After over 3,000km on the roads of south west WA, we returned our hire car to Perth before heading to its harbour city Fremantle, or Freo as the locals call it. It was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829. The settlement initially struggled until agreement was reached for the transportation of male convicts in the 1850s to build the infrastructure needed for the colony.
The first thing the convicts built was their own prison, opened in 1855. It continued in use as a prison until 1991, when it became a UNESCO world herritage site. The prison was based on Pentonville prison with Royal Engineers responsible for the design, planning and overseeeing of the construction. During our tour we heard stories of prisioners, including the one successful escape by Irish political prisioners in 1876. Life was very tough for the initial prisioners who had to work hard for long hours to gain their freedom. Punishments were frequent which might include solitary confinement or flogging. If the prison doctor thought that a flogged prisioner was at risk of death, he could call a halt to the flogging; however once the wounds had been treated, the prisioner was subjected to any remaining lashes. On an interactive screen you could check your surname against a list of convicts. Neither of ours matched, but we did find matches for some of our relatives with different surnames and friends !
On the harbour front is the National Maritime Museum which covers the history of Frementle as a port and Australia as a maritime nation. During WW11 Fremantle was used as a submarine base by the US navy. More recently it was a base for Australia’s America’s Cup win in 1983 by Australia11. After the victory celebrations, the Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke said “Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum” !
Today, Fremantle is a busy commercial port and a trendy waterside suberb for Perth residents. For us, it was a great base for a “pit stop” after our road trip while enjoying the cafe and beach culture.
Shilli-Fully Travels 