Fremantle or "Freo" is located about 19Km (12 miles) south of Perth at the mouth of the Swan River. This area was first settled thousands of years ago by the Nyoongar people who named it Munjaree. In 1829 the HMS Challenger, captained by Charles Howe Fremantle, anchored in Bathers Bay at what is now Fremantle. The settlement of Fremantle was slow in developing from the start until convict labour was brought in in the 1850's.
There are many sites to see in Fremantle and I was lucky enough to see and photograph some of them. These include the Round House, the oldest public building in Western Australia. It was constructed in 1831 and used as the local prison. When convict labour was brought to WA they were housed here for a short time until transferred to the Fremantle Prison. It is also the site of the colonies first hanging. It was also used to house Aboriginal prisoners bound for Rottnest Island. There is a tunnel that was dug under the Round House in 1837 by whalers to get supplies from Bathers Bay into Fremantle.
The Old Fremantle Prison is another place that I toured. It was constructed in 1850 by the prisoners themselves. The limestone used in the construction was quarried on site behind the walls. It operated as a prison from 1855 to 1991. It housed some of WA's most notorious criminals such as Moondyne Joe. Moondyne Joe was a rustler and outlaw that had escaped from every jail he had ever been put in. Yes including Fremantle Prison, inspite of 6" thick Jarrah planks nailed to his cell wall. He managed to get a "job" breaking rocks at the prison. As the wall of rock chips grew higher Moondyne sat behind it chipping away at rocks. One day the chipping stopped and when the guard went to investigate Moondyne was gone. THOUGH THE HOLE IN THE PRISON WALL HE HAD BEEN CHIPPING AT!!!!!! LOL. There are many painting s on the walls of the prison that were done by the prisoners who were housed there. There never was running water in the cells of the prison even up to its closing in 1991. Each prisoner had 2 buckets, one for drinking water and the other for; well you know. There were also 42 prisoners executed by hanging at the prison and we walked the last walk they took to the gallows. Sorry no pictures of that.
Other sites included the Maritime Museum, the Fremantle Town Hall, St John's Anglican Church, the Monument which commemorates all Australian soldiers that fought in WWI, WWII, and Viet Nam. I was also very lucky in that the day I was in Fremantle the Queen Elizabeth II cruise ship was in port. WOW that was a BIG BOAT!! Got several pictures of her to share with you. Well enough talk and on with the pictures.
