Fremantle: Harbourside
On 2 May 1829, Captain Charles Howe Fremantle of HMS Challenger hoisted the Union Flag in a bay near what is now known as Arthur Head, and in accordance with his instructions, took formal possession "of the whole of the West Coast of New Holland" in the name of George IV of the United Kingdom. Thus began the Swan River Colony, which developed into the State of Western Australia. Fremantle has remained the major port for Australia's biggest state, though initially ships offloaded their cargoes at Bathers Bay. In 1897, Irish-born engineer C. Y. O'Connor deepened Fremantle Harbour and removed the limestone bar and sand shoals across the entrance to the Swan River, thus rendering Fremantle a serviceable port for commercial shipping.
This occurred at the height of the late 19th century Western Australian gold rush, transforming Fremantle into a capital of trade and gateway for thousands of gold miners to the inland boom towns of Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie and Southern Cross. Camels and their Afghan drivers were familiar sights, and by-laws regulating the driving of camels through the streets of Fremantle were enacted. The wealth generated during this period resulted in the construction many fine buildings which are an integral part of Fremantle's well-preserved historic streetscapes.
During World War II, Fremantle was the home of the largest base for Allied submarines in the Southern Hemisphere. There were up to 125 US, 31 British and 11 Free Dutch submarines operating out of Fremantle, until the Americans moved forward to the Philippines.
The Fishing Boat Harbour has become a tourist precinct, with a mixture of microbreweries, restaurants and some of Australia's largest fish and chip shops. A number of old buildings on the harbour have been renovated, including Little Creatures Brewery, which occupies a former boat shed and crocodile farm, and contains a cafe and art gallery. The harbour's annual Fremantle Sardine Festival on Esplanade Park attracts thousands of seafood lovers every year. Other annual events held at the harbour include Araluen's Fremantle Chilli Festival, the Fremantle Boat Show, and the traditional Italian Blessing of the Fleet ceremony.
1963 - Fremantle Port Authority Building, Slip Street, Fremantle, WA.
This building is unique in that, in 1963 when it was built, it became and still remains the only modern 'skyscraper' like office building on the port city's skyline. Its box-like shape, uninterrupted surfaces, simple exterior colour scheme and limited decoration both internally and externally makes it a copybook example of the International style.
The erection of the Port Authority building and Fremantle Passenger Terminal nearby were part of a major upgrade of port facilities, precipitated by Perth winning the right to host the 1962 Empire and Commonwealth Games, which were held in November 1962.
1960-62 - Fremantle Passenger Terminal, Victoria Quay, 1 Cliff Street, Fremantle, WA
The terminal is the largest in Australia and is the only passenger terminal in Australia capable of berthing two cruise liners simultaneously. Though it opening was timed to coincide with the arrival of competitors for the Empire Games in November 1962, the building of the Terminal had become essential due to the inability of the existing port facilities to cope with the post-World War II boom in migration by ship from Europe. The arrivals were being processed in sheds and offices on Victoria Quay.
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1830-31 - The Round House, end of High Street, Fremantle, WA
The Round House is the oldest remaining building in Western Australia. It was built as a gaol and was the first permanent building in the colony. It was designed by H.W. Reveley, the colony's first civil engineer. The Round House had eight cells and a gaolers residence which all opened up into a central courtyard. Bay whaling was carried out from Bathers Beach below the Round House. As part of the whaling operations a tunnel was constructed under the Round House to provide whalers with access to the town from the jetty and Bathers Beach.
Whalers Tunnel, High Street, Fremantle, WA
The Whalers Tunnel was constructed by Fremantle Whaling Company under the Round House to move goods between the original port at Bathers Beach and the town. It was Western Australia's first tunnel and the only one for 64 years until the Jane Brook deviation railway tunnel was built. The tunnel is of exceptional significance as the only structure remaining of the Whaling Station complex. There is a secret side tunnel leading up to Gunners Cottage which was built when the Whalers Tunnel was used an air raid shelter in World War II. From 1905 &endash; 1919 electricity cables ran through the tunnel connecting the power station on the western side with the tram barn on its eastern side.
E Shed Markets, E Shed, Victoria Quay, Fremantle, WA
Located in a magnificent historical warehouse building on Victoria Quay, right in the centre of the Fremantle Port, E Shed Markets is a stone's throw from the Railway Station and right next door to the Fremantle Maritime Museum and the Rottnest Ferry Terminals. Fremantle's E-Shed Markets attracts thousands of locals and visitors. They come for the international food and music, local handicrafts, antiques and collectables, fashion both vintage and new, fresh organic fruit and vegetables, the warm aroma of a coffee and friendly banter from stall holders. E-Shed Markets operates Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Public holidays all year round.
The C Y O'Connor Memorial was constructed in 1911 to honour Charles Yelverton O'Connor, the engineer of the Fremantle's inner harbour. O'Connor was the engineer of many crucial developments in Western Australia's history, including the design and construction of the 566km GWSS from Mundaring to Kalgoorlie, the Fremantle harbour and all railways in WA between 1891-1902. In 1902 he rode his horse into the sea and shot himself. The Memorial was first proposed in 1907, five years after O'Connor's death. The Memorial, located in a stone paved setting, faces north, down Phillimore Street, is the work of sculptor, Pietro Giacomo Porcelli, one of WA's first public artists. Porcelli designed the bronze statue in a realistic pose, the celebrated engineer standing bare headed with one foot forward and his arms crossed; the left clasping a roll of harbour works plans and the right hand extended in an attitude suggestive of thought, as he gazes out across the harbour.
