Fremantle - Grand tour

Following our visit to the War Memorial in Fremantle (my post about Anzac day in Fremantle) my friend and I walked to the harbour to admire the statues in that area. 

The "Fishermen" statues were our first stop. You can read about this monument and many others in Fremantle here. 

The Fishermen's Memorial to Fremantle fishermen who lost lives at sea

Names of Portuguese fishermen who lost their lives at sea

Across the street, Blondie, the metal dog was wearing a blue scarf protecting him from the cooler weather.

Blondie, the dog

Bathers Beach just across the harbour looked bright with the deck chairs ready for the brave Autumn swimmers.

Bella, a cute statue of a female swimmer outside Bathers Beach was sculpted by Greg James in 2011. The inscription on the bench read - "The freedom to be who you are and to enjoy what is!"  

We walked then to Fremantle Prison where we were joined by my daughter in law, for a tour.

The prison was built between 1851 and 1859 with limestone quarried on site, by the British convicts sent to Australia.

This prison was know to be unfit for the prisoners, the cells were tiny, restricted diets,

corporal punishment, solitary confinement, no toilets in the cells - buckets were used right to the end, electricity was only installed in the 1920's...

In 1988 there was riot by the prisoners, guards were taken hostage and fire was set to part of the building causing a lot of damage.

Still it operated until 1991 when it closed and reopened to the public for tours.

The building is now on the World heritage list.

Between 1888 and 1984, 40 prisoners were hanged!

Fremantle Prison with the Warden's house on the right

Uniforms and artefacts used in the Prison

The top floor of the building to the left is the Prison church

One of the cells with painting by the prisoners

The hanging room

 Although the tour lasting about 1 and half hours was interesting, the tour guide - a former warden- was quite humorous too, but I found there could be a bit more information on the activities of the prisoners - they were taught a trade while inside - but there was nothing in display about that.
There are 4 different tours, so maybe that was part of another tour...

We had lunch at the Fremantle Market - an interesting place to visit for fresh fruit and vegetables, lovely bread, and many other things like clothing, art, crafts, souvenirs...

Fremantle Markets

On a wall across the Market - a  mural of a wombat by the artist ROA

We then went to Many 6160 which I've mentioned in my blog before, so I could show my friend what had been done for small businesses, and I noticed that the artists participating in this year's FORM 2015  had already been busy in Fremantle. I'll have to go back to check more of their art.

This wall in Many was painted by Hiroyasu Tsuri, known as  Twoone, a Japanese born artist living in Melbourne. Certainly brightens the building, hope it brings in more customers too.

Twoone  mural at Many 6160

 On our way to the Round House, we came across another mural in a parking lot.

A mural on a wall on our way to the Round House

The Round House is the oldest building in Western Australia, built in 1830, and used as a prison until 1886. It's opened for visits from 10,30 until 3,30

A cannon at the back of the Round House

View from the Round House to Bather's Beach and Marina

Before we left, I took a few photos of some grand old buildings in Fremantle.

These narrow houses remind me of the narrow houses of Amsterdam

A building that is part of the University of Notre Dame

It was a most enjoyable visit to Fremantle, and my friend loved it too.

Friday. 24 April 2015