Fremantle

We have enjoyed a leisurely post-Christmas week in Fremantle and still found a few things to do.  Fremantle is a large city with many good beaches on hand and at the same time is a very relaxed place.  The history of Fremantle is well preserved. Many old limestone block buildings in the city centre have been well kept and the jail build by convicts in the mid 1800’s is very impressive.  There are very nice parks at all the beaches and all the shops anyone could need.

Entry to the Swan River / Port of Fremantle

Maritime Museum housing America's Cup winning boat Australia II

Fremantle City streetscape

Street artist at work

We went for a drive north along the beaches and were surprised how many dog beaches there were.  They were easy to spot as there were dogs off leash by the dozens.  The beaches are very nice and also very popular on hot days.  Cottesloe had thousands on it with the beach and beautiful grassy slopes behind it full of picnickers.  The drive also took us out on the breakwaters at the entrance to the harbour/port/Swan River.  The seas were blue and the boats plentiful.  We have never seen so many small pleasure boats in one place as there are in the marinas, yacht clubs, and multi-storied boat storage facilities as there are here and along the Swan River.  Fremantle is a major port and the big ships entering through the breakwater are impressive.  There are several car carrying ships in at the moment and they are huge.  It is quite a surprise to be driving in a narrow street in the middle of town and seeing a huge ship gliding past the end of the street.  It looks like a moving building.  They spew out hundreds of cars and a lot of machinery.

Unusual Sundial near Cottesloe Beach

Cottesloe Beach Surf Club

We don’t get many visitors but we had Natan Ferguson to visit us during the week.  He is Barry’s middle son and lives over here.  It was good to catch up with him and we had an enjoyable few hours.  He is going well and has been seeing a young lady of late so is as happy as larry.

The Fremantle Jail is a large facility that is still complete and even though it was originally built to house convicts more than 160 years ago, it was used for prisoners up until about 1990.  It is now a very popular tourist attraction well run by volunteers most of whom have worked in WA jails including Fremantle. This makes the tours very informative as the stories are actual experiences.  Fremantle has always been a source of fresh underground water for shipping and the town and the jail was built over the main water wells.  As the demand for water increased, the narrow round wells were not producing enough water and the convicts were set to digging tunnels just under the water table so that more water could seep through the walls and be pumped to the surface.  The convicts were made to pump the water out of the wells/tunnels by hand more than 20m up and into large brick tanks.  There were quite a few escapes from the jail but most were soon recaptured.  The post card bandit Brendan Abbot was one notable exception who escaped and stayed free for several years before his recapture and jailing in Queensland. 

At the entrance to Fremantle Jail

They love the razor wire

Inside the 3 floor cell block

Art on the cell walls

 The Fremantle Markets are opposite the jail and are large fresh fruit and vegetable and souvenir market inside old warehouses.  They are very popular as are the many coffee and chocolate shops along the main street outside.  Fremantle and Perth cities both have free buses doing loops around the sights and they are very handy for getting to know your way around.  We have taken a train into town a couple of times and went in yesterday for a quick bit of shopping and to go to the Cricket at the WACA.  There was a 20/20 game on between Perth Scorchers and Sydney Thunder.  Sydney scored 9 for 113 and Perth belted them in the 14^th over with only 1 out.  It was fun to watch Shaun Marsh bat and in Sydney innings, good old Brad Hogg managed 4 wickets; 3 in one over.  It was interesting to see that the stumps have brightly coloured led lights in them which flash when they are hit so there is no mistaking when a batsman is bowled.  It was a good night and the transport from the WACA to the city by bus and the train on to Fremantle was really well organised and easy to find.

enjoying the WACA and yes, the Fremantle Doctor was in...