the VBAWA provides many services to the local Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese community, including counselling, transportation to health care and translation services for elderly Vietnamese.⁵

By: Ruth Fitzpatrick and Anna Halafoff

References:

¹ “Chua Chanh Giac, Vietnamese Buddhist Temple,” State Library of Western Australia, accessed July 7, 2026, https://purl.slwa.wa.gov.au/slwa_b6104709; “The Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Western Australia”, Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission, accessed July 7, 2026, https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity/charities/eb1175b9-38af-e811-a960-000d3ad24282/profile.

² Carolyn Hopping, “Perth’s Buddhist Temples,” Weekend Notes, March 28, 2014, https://www.weekendnotes.com/perth-buddhist-temples/.

³ “Vietnamese Buddist [sic] Temple,” Heritage Council, Government of Western Australia, last modified January 2, 2018,https://inherit.dplh.wa.gov.au/public/inventory/details/e5b68682-d940-4220-b476-f6505bc1c1b9.

⁴ Heritage Council, “Vietnamese Buddist [sic] Temple.”.

⁵ Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission, “The Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Western Australia.”