Best things to do in Fremantle, Perth
At this historic port city, there is a past full of shipwrecks, rock stars and prisoners to be explored. Here are the best places to visit.
At Perth’s historic port city, there is a past full of shipwrecks, rock stars and prisoners to be explored. Here are the best places to visit.
1. Discover the WA Shipwrecks Museum
Early Dutch ships heading for the Spice Islands (today’s Indonesia) often slipstreamed across the Indian Ocean on the Roaring Forties winds before hanging a hard left at what they called New Holland and what we now call Western Australia. One mistake and it could all end in splinters. As a result, this west coast is encrusted with the folklore of wrecks, rescues and alleged treasure. You can discover many of these tales at the WA Shipwrecks Museum, the best maritime archaeology museum in Australia, which is housed in Fremantle’s old Commissariat Buildings. Of its three permanent exhibitions, the Batavia Gallery is the most dramatic, with the recovered stern of the infamous wreck looming as dark and ominously as the tales of mutiny and rapine that accompanied its sinking in 1629. Nearby, The Hartog to de Vlamingh Gallery spells out the legacy of Dirk Hartog, the first recorded European to set foot, in 1616, on the western shore of the continent, and of the explorers who sailed in his wake.
2. Pay tribute to Bon Scott
Is it really almost 45 years since Bon Scott left the building? Ronald Belford “Bon” Scott (1946-1980) is Freo’s best-loved hometown hero, even though he was born in Scotland and died, aged 33, in London. As the ebullient frontman for legendary arena rockers AC/DC, working class Scott could never have imagined that his resting place would become the most visited gravesite in Australia. His headstone among the flowerbeds in Fremantle Cemetery is easily found if you enter via the memorial archway that bears his name. Meanwhile, down at the Fishing Boat Harbour, he struts on in metal immortality. His life-size statue, created by Greg James in 2008, captures Bon in his prime – skinny, bare chested, in tight bell-bottoms and with microphone held high.
3. Visit Fremantle Prison
Among the brief guests of the old Her Majesty’s Hotel Freo, aka Fremantle Prison, was a young chancer, who in 1963, bungled what was meant to be a dirty deed done dirt cheap: 17-year old Bon Scott. The jail, built of limestone, opened in 1855, after which almost 10,000 British transportees passed through until transportation ended in 1868. The cell block, notorious for escapes, executions and riots, continued as a civilian prison until forced to close in 1991. Now reformed and World Heritage-listed, the 6ha prison has an annex that offers hostel accommodation in its former cells. Doing time as a visitor to the Freo slammer these days is about tunnels, torchlight tours and much-improved rations at the No Release Cafe.
4. Check out the Maritime Quarter
First, fuel up anywhere along the South Terrace cappuccino strip. Then stroll across town to Bathers Beach and the convict-carved stones of the Maritime Quarter heritage zone. Overlooking the sea, the Round House is Fremantle’s oldest public building (1831) and a former prison where, at 1pm each day, a ceremonial time ball drops and a cannon is fired. The nearby WA Maritime Museum on Victoria Quay honours the West’s marine and Indigenous coastal histories, along with major exhibits such as the yacht Australia II, winner of 1983 America’s Cup. The forecourt’s 400 Welcome Walls panels feature the names of ships and some 45,000 immigrants whose first steps on Australian soil happened on this coast.
5. Shop at Fremantle Markets
The Freo Markets were founded in 1897 and are going strong in their original, high-ceilinged Victorian-era hall. They were revived in 1975 and soon became a cherished attraction. You’ll wander about, get lost, get found, get fed and be entertained by buskers, while spending more than you mean to on organic fruit and vegetables, plus glorious non-necessities such as wine, clothes and Indigenous art. Among the 150 stalls, edibles are in The Yard section, while The Hall is about wearables, jewellery and more. Open all day Friday-Sunday. Quality control counts here, even for buskers, who are cautioned there should be no bare feet, amps or drums except a single bongo, and kids under 12 and violins are allowed only a half-hour slot.
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