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Fremantle () is a city located within the Perth metropolitan area on Australia's western coast, at the mouth of the Swan River, 19 kilometres southwest of Perth's Central Business District. It was established by British settlers as part of the Swan River Colony in 1829. It was declared a city in 1929, and has a population of approximately 25,000.
The city is named after Charles Howe Fremantle, and the name is almost universally pronounced as "FREE-mantle", not "Fre-MAN-tel" as one might erroneously assume. There are some consistent exceptions to this, however; notably the suburbs and football clubs South Fremantle and East Fremantle. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for Fremantle is "Freo" (FREE-oh).
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History
For European exploration of the Fremantle area before settlement see Swan River Colony
On 25 April 1829, the ship HMS Challenger under the guidance of Captain Fremantle had arrived in the waters off the Fremantle coast to make preparations for the Swan River Colony.
On 2 May, 1829, Captain Fremantle formally took possession on behalf of King George IV the entire west coast of New Holland just near the south head of the Swan River. A few days later a camp was set up in a bay just south of the head, and Fremantle has been occupied ever since.
A month later, on 1 June Captain James Stirling on the Parmelia arrived to officially set up the Swan River Colony. Perth itself was not settled until 12 August that year.
Captain Fremantle left the colony on 25 August after providing much assistance to Stirling in setting up the colony. It is then when Stirling decided that the port settlement would be called 'Fremantle'.
In 1897, Irish-born engineer C. Y. O'Connor deepened Fremantle harbour and removed the limestone bar and sand shoals across the entrance to the Swan River, thus rendering Fremantle a serviceable port for commercial shipping. Fremantle still serves as the chief seaport of Western Australia.
During World War II, Fremantle was the 2nd largest base for Allied submarines operating in the Pacific Theater. There were up to 125 US, 31 British and 11 Free Dutch Submarines operating out of Fremantle, until the Americans moved forward to the Philippines. The movements and presence of USS Sturgeon (SS-187) is a good example of such activity.
Fremantle has produced two significant Australian political figures, John Curtin and Dr Carmen Lawrence. Dr Lawrence served as Premier of the State of Western Australia and is now the member for Fremantle in the House of Representatives.
John Curtin served as Prime Minister of Australia during World War II, is one of the more noted Prime Ministers in Australian History and a particular source of pride for both Fremantle and WA. The state's largest university, Curtin is named after him, as is a large Secondary College in Fremantle, and his statue stands in the city's King's Square.
Both figures belong to the Australian Labor Party. Fremantle has been a safe seat for the ALP since the 1930s.
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Heritage, Buildings and Culture
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Fremantle has convict-built colonial era buildings, the old jetty and port, the maritime museum, and many other historical buildings.
One of these is the Round House, the oldest remaining building in Western Australia, built as a gaol in 1830 - 1831•. The Round House had eight cells and a gaolers residence which all opened up into a central courtyard. In the 1800s, bay whaling was carried out from Bathers Beach below the Round House. As part of the whaling operations a tunnel was constructed under the Round House to provide whalers with access to the town from the jetty and Bathers Beach. When the first 75 convicts arrived from Britain in 1850 to support the colony's dwindling population, it became apparent that the Round House was inadequately small to house them. The convicts built a new gaol which was completed in the 1850s and continued to be used as Fremantle's prison through until 1991.
Fremantle Prison was once one of the most notorious prisons in the British Empire. It housed British convicts, local prisoners, military prisoners, enemy aliens and prisoners of war. It is now one of the state's heritage sites. Fremantle Prison was featured on an episode of The Amazing Race.
The Round House is located in what is now known as Fremantle's West End: a collection of streets containing colonial buildings at the tip of the southern end of the port, which is vaguely reminiscent of Stockholm. A process of gentrification in the early 1990s was accelerated by the establishment of the University of Notre Dame Australia, which has restored and occupies many of the buildings in the West End.
The majestic Fremantle History Museum is another building constructed in the 1860s by convicts from indigenous limestone: it is a former asylum building on Ord Street and is one of Fremantle's most significant landmarks. This building was the land base of the Us Navy during WWII. It now also houses the Fremantle Arts Centre and the Immigration Museum which aims to preserve the history and stories of all immigrants who arrived in Western Australia.
The Fremantle Markets are a tourist attraction, located in the centre of Fremantle on its "Cappuccino Strip" (so named because of the abundance of restaurants and cafes). The Premier of Western Australia, Sir John Forrest, laid the foundation stone for the markets on Saturday 6 November, 1897. Over 150 stalls are housed in its old Victorian-era building, which was listed by the National Trust and Heritage Council in 1980.
Fremantle was the host city for the America's Cup yachting race in 1987. The unsuccessful cup defense was conducted on the waters in Gage Roads, off Fremantle.
Fremantle has Italian, Portuguese, and Croatian ethnic communities. Fremantle also has a role in Nyoongar Aboriginal mythology.
Fremantle is the home to an AFL team, the Fremantle Football Club (colloquially known as The Dockers). It has a fierce yet lighthearted rivalry with the West Coast Eagles, the only other West Australian AFL team. This rivalry is put on display twice a year when the two teams play each other in a match known as the Western Derby. The city also has two teams in the state football league (WAFL), East Fremantle and South Fremantle.
The city is popular with diners, catering for all tastes and budgets. Italian and Asian cuisine is abundant as well as a vast variety of seafood restaurants. There are numerous cafes and coffee shops situated around Fremantle, particularly on its famous 'Cappuccino Strip,'(a small section of South Terrace, down towards Market St.)
Fremantle is a popular place for its nightlife, second only to Northbridge in Perth's CBD. It attracts people from all over the metropolitan region for it pubs, bars and nightclubs.
Fremantle is home to Bathers Beach, South Beach and Leighton Beach with several of Western Australia's other beautiful beaches nearby on Transperth's Fremantle Train Line, most notably Cottesloe, less than ten minutes away by rail.
The cooling breeze blowing from Fremantle to Perth during the hot summer is colloquially known as the "Fremantle Doctor".
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Suburbs
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( indicates suburb partially located within City)
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Gallery
Image:National Hotel, Fremantle, Western Australia.jpg|National Hotel
Image:Fremantle Markets, Western Australia.jpg|Fremantle Markets
Image:Fremantle Arts Centre.jpg|Arts Centre
Image:Fremantle-RoudHouse.jpg|Round House
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See also
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