The Oberon class Submarine HMAS Ovens is an authentic Cold War-era vessel situated on Fremantle's historic World War II submarine slipway. This exhibit serves as a living memorial to submariners and those who gave their lives while serving from Fremantle during World War II.
North and South Mole are a pair of stone breakwaters protecting the entrance to the Fremantle Inner Harbour. Both have road access, and both have harbour lights on them. The South/North Mole lighthouses were designed by C.Y.O'Connor. The South Mole lighthouse was installed in 1903, the North Mole was not installed until 1906 so that the new mole could settle. Both could be seen past Rottnest by shipping coming into the area, but it was hard to tell which was which as they had near identical lights. To combat this problem the harbour trust put a fixed green light in the South Mole lighthouse and a fixed red light in the North Mole lighthouse. Both moles are popular fishing spots.
2002 - Western Australian Maritime Museum, Victoria Quay, Fremantle, WA.
Shaped like an upturned boat, the home of the Western Australian Maritime Museum draws inspiration from Western Australia's rich maritime heritage and from its unique setting on a site of historic significance within a working port. It forms part of a museum precinct which encompasses the existing museum facilities in Cliff Street and other important historic and heritage sites around the West End of Fremantle. The building was designed by Cox Howlett & Bailey Woodland. The architectural imagery of the museum is intended to draw upon the association of an upturned boat stranded on a sandy promontory.
This landmark building houses Alan Bond's America's Cup-winning yacht Australia II and six themed galleries: The Indian Ocean; Tin Canoe to Australia II; Fremantle and the Swan River; Hooked on Fishing; Cargoes; Naval Defence.
More than one third of Western Australia's population was born overseas. The Welcome Walls projects pay tribute to those migrants who arrived by sea, landing at Fremantle or Albany, and to the many benefits they gave to their new home, enriching the lives of all Western Australians. In Fremantle, over 400 panels commemorating the names of migrants who arrived through this area have been erected at the Western Australian Museum - Maritime at Victoria Quay.
Success Harbour, home of the Fremantle Sailing Club, was constructed in 1979. With its 18 hectares of protected waters and mooring pens for over 500 craft, it is one of the biggest yachting complexes in the southern hemisphere. World-wide attention focused on the new boat harbour soon after its opening, as it played host to the finish of the Parmelia Yacht Race, a re-enactment of the Plymouth (UK) to Fremantle voyage of the merchant barque Parmelia, which conveyed the first settlers to the Swan River colony, in 1829. This international ocean going yacht race drew entries from many countries, and was one of the highlights of Western Australia's 150th Anniversary Celebrations. The name Success Harbour commemorates the British Frigate Success, in which Capt. James Stirling surveyed the shoreline in 1827. That preliminary survey led to the establishment of Western Australia, in 1829.
Location: Marine Terrace, South Fremantle
Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour, Mews Road, Fremantle, WA
The Fishing Boat Harbour is located in the heart of Fremantle - it is the home for over 400 Fishing boats and surrounded by boardwalks, restaurants, cafes, bars entertainment and accommodation facilities. Attractions at Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour include a wide variety of restaurants, a brewery, short stay accommodation , function facilities, high speed jet boat rides, charter sailing tours, the Western Australian Maritime Museum Shipwreck Galleries and much much more. These businesses all operate in the environment of a working harbour where there is a constant passing parade of fishing vessels and daily fishing industry activities.
Construction of the harbour for fishing boats began in 1948 on the site of Long Jetty, a timber wharf alongside which all visiting Fremantle would berth until the construction of the inner harbour in 1897.
The name Cicerello has been connected with Fremantle fishing industry since 1903 when Salvatore Cicerello (26) migrated with other Sicilian fishermen from Capo d'Orlando in north-east Sicily. Fresh fish from a fine selection daily, or a meal of fish and chips at the family business on the Fremantle waterfront, has now become a tradition for many who visit the fishing boat harbour each year. Each year at the start of the fishing season, a colourful ceremony revolving around the Blessing Of The Fleet takes place. Commenced and still run by the Italian community since 1947, the festival follows an ancient custom which began in the 12th century at Molfetta, a fishing village on the south east coast nof Italy. From St Patrick's Church in adelaide Street, a Roman Catholic procession carries a statue of the Madonna down to the sea at the fishing boat harbour, for a religious ceremony to bless the fishing fleet.
Little Creatures Brewery, Fishing Boat Harbour, Mews Road, Fremantle, WA.
The Little Creatures brewery is a classic example of a building being regenerated after it has outlived its initial usefulness. In the case of this building, it was constructed to house the Taskforce '87 yachts (Kookaburra) participating in the 1987 America's Cup. It subsequently housed a crocodile farm before, in 2000, three former employees of the Matilda Bay Brewing Company, launched theor own boutique brewery and converted the building to its current use. The boutique brewery is open to the public and contains a cafe/restaurant.
Contrary to popular belief, the first European ship known to have visited Australia's shores was Dutch - not English. It was the Duyfken (Little Dove), under the command of Willem Janszoon, which made a voyage of exploration looking for "east and south lands", and sailed into Australian history in 1606 when it came upon the shore of Queensland's Cape York peninsula in the Gulf of Carpenaria - 164 years before the arrival of James Cook in the Endeavour.
A working full-scale replica of the Duyfken has been built in Fremantle to mark the 400th anniversary of the history occasion. Upon completion, the Duyfken re-enacted Willem Janszoon's historic 1606 voyage from the Spice Islands to Cape York peninsula. Less than 12 months later, the little replica Dutch scout ship set sail from the Australian National Maritime Museum on an ambitious voyage to Texel in The Netherlands.
