Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle () is a city located within the Perth metropolitan area on Australia's western coast, at the mouth of the Swan River, 19 kilometres southwest of Perth's Central Business District. It was established by British settlers as part of the Swan River Colony in 1829. It was declared a city in 1929, and has a population of approximately 25,000.

The city is named after Charles Howe Fremantle, and the name is universally pronounced as "FREE-mantle", not "Fre-MAN-tel" as one might erroneously assume. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for Fremantle is "Freo" (FREE-oh).

History

For European exploration of the Fremantle area before settlement see Swan River Colony

On 25 April 1829, the ship HMS Challenger under the guidance of Captain Fremantle had arrived in the waters off the Fremantle coast to make preparations for the Swan River Colony.

On 2 May, 1829, Captain Fremantle formally took possession on behalf of King George IV the entire west coast of New Holland just near the south head of the Swan River. A few days later a camp was set up in a bay just south of the head, and Fremantle has been occupied ever since.

A month later, on 1 June Captain James Stirling on the Parmelia arrived to officially set up the Swan River Colony. Perth itself was not settled until 12 August that year.

Captain Fremantle left the colony on 25 August after providing much assistance to Stirling in setting up the colony. It is then when Stirling decided that the port settlement would be called 'Fremantle'. (Appleyard & Manford, 1979)

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. Fremantle still serves as the main port for Western Australia.

During World War II, Fremantle was the 2nd largest base for Allied submarines operating in the Pacific Theater. 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.

Heritage, Buildings and Culture

Fremantle has convict-built colonial era buildings, the old jetty and port, the maritime museum, and many other historical buildings.

One of these is the Round House, the oldest remaining building in Western Australia, built as a gaol in 1830 - 1831. The Round House had eight cells and a gaolers residence which all opened up into a central courtyard. In the 1800s, 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. When the first 75 convicts arrived from Britain in 1850 to support the colony's dwindling population, it became apparent that the Round House was inadequately small to house them. The convicts built a new gaol which was completed in the 1850s and continued to be used as Fremantle's prison through until 1991.

Fremantle Prison was once one of the most notorious prisons in the British Empire. It housed British convicts, local prisoners, military prisoners, enemy aliens and prisoners of war. It is now one of the state's heritage sites. Fremantle Prison was featured on an episode of The Amazing Race.

The Round House is located in what is now known as Fremantle's West End: a collection of streets containing colonial buildings at the tip of the southern end of the port, which is vaguely reminiscent of Stockholm. A process of gentrification in the early 1990s was accelerated by the establishment of the University of Notre Dame Australia, which has restored and occupies many of the buildings in the West End. The majestic Fremantle History Museum is another building constructed in the 1860s by convicts from indigenous limestone: it is a former asylum building on Ord Street and is one of Fremantle's most significant landmarks. This building was the land base of the Us Navy during WWII. It now also houses the Fremantle Arts Centre and the Immigration Museum which aims to preserve the history and stories of all immigrants who arrived in Western Australia.

The Fremantle Markets are a tourist attraction, located in the centre of Fremantle on its "Cappuccino Strip" (so named because of the abundance of restaurants and cafes). The Premier of Western Australia, Sir John Forrest, laid the foundation stone for the markets on Saturday 6 November, 1897. Over 150 stalls are housed in its old Victorian-era building, which was listed by the National Trust and Heritage Council in 1980.

Fremantle was the host city for the America's Cup yachting race in 1987. The unsuccessful cup defense was conducted on the waters in Gage Roads, off Fremantle.

Fremantle has Italian, Portuguese, and Croatian ethnic communities. Fremantle also has a role in Nyoongar Aboriginal mythology.

Fremantle's AFL team is the Fremantle Football Club (colloquially known as The Dockers).

The cooling breeze blowing from Fremantle to Perth during the hot summer is colloquially known as the "Fremantle Doctor".

Suburbs

( * indicates suburb partially located within City)

References

Appleyard, R. T. and Manford, Toby (1979). The Beginning: European Discovery and Early Settlement of Swan River Western Australia, University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 0855641460. (for early history)

External links

Fremantle historical time-line
Tourist Information on Fremantle
City of Fremantle
Information on Fremantle Aboriginal Heritage Walks
Satellite image from Google Maps

Cities in Western Australia | Fremantle | Local Government Areas of Western Australia | Suburbs of Perth | Towns in Western Australia

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History

Heritage, Buildings and Culture

Suburbs

See also

References

External links