Our captain gives us a running commentary as we sail down the Swan River. Most of the stories are about developers vs conservationists - for example, a bridge that needed to be shifted to protect an historic mill building was a win for the conservationists. There are lots of very expensive houses overlooking the river. Rose Porteous couldn't sell the house she inherited from Lang Hancock, Prix d'Lamour, so she demolished the building and split the site up into separate building lots. Someone is building a replica of the Taj Mahal. There are a lot of yacht clubs.
Our ferry berths at a dock that's some distance from Fremantle, and Pete wants to beat the other passengers to the bus stop, so he doesn't want me to take a loo stop when we get off the ferry. In spite of that, we're there before anyone else ... and then I point out that we might as well walk up the hill to the Arts Centre instead of catching the bus.
The Fremantle Arts Centre was a lunatic asylum and it's a beautiful sandstone building. It has exhibitions as well as artists studios. The current exhibition is by someone whose name I can't remember but one of the exhibits is the Jungle Book cartoon with each character speaking in a different language. There's another room with a video of an empty room.
We catch the CAT bus (free bus, circular route around Fremantle tourist attractions) and get off at the old markets. They're very like Paddys Markets in Sydney, but smaller. There's an interesting shop where old 78 records have been made into handbags and book covers. Pete buys chilli macadamias and we share an organic doughnut.
We walk along the cappuchino strip to Kakula Sister which is a sister shop to Kakulas where Pete and Sue shopped on Friday. Then we walk back and catch the CAT again, which takes us to the Round House. This was a gaol, built on the cliff, with a tunnel underneath the cliff to let people moving between the whaling station at the base of the cliff and the town of Fremantle. We walk through the tunnel, admire the view, look at the remains of the whaling station, and walk up to the Round House.
A nice lady encourages Pete to try out the stocks in the gaol, but Deborah's camera card has run out of memory so she doesn't have a photo of this.
Then we walk to the Railway Station and wait for Sue to arrive on the train.
After Sue arrives we have lunch at the Salamanca Hotel in the main street. We sat outside in the mall, watching the world go by and listening to the buskers, and had goat curry for lunch. Someone inside was testing their sound system which was really annoying so Deborah couldn't wait to get away. Sue and Deborah went to Fremantle Gaol but Pete didn't want to go (he's seen the insides of too many gaols before) so we left him to continue his favorite pastime.
Fremantle Gaol was just up the hill. The Tunnel Tour was really expensive and anyway it was booked out, so we did the Day Tour. Fremantle Gaol was convict built and - unlike Port Arthur in Tasmania - it's still intact. Our guide took us into the reception area and explained the process when prisoners first arrive at the gaol. Then he showed us the cells in the various divisions, and the exercise yard. One of the yards, and some of the cells, have art work done by the convicts. We saw the chapel, which has the Lords Prayer and the Ten Commandments above the altar. (A chapel, unlike a church, is attached to another building.) It has a high arched ceiling that is supposed to be built on the same principles as Sydney's Town Hall, and lots of windows without bars, so it's full of light. Apparently it's very popular for weddings.
Then our guide took us to the punishment area. He showed us the wooden frame that convicts were lashed to when they were punished, and described in graphic detail the effects of a lashing. He showed us the solitary cells, where prisoners could be deprived of sound and light for long periods, and then the place where prisoners were hanged. Hanging is quite a science - the condemned man (or woman) had to be weighed and measured so that the rope could be set at the right height.
It was a fascinating tour, and thought provoking. Our guide was very knowledgeable, and I wish we'd had time to do the Tunnels Tour as well.
Afterwards we caught up with Pete, who'd been exploring Fremantle pubs, and met him in the beer garden of Rosie O'Gradys. We had tea and coffee and he had another beer. Then we caught the train home. The people who come out at night were starting to emerge and it was interesting to see some of the outfits the girls were wearing. There were a couple of drunks harassing a girl as we caught the escalators at Perth and Pete make rude remarks about the Perth locals.
We had pre dinner drinks and nibbles, and then Sue cooked noodles and chicken for dinner.
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