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The
Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour - Established 1919. |
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The Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour is a
working port so there is always something
happening on the wharf. Indulge in one
of the many seafood restaurants overlooking
the water, or stroll around the fish markets
looking at frozen crustaceans. Watch
people moor big boats, and then order
seafood dishes more expensive than your
house. Relax on Bathers Beach and soak
up some sun, and local history at the same
time. |
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A statue honouring the guys who
bring home the "fish and chips". |
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Bathers Beach:
Swimming is still possible at this beach, though being
located near a busy port, expect the odd piece of ship
(flotsam) to float by. Take a short walk up the
beach, and visit the historic
Round House. This
strange structure was the first gaol in the colony, and is
the oldest building in Western Australia. Find out
more on the
Round House page. The big building that looks like
an upturned boat is the
Western
Australian Maritime Museum. Don't confuse it with
the Shipwreck Galleries located in the Fishing Boat Harbour.
Having such a rich maritime history, we have a museum
devoted entirely to the ships that sunk. Most of them
were Dutch trading vessels from the Dutch East India
Company. Read their story on the
Dutch
Shipwrecks page. |
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McPerth -
Do you want a restaurant with that?
Our first settlers waded ashore at
Bathers
Beach in 1829, after disembarking from the
Parmelia. McDonalds now
operate a restaurant on the landing site.
They also run one in the city, over the
theoretical location of our official
Foundation Day Ceremony. McDonalds
have a strong historical link with Perth. |
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Staking a
claim on future historical sites. |
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Fish and Chip
Restaurants surround the Boardwalk. |
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A visit to the Shipwreck Galleries in
Fremantle will leave you with an uneasy
sinking feeling. Be sure to check out
the Dutch ship
Batavia, which sunk during 1629, in
the Abrolhos Islands. It has been
partially reconstructed from recovered
timbers, and looks mysterious in the semi
darkness of the gallery. The story of
the
Batavia is a gruesome tale of
shipwreck and mutiny. After being
shipwrecked on a small treeless island
group, the Commander sailed north in a tiny
boat to Batavia (Jakarta) for help.
Meanwhile, a few nasty types, brutally
murdered 125 of the 250 shipwreck survivors.
Horrible stuff. The skeletal remains
of one of the victims is now on display, to
specifically scare young school children. |
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WARNING!
The Shipwreck Galleries are a working
museum, so please treat all the exhibits
with respect. This unfortunate visitor
taunted a restored naval canon, and spent
the remainder of her day spread evenly over
the other exhibits. The pictured
cannon was recovered from the Dutch
ship
Zuytdorp.
Regretfully, the visitor was never
recovered. |
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Looking down
the barrel. |
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KABOOM! |
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After a busy morning exploring the Fremantle Fishing Boat
Harbour, why not chillout on the grass in
Esplanade Park. The park has many tall Norfolk Pine
trees, originally planted to provide masts for damaged
sailing ships. Today the trees are used for
shade, by people sleeping off a big meal of fish and chips. |
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