Fremantle's Museums

The Round House (once the old Fremantle Gaol / Jail)

The Round House is the oldest remaining building in Western Australia opening in 1831. It was built as a gaol / jail and was used until 1886.

It had eight cells and a gaoler's residence, which all opened up into a central courtyard. It was later used as a home for the chief constable, his wife and their 10 children. It is now a popular tourist attraction enjoying panoramic views.

The Round House is located in what is now known as Fremantle's West End, in the Arthur Head Precinct on a headland overlooking the river mouth with uninterrupted views of Cockburn Sound. Other buildings on Arthur Head included the courthouse, cottages and two lighthouses.

The Fremantle Volunteer Heritage Guides (FVHG) raise the flags each day, participate in the firing of the 1 O'Clock cannon. This practice began in the early 1900s as a method of keeping everyone's watches aligned (and therefore keeping 'order' in the expanding colony.) The issue of keeping clocks 'in time' was only solved by the English Clockmaker John Harrison created the marine chronometer which enabled ships at sea to 'carry' the correct time with them, after leaving sight (and sound) of the shore. (More about John Harrison).

ADDRESS: 10 Arthur Head, Fremantle, WA, 6160.
TELEPHONE: 9336 6636
OPEN: 10.30am - 3.30pm daily.
CLOSED: Christmas Day & Good Friday.
ENTRANCE FEES: By donation.
Website: Fremantle RoundHouse

Address:The Terrace, Fremantle, WA 6160 Telephone:9336 9200 Website: Fremantle Prison

Famous Prison Events The Catalpa Notable prisoners include members of the Fenian Brotherhood. Sixty-two Fenian's arrived at Fremantle in 1867. Many were pardoned over the years; however, in 1876 six managed to escape and fled aboard the Catalpa whaleboat to New York. [wikipedia: image] [wikipedia: fremantle prisoners]

Moondyne Joe, Bushranger Famous Moondyne Joe This is the only known photograph of Joseph Bolitho Johns (1830-1900), better known as the Western Australian bushranger Moondyne Joe. It depicts Johns holding a tomahawk and wearing a kangaroo skin cape. [wikisource]

Escape! Brenden James Abbott (born 8 May 1962) is an Australian bank robber who was branded the Postcard Bandit by the Western Australian Police to attract news media attention. The bank robberies he has been attributed as masterminding, yielded as much as A$6 million, though a significant proportion of that amount was unrecoverable. The Fremantle Prison escape that earned Abbott his lifelong notoriety as a criminal genius, and ultimately led to his branding as "The Postcard Bandit," occurred on 24 November 1989. Abbott and another inmate escaped by jumping from the roof, over the high limestone prison walls, in uniforms similar to Fremantle Prison guards' that Abbott had sewn in the prison tailorshop. [wikipedia:BrendenAbbot]

Fremantle Prison

The Fremantle Prison has won the 2011 Western Australian Heritage Awards for:

~ Outstanding Contribution by a
Public/Private Organisation
~ Outstanding Heritage Tourism Product.

'Fremantle Prison is a former Australian prison located in The Terrace, Fremantle, in Western Australia, approximately 200m east of the Fremantle Markets. 

The 60,000 m² (15 acres) site includes the prison, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottages, tunnels, and prisoner art. The formidable prison was built by convict labour in the 1850s, and transferred to the colonial government in 1886 for use as a Fremantle Gaol (fremantle jail) for locally-sentenced prisoners. Though it is called the 'Fremantle Prison', it is no longer used for keeping prisoners. Wikipedia

The available tours are:

• 'Great Escapes'
• 'Tunnels'
• 'Torchlight'
• 'Doing Time'

The Prison Gallery, featuring prisoner art is open to the public from 10.00am to 5.00pm daily.  Admission to the gallery is free.  

OPEN:Daily
CLOSED:Good Friday and Christmas Day.

Entrance Fees: FREE Entry to Gatehouse, Visitor Centre, Prison Gallery, Gift Shop and Convict Cafe. Tours are individually priced although an "All Tour Pass" is available.

Fremantle Prison History:
"Fremantle Prison was constructed soon after the arrival of the convict ship Scindian in 1850. The Swan River Colony was settled by free settlers in 1829. In 1849, the farmers petitioned the colonial authority to request skilled convicts be sent from the British government. The first ship with 75 prisoners aboard arrived even before confirmation of the request was received.

