Fremantle was named for Captain Charles Howe Fremantle. He was sent to Australia to claim land for Britain. He landed in May, 1829 at the mouth of what is now called the Swan River. Today there is a market on weekends, a maritime museum, a shipwreck museum (closed right now for reno we were told), a street they call "cappucino strip"- home to way too many coffee shops and tons of restaurants and of course Fremantle Prison.
We did visit the Fremantle Markets (there since 1897) and we were in awe of the fresh produce, meats, etc. available there. Of course, the fruits and veggies are pretty easy to get here. As do most modern markets there were also vendors selling souvenirs and other assorted merchandise. There were some beautiful aboriginal framed art pieces, but they were too large to bring back in our small suitcases.
Because we are so fascinated by bright blue skies we had to take more photos.
Fremantle Prison
We took the Convict Prison Tour. Our tour mostly covered early history but our guide touched on the more recent history of the prison as well. The Prison is Western Australia's(WA) only World Heritage listed building. It is one of the largest surviving convict prisons in the world today.
In Britain in the 19th century, you could be sentenced to years in prison for stealing an item of very low value. It was the moral break that resulted in the severe sentence, not the value of the item.
It was used to incarcerate for 136 years, being decommissioned from its final role as a maximum security prison (gaol) in 1991. In the early years, it was called the Convict Establishment (Convict Barracks) and was used to house the almost 10,00 men transported from Great Britain and Ireland between 1850 an 1868. The name was changed in 1867 to Fremantle Prison about the same time the Perth Gaol was closed and Fremantle became the colony's main place for confinement of men, women and juveniles. The control of the prison transferred from the British Crown to the colonial government. The prison would, over time, hold colonial prisoners, then enemy aliens, prisoners of war and then ultimately maximum-security detainees.
However, convicts began to arrive in 1850 when all that existed was a wool shed and some other buildings. In the first group was roughly 75 men who had nearly finished their sentences. They were considered low risk. After serving your sentence, you were given a ticket of leave. Once you had a ticket of leave, the British government often paid to transport your family to the Colony.
More and more prisoners arrived over the years between 1850 and 1859. Construction didn't actually start until 1952 because the convicts had to first quarry the limestone blocks with which they would build the prison. "Guests" began moving into the first completed block of the prison in 1855.
Cells were extremely small, though with later prison reforms, the cells were enlarged. The prison never had running water though eventually there was at least a source for water at the prison.
In the 1890s, when gold was discovered, the prison was a really busy place.
Following prison riots and with concern over the conditions at the prison, the decision to close the prison was made in 1983. It was finally decommissioned in 1991.
Over the years there were some hangings, floggings and dramatic convict escapes.
The Dramatic Escapes
Moondyne Joe. He killed a steer that did not belong to him and was sentenced to 10 years. He escaped with a friend in 1865 and was free for a month. Caught with firearms, he was sentenced to 12 months in irons and returned to Fremantle. In July 1866 he was sentenced to an additional 6 months for trying to cut his cell door locks. In August 1866 he escaped again but was recaptured on September 29 about 190 miles from Perth. He was sentenced to 5 years at hard labor for escaping and committing robberies. He was returned to Fremantle and installed in an "escape-proof" cell. The governor told him if he ever escaped from the cell , he would be forgiven his crimes.
The story goes that while allowed to break up stone in the prison yard during heavily guarded outdoor work periods, Moondyne Joe built a very large pile of broken rocks behind which he worked to open a hole in the prison wall. Guards apparently continued to hear sounds of breaking of stone and even though they couldn't see him, they thought all was well. In March 1867 he escaped through the hole in the wall he'd created. Two years later he was re-captured and returned to prison again with 4 more years in irons added to his sentence. Eventually a new governor honored his predecessor's promise to forgive him and Moondyne Joe got his ticket of leave in May 1871.
John B. O'Reilly
O'Reilly was a supporter of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (Fenians) and escaped in 1869 on a whaling vessel. He traveled to Boston. In 1875, O'Reilly sent a US whaling ship to Fremantle with plans to aid in the escape of 6 other Fenian prisoners still incarcerated at the prison. The whaling ship laid off the coast but in the wrong place. The men did manage to escape but had long carriage rides to get to the ship. They were pursued by the authorities the entire way. They managed to row themselves out to the whaling ship still uncaptured and the whaling ship headed out to sea. The whaling ship was followed by a British ship under command of the British Colonial Governor. The Governor had to make a choice. He decided against firing on the whaling ship. The story says he believed that doing so might be considered an act of war against the United States itself so the whaling ship sailed away with the prisoners onboard.
An interesting addition to the Fremantle story is that between 1861-1864 an asylum was built nearby to house prisoners who spent so much time in solitary they could not receive a standard ticket of leave. They transferred directly to the asylum.
We saw this really cute sign somewhere in Fremantle.
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