You know you’re from Queensland when you measure the size of a block of land in perches, not square metres (or acres, for that matter). So, if you’re a Queenslander who’s baffled by all this new-age square metre talk or, if you’re a southerner moving to the Sunshine State who has no idea what or why or… ‘huh?’ a perch is, here are some quick and easy conversions for you:

• 1 square perch = 25.29285264 square metres
• 1 acre = 160 perches

But what, exactly, IS a perch?

A square perch (often shortened to just a perch) is a unit of measurement and is equal to 25.29285264 square metres. Confusingly, a perch (not the squared
variety) is also called a rod or pole because it’s based on a surveyor’s tool
measuring exactly 5½ yards or 16½ feet or ¼ of a surveyor’s chain. The perch or rod was helpful tool and measurement for a surveyor because it could be used to create a ‘perfect’ acre of 40 perches by 4 perches – remember 160 perches equals an acre.

Why are there so many 405 and 810 square metre blocks in
Brisbane?

Looking around real estate websites, you’re bound to see a lot of 405 square metre blocks, 607 square metre blocks, 809 square metre blocks and even a few 1012 square metre blocks in Brisbane. Why all the odd numbers? Well, here’s the short answer that might make things a bit clearer:

• 16 perches = 404.69 square metres
• 24 perches = 607.03 square metres
• 32 perches = 809.37 square metres
• 40 perches = 1011.71 square metres