Edmund Henderson found on arrival that the town was unprepared and arranged temporary accommodation for the convicts at the harbour master's warehouse (now the Esplanade Hotel). Under direction from Henderson, James Manning and Henry Wray supervised the construction of the prison using convict labour from limestone quarried on-site. Construction began in 1851 and was completed in 1859. The first prisoners were moved there in 1855." [wikipedia: construction]

"Fremantle Prison is currently the best preserved convict-built prison in the country and became the first building in Western Australia to be listed on the Australian National Heritage List.

The Australian Federal Heritage Minister, Senator Ian Campbell, stated that it would be included in a nomination of eleven convict areas to become World Heritage Sites. Policy dictates the prison is used for the benefit of the community without damaging the fabric of the site. Since 1992, the prison has operated as a heritage museum, and by 2005 the prison was attracting more than 130,000 visitors every year." [wikipedia: fremantle prison]

Moondyne Joe
western australian bushranger

Although not distinguishable by outward appearance from the hundreds of other cells in Fremantle Gaol, there is one cell which has a particular interest because of the picturesque with which it is associated. 'Moondyne Joe' was, perhaps, Western Australia's most noted bushranger.

He was not an outlaw of the bloodthirsty type, such as the Kelly's, Steve Hart, and the score of others who killed and plundered on the eastern side of the continent during last century, and was notorious more for his prison breaking exploits than for his crimes.

It was because the authorities found it impossible to keep Moondyne behind prison walls that a cell in Fremantle Gaol was specially prepared for him, and it remains today as it was when he occupied it many years ago.

The walls of the confined space are heavily timbered and appear to have been laboriously carved and patterned, but is the triple-barred window which is of special interest. Moondyne laughed at ordinary locks and bars and prison walls, but when he first saw the cell prepared for him after many escapes, he must have realised that he would never be able to break through the bars which covered the small window space. [wikisource]

Western Australia Shipwreck Galleries (sometimes mis-searched as The Shipwrecks Gallery Museum)

Western Australian Shipwreck Galleries

The Shipwreck Museum is the 'foremost maritime archaeology museum in the southern hemisphere' and was the original Maritime Museum. The displays feature early exploration and shipwrecks along the treacherous Western Australian coastline as early as the 17th Century, including recovered artifacts and original timbers forming part of the hull from the Dutch ship Batavia, wrecked in 1629 on her maiden voyage. The wreck was discovered in 1963 and her timbers raised several years later.

The Museum includes: The Entrance Gallery, a Woodblock Floor Gallery (Hartog to de Vlamingh), the Batavia Gallery, Duch Wrecks Gallery and the North Gallery (Xantho).

Contact Information:
Address: Cliff Street, Fremantle, WA, 6160
Tel: (08) 9431 8444

OPEN: daily from 9.30-5.00, except Wednesdays. CLOSED: Wednesdays plus Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday and Anzac Day.

Entrance Fees: Entry is by donation.
Website: Shipwreck Galleries
MAP: Shipwreck Galleries Interactive Map

Army Museum of Western Australia

The Army Museum of WA showcases Western Australia's military history including weapons and vehicles, uniforms and medals and war memorabilia from the pre-Federation period through to the present day. The museum currently has five established galleries and a static display of vehicles and other military hardware located in the parade ground. It is open Wednesday - Sunday 11:00am to 4:00pm and is located in the historic artillery barracks.

Address: Artillery Barracks, Burt Street, remantle WA 616030 2535   OPEN:Wednesdays through to Sundays 1:00am to 4:00pm. Entrance Fees: Adults $8.00 Children & Seniors $5.00 Family Entry (2 adults and 2 kids) $15.00 Website: The Army Museum of WA

Map: Army Museum of Western Australia Map

Samson House

The house was built in the late 1880s for a notable Fremantle family, including Sir Frederick Samson the longest serving mayor of Fremantle, who lived there for two generations. Every item in the home has a Samson family history.

ADDRESS: Corner Ellen & Ord Streets , Fremantle, WA, 6160
TELEPHONE: Phone: (08) 9335 2553
OPEN: 1.15pm to 5pm Sundays only
CLOSED: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day).
ENTRANCE FEES: Entry is by donation of $3.00, Children under 15 are free.
Website: Samson House