We arrived in
Fremantle at lunchtime and after a lunch of fish and chips at
E Shed Markets we then made a quick visit to the nearby Western Australian
Maritime Museum.
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| WA Maritime Museum |
On our visit we saw a number of interesting exhibits on early visitors to the Western Australian coast before European settlement, sea trading along the Western Australian coast and the development of fisheries by Europeans, particularly families from Italy.
Australia II is a featured exhibit at the museum. The memory wall shows the significance of Fremantle as the first entry to Australia for many new migrants.
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| Dugongs - mother and child |
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| STS Leeuwin II |
Older buildings have been retained in many Fremantle streets adding character to the city.
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| High Street, Fremantle |
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| High Street, Fremantle |
At the end of High Street we located the
Round House. The Round House was built in 1831 as a prison and in 1837 a request was made by the Fremantle Whaling Company for permission to build a tunnel from Bathers Beach to High Street. The tunnel was used to transport whale products from the whaling station jetty on the beach to the settlement.
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| Round House and Whalers' Tunnel |
We walked through the tunnel to Bathers Beach. Bathers Beach was where Captain Charles Howe Fremantle claimed British sovereignty over the west coast of New Holland in May 1829.
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| Looking through the tunnel towards the beach |
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| Interior of the tunnel |
During World War II the tunnel was used as an air raid shelter. A small side tunnel was excavated to provide access from cottages above to the tunnel if required. From 1905 to 1919 electricity cables ran through the tunnel while from 1916 to 1975 a sewerage pipe also ran through a trench in the tunnel.
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| Bathers Beach |
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| View from beach towards tunnel and Round House |
After exploring part of Fremantle for a couple of hours it was back on a ferry for the return trip to Perth.
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