Almost as soon as the Swan River Colony formed, laws were introduced to ban many kinds of entertainment and commerce on Sundays, and weren't repealed until more than a century later.
The WA state archives hold a wealth of records showing the detailed administration required to make sure the Sabbath was observed according to the rules.
"We need keep in mind that when colonial settlement started in WA [in 1829] it was essentially a Christian one," Damien Hassan, senior archivist at the WA State Records Office told Hilary Smale on ABC Radio Perth.
"Even by Federation in 1901, 95 per cent of Western Australians still considered themselves Christian," he said.
"Respecting the Sabbath day meant that many things weren't allowed, particularly if they fell into the category of entertainment or amusement.
The first laws were enacted in 1833, limiting the opening hours of pubs, and prohibiting drinking on Sundays during morning or afternoon divine service.
Later on, publicans weren't allowed to open at all on Sundays.
"We've got various records of publicans being charged when they did open, and it could involve that publican getting up to two months hard labour in prison," Mr Hassan said.
"In 1901, there was a British troop ship, the Britanic, which arrived into port in Albany on a Sunday.
"The police in Albany at the time decided, reluctantly, to open the pub for the thirsty soldiers on board.
"This led to protests from the Albany Temperance Club and they went right to the Premier, in pretty strong language.
"But the police did say if they hadn't allowed the hotels to open, the troops themselves would have just opened them up."
A film of carpet being laid
Further legislation came into force in 1892, heavily regulating the kind of entertainment that could be enjoyed on Sundays.
It included sport, movies and dancing, and required anyone who wanted an exception to apply in writing to the government.
"If you wanted to show a movie on a Sunday, you had to actually write into government to seek permission," Mr Hassan said.
"They had to list what movies they wanted to show to make sure that there was nothing salacious or nothing too entertaining for a Sunday.
"It wouldn't be one long movie, it'd be half a dozen shorter movies, and some of them had titles like Laying new Church Carpet, and The Extendable Table.
Dancing ends at midnight
For decades, dances were commonly held on Saturday nights, and spilled over into the early hours on Sundays, risking police involvement.
"My favourite report is from 1937. There was a police officer by the name of Sergeant Buttle, and he reports driving along the Badgebup Road (near Katanning) at about 1:45am on a Sunday morning," Mr Hassan said.
"And he draws near to the Badgebup Hall, and he says there's a dance in full swing.
"Sergeant Buttle enters the hall and he ascertains it's actually the local tennis club holding the dance. So, he approaches the club chair and asks if they've got permission to dance after midnight and when he's told 'no', he orders the dancing to stop, and you know the party's over.
When events were held on a Sunday, they not only had to be approved, but they also often involved a compulsory donation of the proceeds.
In 1972 the Ravenswood Rock Festival was initially denied permission to run on a Sunday after the organisers' offer of donating 10 per cent of the gate takings to charity was considered inadequate.
When the offer was upped to one third of the Sunday gate proceeds, permission was granted.
Even small associations regularly had to submit their "Sunday accounts" to government.
"So much government time was spent in just vetting what you could or couldn't do on a Sunday, and policing it all," he said.
Rules finally ease
By the 1970s, the rules were beginning to grate.
Drive-in cinemas occasionally struggled to complete double features by midnight in summer, because they couldn't begin projection until the sun went down.
Most of the provisions remained in place until 1979, when the Sunday entertainment laws were relaxed, but Mr Hassan said others, like being able to go to a supermarket on a Sunday, went on for much longer.
While shops in the CBD were allowed to open from 11am to 5pm from the 1990s, Sunday trading in the broader Perth metropolitan area was only allowed in 2012, and still only for six hours.
"If you're arrived from New York or somewhere 20 years ago and walked around Perth on a Sunday, you must have been wondering where you'd arrived, I think," Mr Hassan said.
