Fremantle is surely the heritage capital of Australia. Everywhere you go there are wonderfully old but preserved buildings still being used today. Some are real monuments to a bygone era, massive and decorative buildings built by the first arrivals and convicts. Others are much more modest homes, so cute. The museums are brilliant, and the life style around the town just magic. We love this place.
We stayed at Fremantle on 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 Sept. However, our trip to the Avon Valley on 19 Sept is in a seperate post – click here – and our day in Rottnest Island on 21 September is also in a seperate post – click here.
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
Getting There
Cervantes > Fremantle ~ 219kms
History
The Fremantle area was originally known by the Whadjuk people as Walyalup, meaning it was the place of the Walyo or Woylie, a small brush-tailed Bettong. The heritage of the Whadjuk Nyoongar people of the region goes back tens of thousands of years.
A good account of the history of the First Nations people of the Fremantle area is here
Fremantle also has a rich colonial history. The first Europeans arrived in 1829, when Captain Charles Fremantle claimed the west coast of New Holland for the British Crown. In the same year, Governor James Stirling came ashore to establish the Swan River settlement. Soon after, a settlement was made 20 kilometres upriver at Perth. Between 1850 and 1868, convicts were sent from Britain to provide labour and help the struggling colony grow – they built some of Fremantle’s notable heritage buildings, including Fremantle Prison and the Fremantle Arts Centre.
The boom days for Fremantle were the years of gold and wheat, at the end of the 1800s, when the port was the gateway to the east. The town grew quickly over the next few decades, becoming a city in 1929.
Fremantle’s impressive suite of late Victorian and early Edwardian buildings date from these years. When the boom-times ended, Fremantle’s importance declined and economic activity moved to Perth. This helped to save the city’s fine architectural heritage, which was largely untouched by clearing for new development.
It is Fremantle’s port that has always been a focal point of the city’s prosperity. A limestone bar that crossed the river entrance was removed and the harbour deepened as early as 1897. It was a key home base for Allied naval ships during World War II. After the war, Fremantle was the first port of call for thousands of immigrants from war-torn Europe. As a migrant to Australia in 1964, my first landing was Fremantle.
As Perth grew in importance through the 1960s and 1970s, Fremantle’s economy slowed. A turning point in the city’s history was the America’s Cup Defence in 1987, which revitalised the city and showcased it to the world. Fremantle has attracted artists and creatives for decades and that tradition has continued with one of its most loved events becoming the International Street Arts Festival.
A detailed account of the colonial history can be read here.
Today, Fremantle is WA’s biggest commercial port. The adjacent fishing port is home base for a large commercial fleet. But it is far more that this. Fremantle was named in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2016, and then ranked as the 7th-best city in the world, behind the top-ranked Kotor. It is indeed a top hot spot.
Day 1 – 17 Sept – Drive to Fremantle
We got away from Cervantes at about 8 and drove back east to the Brand Hwy, as we needed fuel. The local price was $1.69/L but we had seen on our app that it was $1.50/L at Cataby on the Hwy. There we put in 95.91L, so the savings were good. Our economy rate between fills was 21.22 L/100km, which was average, given the amount of towing involved.
It was an event free drive to Fremantle, but it seemed long as we circled Perth and Fremantle to get to Woodman Point, about 10km south of Fremantle. We were a bit worried when we saw the plan of the area where our site was. The Park has a number of “circles” with sites on the perimeter and a grassed middle. Sounds fine, but when there is a very large tree on the corner of our site and light posts and fixed rubbish bins on the green. It was a very tight fit. Kerry drove, I guided. Worked well.
It is a good Van Park – good facilities, all you would expect, and an exit to the beach, which was about 1km away.
Once set up we drove into Fremantle town. On the way we saw a large place selling fresh seafood. We stopped for some prawns. We drove around the town and were delighted to see so many old building in apparent good health – also some wonderful old houses, some large and impressive, other smaller workers cottages, but so cute. The city has a lovely feel to it.
