To Broome and Back!: Day 99. Fremantle - The World Heritage Prison 18/08/2015

A lovely sunny morning, so after laundry duties were completed, we drove into town to collect Terry and Judy from their hotel. We then drove the short distance to the W.A. Maritime Museum and left them there to explore on their own as John and I had visited the wonderful Museum last year. We had decided to use the time to do a Fremantle Prison tour. We had been told many times that it is a must see.

The Fremantle Prison is Western Australia’s only World Heritage listed building. It is perched high up on a hill overlooking the township and with a view of the harbour. A very impressive building that has a very remarkable history.

The first of almost 10,000 convicts arrived in 1850 as a labour force to help construct infrastructure for the Swan River Colony. One of their initial projects was to build their own home - the Convict Establishment later named Fremantle Prison. The prison took 7 years to construct and it must have been a massive undertaking as it was all manual labour and the finished prison is a huge 4 stories high. Over the years there have been a few major modifications to the original 1850 structure but it is the only prison of its kind still standing in its original condition. At its peak the prison held 1,000 males and 100 women and even children were imprisoned. The cells were very spartan and very small but over the years with changes in Superintendents, the cells became a little larger and the beds changed from hammocks slung on a wall to a bed, then the furniture in the cell was improved considerably. Interestingly, the bucket that was for use of the prisoner was still in use right up to the time of decommission of the prison in 1991. Of course, electric lighting was introduced in later years.

We also saw the kitchens, exercise yards, the whipping post, the Church of England Chapel, the solitary cells and the gallows. The first person to hang was in 1889 and the last was in 1964. Several of the cells had some amazing art work on the walls that the prisoners had been given permission to paint.

A very interesting and informative tour.

We collected Judy and Terry at the Maritime Museum and then went for a very pleasant drive along the wharf then further along the Swan River to East Fremantle where we saw many boats moored or stored in dry dock. There must be a great deal of money here in Fremantle and indeed in W.A. as it appears that everyone has a boat and a beautiful home (or two)!

After dropping Judy and Terry back at their hotel, John and I walked to the nearby “Jetty” to join the idle rich lunching waterside and enjoying the beautiful sunshine. We had a wonderful Fish and Chips meal at Cicerello’s before returning to camp to prepare the Rabbit that we have been carting around since John shot it at Alice Springs. Don shared the meal with John and I must say, despite my best efforts the rabbit was tough and no amount of cooking would have changed the situation.

That’s it, I don’t ever have to cook rabbit again, yippee !