Fremantle

Vince met a former client (and a Texan) on the street recently (actually, that happens a lot here). He and his wife had just moved to Perth, which provided me a great opportunity to do some more exploring. This is how I know I've acclimated: I think "Oh, it will always be there. I can visit another time." Spoken by the same girl who lived in Southern California for almost 20 years and only went to Disneyland once. It's still summer here, so a trip to the ocean seemed in order. Fremantle is a charming coastal town, reminiscent of Galveston and parts of San Diego in that it has a large port, quirky personality and a lovely coastline. My new friend Silvana and I spent an afternoon moseying through shops, had a coffee, and then toured Fremantle Prison. She had a friend visiting from Texas, so all three of us took the "Doing Time" tour. 

Fremantle Town Hall and clock tower. This part of town (the West End) is known for its Georgian and Victorian style architecture. 

A spot of welcome shade on a blistering hot afternoon. In the distance is the Port of Fremantle, where the Swan River meets the Indian Ocean.  The port is named after Sir Charles Fremantle, who captained the ship of English colonists who settled here in 1829.

On the weekends you can usually find several craft fairs / flea markets, some of which are set up here, in the courtyard of the Fremantle Arts Cente. Even better are the permanent "Fremantle Markets," known for wonderfully fresh fruits and vegetables. You can find almost anything there. Both Perth and Fremantle have quite a bit of outdoor sculpture around town. Here is a work by Greg James - a tribute to his friend and fellow sculptor Pietro Giacomo Porcelli.

A close up of Mr. Porcelli at work.

Enjoying a coffee and a salad before exploring the prison. 

The Roundhouse, site of the old Fremantle prison. Like many buildings in this area, it is made of limestone. The prison itself was built by the convicts who eventually lived there. Our guide told us that the original plan for settling a colony in Western Australia (WA) did not include a prison. The idea was that with enough land and food for everyone, no one would commit crimes and prisons would not be needed. But human nature being what it is, it wasn't long before they had to lock up people for everything from stealing to murder. The story goes that there was not enough labor in WA to construct the building, so Captain Fremantle sent away to Mother England asking if they had any extra prisoners they could send over.  As it happened, during that time England's "gaols" were overcrowded and they were thrilled to jettison off a few hundred convicts to Australia. When the prison ship arrived, the men had to continue to live on it for over a year, AND they were forced to quarry and cut the limestone, and then build the prison themselves, in blistering heat as well as wet winters. You can get an idea of how tall the building is from looking at the ants - er humans - below.

There is some gruesome history attached to this place! The mesh you see above is not soft. It's made of hard wire and will slice through anyone who tries to throw themselves over the rails in an attempt to either escape or kill themselves. Ouch!

 The prison was in operation from 1855 through 1991. Conditions were harsh. Prisoners were only allowed showers 3 times per week, even during the hottest times of the year.

 The kitchen, which was run by prisoners. There were 27 positions available and it was considered a dream job. Prisoners working with food had to meet hygiene standards, which required them to shower every day before starting work.

 The barbed wire here is so sharp it can slice clothing into rags in seconds, not to mention body parts.

 Our tour guide explains that the beautiful chapel was never occupied by convicts. It was built for the prison warden and his family. 

 The prison contains four wings, and is four storeys high. The walkways are made from local Jarrah wood.

 The prison cells were so small that a man could not spread his arms out completely without touching the walls. Sleeping was on a hammock-style bed. Each cell held one prisoner, and had a heavy door. There was no opportunity to socialize after coming inside for the day. Conditions were so poor that a journalist described it as not merely discipline, but suffering. In 1890 they doubled the size of the rooms by removing a wall between two cells to improve conditions there.

 And if that's not enough to make you behave, there's always flogging. Our guide describes the use of the cat-o'nine-tails. That's where we get the sayings "cat got your tongue" and "room to swing a cat." The person performing the action had to be able to whirl the instrument around his head a couple of times prior to each lash. The highest number of lashes that could be sentenced was 100. The usual number was 10 or less. In a horrible but interesting aside, she mentioned that if a prisoner could not tolerate the full sentence, they would be taken to hospital, allowed to heal, and then return for the remainder of their punishment. I left here vowing never to even think about breaking the law, ever.

The ultimate punishment - death by hanging. Fremantle Prison was the only place of legal execution between 1888 and 1984. During that time, 43 men and 1 women were executed here, all for murder.  Maudlin but interesting - Most executions took place on Monday morning at 8:00am. The method of hanging was considered exceptionally humane. The trap door and subsequent drop into the pit below ensured the prisoner would die quickly, avoiding a slow painful death by asphyxiation. <Shudder>

In 1988 there was a fire followed by a riot at the prison which lasted for two days. This led to an investigation into conditions at the prison, followed by orders to close it down. In typical bureaucratic fashion (the same the world over), it took three years to comply. Today the site is clean and prisoner-free, and it hosts thousands of tourists each year. The building is now part of the National Trust and is considered an important part of Western Australia's heritage.

It is a bit out of character for me to write about such a gruesome and depressing subject. But I have the same idea in mind -- Australia was settled mostly by convicts shipped over from England, some of whom were arrested for stealing a loaf of bread or piece of fruit to feed their families. They're not all innocent of course, but the tough conditions they endured has helped shape the psyche of today's Ozzies. Fearless. Team spirit. Physical strength and fairness. Time for play as well as work. Camaraderie. Humor (usually bawdy).  Survivors and pioneers.