We also saw the beautiful STS Leeuwin II, a three-masted sail training ship designed in an 1850’s barquentine style. The ship was launched in 1986, is 55 metres long and 33 metres tall. It has 16 sails with a total of 810m2. Its main role is to provide Youth Explorer Voyages – a week-long sail for participants to sharpen their skills. It also runs a range of specialised voyages and 3-hour sails. A lovely ship but neither of us would be up in the spars, like the person in the photo.
Kerry was not at all happy to see a live sheep carrier berthed opposite, with another one further down our wharf. These things should be banned. I think we’d create more jobs if we butchered all the meat here and then shipped it overseas. New Zealand do that, why can we not join them? I had heard on the radio that one of the ships had been held in port pending an export licence. Hope there were not animals waiting it out on board.
Day 2 – 18 Sept – Fremantle town
We went in to Fremantle by bus – costing $2 each with the seniors card. We were going to have a good look around. The bus dropped us at the Station and we got some photos of that. It was a short walk to the Maritime Museum, passing some lovely buildings on the way. The following are just a selection. I did notice that a lot of the old buildings have been taken over by the University of Notre Dame. They seem to be preserving them which is wonderful, and bringing all the young students into the old town certainly seems to give it a lively vibe (and also some respect for older buildings one hopes).
We were at the museum a tad early, so we looked through the Welcome Walls at the front and side. These pay tribute to the migrants who arrived by sea, landing at Fremantle or Albany, and to the many benefits they gave to the lives of all Western Australians. Here, there are over 400 panels commemorating the names of about 21,000 migrants. There were also some comments by some of the migrants.
This was quite poignant for me as in 1964 my family arrived in Fremantle on the Fairstar, as part of migration to Sydney. We spent a day in Fremantle but my memories are vague. I certainly did not see our names on a panel, but it would have taken days to look at each one. We also saw a statue to the migrants nearby – very effective. A Polish girl and an English boy.
There are many options to view the Museum. We picked the general museum and the Antarctica Experience, which would be on at 11:00am. The cost was $35.00 for us both.
Believe it or not, the first thing we saw was lego. A lego model of Australia’s newest icebreaker, RSV Nuyina (noy-ee-nah), was a feature near the entrance. Built in 328 hours by certified lego professional Ryan McNaught, aka ‘The Brickman’, the model is 3.2 metres long and constructed from 117,612 bricks. One side is cut away to reveal the inside of a working icebreaker including the science facilities. The model is on loan from the Australian Antarctic Division and will be on display in conjunction with The Antartica Experience virtual reality adventure. The real Nuyina is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in 2020. I was chatting to a museum worker and he told me to look for the “star wars” theme…. A couple of little figures hidden within. I did find a couple – such detail was incredible. Our granddaughter Matilda would love this – she is a Lego enthusiast.
Next we went to the French touring exhibition of 350 art works from 6 venues on loan from the Museum of Natural History in Le Havre. This was amazing stuff. We had come across some of the French history a few times in our travels, and again we saw how close it had been for Australia, or at least the Western areas, to becoming a French colony. How different that would have been. Comme ci comme ca, or magnifique? Give me their PM any day compared to our last few.
This exhibition focused on at the main parts of French exploration – initially on Nicolas Baudin’s voyage of 1800-1804, involving 2 ships, 22 scientists (10 of whom deserted at Mauritius – then called Ile de France) and more than 230 officers. It collected more than 100,000 specimens, more than 1,500 drawings (including many of First Nations people) and published the first complete chart of Australia. It should be remembered that at this time England and France were at war but special dispensation applied to these scientific explorations.
Baudin crossed paths with Matthew Flinders in April 1802 to learn that the British sailor had beaten him to chart the greater part of the “unknown coast”. The account of the voyage was prepared by chief zoologist Francois Peron, who wrote Baudin out of history. Possibly because Baudin was a commoner, who had worked his way up through the ranks.
