I wasn't particularly excited about going to 'Freo'. I hadn't done much reading homework in advance and I just thought it is a fairly busy port. I wasn't expecting the mix of culture and architecture that we found on our first walk around. There are many Victorian and Edwardian buildings, many a legacy of the gold rush. We headed straight for the visitor centre and a nice guy called Alan (ex Pom) gave us the most detailed descriptions of what to do and where to go, that the open air stalls just outside had all packed up whilst we were in there. He did direct us to quite a number of sights and it was nice to wander around in the afternoon sun.
There were of course a fair few distractions along the way...
Coffee is taken on Cappuccino Strip...
...and beer is drunk at Little Creatures, a very cool brewery that forces you to sample seven beers before you are allowed to buy any!
In a corner bar within the market (The Market Tavern), there was a little more beer and we listened to some great music. This is a nice way to spend a late Saturday afternoon and I'm thinking of trying this at home.
(Sorry about snapping the drinker in the foreground - as I said, it's a mix of types in Freo!?)
There are a series of wonderful bronze sculptures fixed around the city. I will name the one below as 'The Unknown Figure', for obvious reasons. It depicts a passenger disembarking at the quay and walking into a new life in Australia.
There are remarkable acknowledgements to those immigrants who came to Australia during the 20th century. There are quotations from some, inscribed on plaques near the quay, describing how they had eventually settled, after leaving loved ones back in the UK and enduring hardships as they established a new life.
A reference book is available, listing all those who arrived, with date and name of ship. I think they were refered to as ten pound poms.
Another shows children, who were sent away on a new life in the 40s, 50s and 60s - an altogether less palatable story.
There are also many tributes in Freo to the convicts whose labour who not only constructed Fremantle prison, in which they were then housed, but also because it was convict labour that created the 19th century infrastructure. It couldn't have been done without them.
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