Most remarkable were the drawings prepared by the artists Charles-Alexandre Lesueur and Nicolas-Martin Petit, on the voyage. These are incredible work of art in themselves, quite exquisite, and to think that these were prepared “on the run” as more and more unknown species were being discovered. Just take a look at a couple of these.
In Port Jackson Lesueur prepared detailed maps of the colony including gun placements, stores, etc. Peron wrote a memoir concluding that “New Holland must be taken from the English and, above all, must be taken without delay.” A copy reached the Governor of Ile de France, who placed Matthew Flinders, who happened to be there, under house arrest for almost 7 years. So it was not until 1814 that Flinders was able to publish his charts. This allowed the French to publish the first complete map of Australia in 1812 based on Baudin’s work.
The exhibits also featured Louis de Freycinet, of noble birth, who was noted for many things, perhaps most especially for smuggling his new bride Rose aboard his ship. He also did many things to try to ensure good health for his crew – such as using water distillation, choosing his officers carefully and establishing them as scientists to avoid confrontation, and extending his cabin to accomodate Rose. He had entered the navy aged 14 and got a reputation for navigation during some battles with the British. He was also on Boudin’s voyage and took charge of the schooner Causarina, a smaller ship that Boudin had bought in Port Jackson, to allow for more detailed investigation closer in to the coast line.
The voyage started in September 1819, on the ship Uranie. The voyage was judged successful even though the ship was wrecked on the Falkland Islands whilst returning to France. Everyone survived but many specimens were lost. De Freycinet negotiated a voyage to Montevideo, where he bought the ship, renamed it and sailed home. Rose had been a real plus to the voyage taking on a scientific roles and being very popular with the crew.
We saw the famous De Vlamingh Plate. In 1697 this had been left on Dirk Hartog Island (Shark Bay) by the explorer Willem De Vlamingh, as a record of his voyage and landing. It was found by Jacques Hamelin’s crew in 1801. They took the plate, but later re-erected it alongside another plate inscribed by Hamelin. In 1818, de Freycinet found the plates and took the de Vlamingh plate as an iconic item.
We then had to get to the theatre for the 11:00 session of the Antarctica Experience. This was amazing, a “Virtual Reality Adventure”, using 3D headsets. We had not done this before and were gobsmacked – you could literally see in every direction as the video played – looking down at the ocean, or behind you, or to the helicopter passengers behind you. Or straight ahead. it was spectacular.
The exhibit was filmed in Antarctica in 2018 in spectacular 360-degrees with 4K, high-resolution footage – we were told. It spans a day in the life of Antarctic scientists as they research this continent – the work that goes into understanding climate change, managing eco-systems, researching sustainability and conserving wildlife. We also saw the spectacular Southern Lights in high definition. Absolutely brilliant. The photo is Kerry putting on the 3D goggles. I’m glad they didn’t show a boat on rough seas… I imagine you could feel quite motion sick.
From there we quickly looked around the rest of the museum. This included many leisure boats and handcrafted sailing boats, also some commercial vessels such as pearl luggers. I saw a Fairstar sign, and had to get a photo, this being the ship my family sailed in to migrate to Australia.
We also saw the winning America’s Cup yacht, Australia II, with its famous winged keel, tucked away in a corner with full sails up, looking smaller that I remembered. Also saw Jon Sanders’ Parry Endeavour suspended in the position of riding down the face of a massive wave with Sanders hanging onto the mast for his life. Between 1986 and 1988 Saunders completed a single handed circumnavigation of the globe. Scary.
We left the museum somewhat reluctantly as there was much we could have looked at in detail, and walked around to the Roundhouse, passing some wonderful buildings on the way. Many of these are now part of the University of Nature Dame, breathing new life into this quarter.
The Roundhouse is the oldest public building in WA, build as a prison. Opened in January 1831, just 18 months after settlement, it was used until 1886. After that it became a Police Lock-up until the late 1890s, and was then used as accommodation for the Water Police, and afterwards as a storage facility. When threatened with demolition in the 1920s it was saved and later deeded to the City of Fremantle. Today the main section is where the prisoners were housed – the officers lived on the upper level which was destroyed. It was classified as an “open prison” – meaning, at the time, that the prisoners were on view basically all the time to the guards.
The Fremantle time ball and gun is operated at 1:00 each day. In 1900 a Time Ball was erected near the Roundhouse to provide an accurate time check for ships’ masters. Sure enough, at 1:00 we heard the gun go off while having lunch.
We loved the colourful changing sheds, and the nearby old Kerosene store.
After lunch we went to the WA Shipwrecks Museum, housed in 1850s-era Commissariat building which has since been restored to its historic glory. The galleries house hundreds of relics from ships wrecked along WA’s treacherous coastline, including the original timbers from the Batavia (wrecked in 1629), the de Vlamingh Dish (which was at the Maritime Museume for the French exhibit), and also countless artefacts from the Dutch shipwrecks Zuytdorp, Zeewijk and Vergulde Draeck.
We first went in to see the section on the ill-fated Batavia – this is a story and a half! The exhibit contains a large section the hull of the ship as well as cannons and other items taken from the wreck. This included about 8000 bricks being transported, serving as ballast, to the Indies. Upstairs in the viewing gallery area is a reconstruction of the Captain’s cabin and other artefacts – including Pirate Treasure – recovered from the wreck.
The ship left Holland in October 1628 on its maiden voyage, under the command of Francisco Pelsaert, and was also carrying 300 passengers including woman and children. However, the ships Master, Adrian Cornelisz was plotting a mutiny. But before that could be carried out, the ship was wrecked on Morning Reef off the WA coast. The night watch had mistaken the surf on the reef for moonlight on the water.
The ship could not be re-floated and began to break up. More than 250 people got across to nearby islands, but little food and water was saved. With 160 people on one island and 40 soldiers on another, they found no food or water. Pelsaert and 46 officers took the longboat to sail to the mainland for supplies but found nothing. So decided to sail for Batavia to get help.
Back on the wreck Cornelisz, who had stayed on the wreck, got onto the island with the most people and established himself as the “governor”. He began a reign of terror, killing the sick and the helpless (woman and children) and anyone who opposed him. His plan was to seize the rescue ship when it returned.
On the soldiers island they had found water and were managing. Cornelisz made a raid on the soldiers island but that failed. During a 3rd raid, Pelsaert arrive back to save the day, and it became a race to the rescue ship – between the soldiers who wanted to warn Pelsaert, and the mutineers who wanted to capture the ship. The soldiers won, and the mutineers were captured. They were tried on the spot and Cornelisz had his hands chopped off and was then hanged. The others only lost one hand before hanging.
We then went through the rest of the museum, again a bit rushed. The Dutch Wrecks Gallery was a great area for all things treasure related as there was a huge display of coins, lace, pottery and maps recovered from the Dutch shipwrecks.
We wandered around town again after that. Just opposite the Roundhouse we saw that all of the buildings up the street had yellow markings painted on them but in apparently random bits and pieces. What on earth was this? But in fact if you go to the top of the Roundhouse steps, 6 large yellow ellipses appear rising up over the street. This work on High Street, by the Paris-based Swiss artist Felice Varini, has been created for High Tide, the inaugural Fremantle art biennale. It is temporary.
We saw many lovely buildings, especially the Esplanade Hotel. We also found the “cappuccino strip” on South Terrace – so many bars, cafes and restaurants. But we were pretty exhausted so headed home.
Day 4 – 20 September – Perth northern beaches
It was a really lovely morning, warm and little wind – we got the scooters out and went down to the local beach – there is a pathway from the rear of the van park. It was an excellent scoot and the beach is great with a large jetty. The beach is Coogee Beach, but over here it is pronounced with lots of “o”s, so an emphasis on the “coo”. Unlike the proper way.
After that we drove to the northern beaches of Perth, firstly to the famous Cottesloe Beach. This is one of Perth’s most popular spots for swimming, snorkelling and surfing. There’s the striking art-deco Indiana Teahouse building, right down on the beach. It houses a restaurant on the upper level and surf life savers below. This building is well photographed. There is a rock erosion protection bar at the southern end of the beach making it nice and protected.
We drove on to Scarborough Beach as we were meeting our friend Wendy for lunch. We first met her in Yardies Station in Ningaloo, and then again in Carnarvon. We admired Wendy greatly for hitching up a small van to her Commodore and taking the long track north from Perth on her own each year, aged in the mid 70s. At the restaurant, when Wendy had not arrived, Kerry rang her and discovered that she had the next day down for lunch. We had made a change of plans and I was resoundingly told I had messed it up. Sad not to catch up. Wendy had actually spoken to Des to change the day, but he had forgotten.
We took a look at the main beach, which looks like it is free of the reef and actually had a bit of surf. It was a lovely day so there were many people in the chilly water.
Driving further north we think we were still at Scarborough Beach with a great play areas for kids. The beach was also terrific.
We drove home, catching the lovely Arts Centre on the way.
Later we took a bus into Freo for dinner. Firstly we stopped at the Monk Craft Brewery Kitchen to try out a beer. I got a “common ale” but was not so impressed.
Further along we saw “The Newport Hotel” – we live next door to The Newport in Sydney, so just had to go on for a drink.
Then we went up to the Ball and Chain for a meal. I spied a Stone & Wood beer so was very happy. Had a yummy meal and caught the bus home. It is so nice to have fresh fish on the menu again. The whiting was delicious.
Day 6 – 22 September – Markets & Kings Park
After all of those mixed drinks the previous night, I fondly recalled the sign at the van park for a bacon and egg roll available on this morning. So I went to get a couple of rolls. It turned out that this was a regular Saturday morning feature for the permanent residents of the Park. They get the supplies, cook it all, serve free tea or coffee and dish out the rolls for $3 each. Best bargain in WA. They also sell raffle tickets – like a little social club. And the rolls were excellent.
After this delicious breakfast, we went in to the Fremantle Markets. The grand old Victorian building hosting the markets was started in 1897, with construction finishing in 1898 at a cost of £8,268. The building is one of only two surviving municipal market buildings in WA, and one of the few in Australia that continues to be used for its original purpose.
I was really looking forward to these markets, expecting a massive market like the old Paddy’s Markets in Sydney, but nothing so big. Lovely old building though. There were a lot of fresh fruit and veg, of which we bought some.
After that we drove in to Kings Park, particularly to see the wild flowers. We got a parking spot surprisingly easy as it is a Sunday morning of a long weekend. And as luck would have it, we are close to the wildflowers and kangaroo paws.
The Kangaroo paws were incredible, so many different ones – red, green, black, just incredible colours. We have tried to grow these plants over the years without success, so seeing this magnificent range of flowers makes us green with envy. A stunning display.
We also loved the mass of colour provided by the Everlastings. We had seen so many of these further north. Beautiful.
We went through the banksia and grevillea section but most of the flowers had finished.
The water feature was a real attraction for everyone. It is very simple – dedicated to the pioneering women of WA. The figure is very simple and striking, representing strength of the women and their roles as mothers. The surging jets operate through a routine, with the last part being three surging very high jets, representing their destiny. Or so said the plaque.
The water garden was low key and nothing really special. Except we could hear some frogs and also saw a monitor lizard.
The walkway was excellent, although we started at the bottom so had to walk uphill all the way. This is an elevated walkway, partly shaped like a bridge, giving views of the gardens below and also out across the Swan River to the CBD. It really worked well.
After that we drove into the city, which was fine as it was a Sunday, then out along the Kwinana Freeway over and along the Swan R. Saw an lovely old Holden going well.
Back at the Van park we started to get ready to move on. I especially wanted to wash down the solar panels as we had been under trees for a couple of days. If all the bird crap on The Cruiser was any indicator, our feathered friends would have made similar deposits all over the roof of
To see photos for this post, click here
To see video of Cottesloe Beach & Kings Park, click here