Autumn edition, April 2025.
NEXT MEETING
Garth Caesar – Heritage of the Fremantle Town Hall Clock
Those of you, like myself, who may have missed Garth’s talk in March, will be happy to hear he has agreed to do a second presentation as an event for the 2025 WA State Heritage Festival.
The previous talk focussed on Garth’s background and how he got into watchmaking, apprenticed to Caris Brothers, starting up his own business in Atwell Arcade, then on to doing what he does now – maintaining Fremantle’s beloved Town Hall Clock. This second event will look more at the heritage of the clock itself.
While the venue is the same, do note that it is on Monday 12th May.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Heritage of the Fremantle Town Hall Clock
Monday 12 May, 5.00 pm *Note this is an extra event as part of the State Heritage Festival
Fremantle History Centre, Ground Floor, Walyalup Civic Centre 151 High Street, Fremantle 6160
Dutch submarines in Fremantle
Tuesday 27 May, 5.00 pm
Fremantle History Centre, Ground Floor, Walyalup Civic Centre 151 High Street, Fremantle 6160
More information about this event as it comes to light.
Events for June/July are yet to be confirmed.
MEETING REPORTS
A Hazardous Port
Ian Forsyth – 18 February
Following the launch of this latest book at the Maritime Museum the Sunday before, Ian was kind enough to come spend an evening with the Fremantle History Society to discuss some of the things he uncovered while researching and writing A Hazardous Port: Fremantle 1600-1900. He began by putting forward a number of broad descriptive themes: the what, when, where and how that shaped WA’s maritime history from 1600 till 1900, including:
- The importance of the area’s isolation from the rest of the world,
- The Port of Fremantle as the heart and commercial centre of the colony, providing a useful focus to tell the colony’s story,
- The challenges and difficulties faced, particularly from the weather, the ocean and river,
- The story of epic human endeavour in the face of these challenges, reflecting more grief than glory and grossly flawed judgement rather than wisdom.
- And then how apathetic and negligent successive British governments were towards their colony, and the consequences that this held for the development of that colony.
Having set the scene Ian then led us off in a different direction, to consider the ‘what ifs’ and ‘why nots’ surrounding these broad themes, to stimulate ideas and discussion about why things happened the way they did. For example: Why didn’t the Dutch East India Co. (VOC) establish at least a transit port here, as they had in Cape Town?
The Dutch sent around 4700 ships to the East Indies between 1595 and 1795. In 1697 Willem de Vlamingh, apparently a dour and ailing mariner who seldom left his ship, delivered a scathing report of the south west coast of Australia’s suitability as a transit port between Cape Town and Java, which effectively ended the VOC’s interest in the area.
What if the VOC had entrusted the expedition to a more energetic and enthusiastic commander, as the British did in James Stirling? We might all now be speaking Dutch!
Further to the ‘dashing’ Capt. James Stirling – an extraordinary man fired by a burning ambition to leave his mark in history by leading the establishment of a colony here. Ambition that dismissed the difficulties of the harsh landscape and the almost inaccessible river as small inconveniences easily dealt with. His report, from a two-week exploration, was as glowing as de Vlamingh’s was discouraging, and provided the basis on which the British Government decided to go ahead and establish the Swan River settlement. This decision was hastened by Stirling fuelling rumours of the French having great interest in the area.
If it were not for Stirling the colony of Western Australia would quite possibly not have been established when and how it was, and possibly where it was.
As intended, Ian’s talk, with his interesting hypotheses scattered throughout, did indeed generate questions and discussion afterwards.
This latest addition to Western Australia’s historic record, from the time of its European discovery to its becoming the western gateway to the new nation of Australia, goes a long way towards filling the gaps in that perhaps neglected history and tells a story that is at least as interesting as that of the east coast.
There is a copy of ‘A Hazardous Port: Fremantle 1600-1900’ available in the library, or copies may be purchased from the Chart and Map Shop, New Edition and Fremantle Arts Centre in Fremantle, and Boffins Books, 88 William Street, Perth, or order from the Book Merchant: https://bookmerchant.com.au/ The RRP is $40-$45.
Garth Caesar – Town Hall Clock
25 March
In my haste to go away on holiday I forgot to ask any of the committee members if they could write up a report for Garth’s talk, so I was delighted when Heather Campbell presented me with a story about the Town Hall Clock as her subject for Treasures from Trove this issue, see p. 5.
It is quite an amusing piece, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Steve Wells — East Fremantle Rubbish Tip
29 April
An odd subject for a history society event you might think, but actually Steve’s talk was very enlightening, not to mention entertaining, as he demonstrated how discarded rubbish from bygone days can shed light on people’s lives back then.
The excavation of the East Fremantle Tip took place during 2022-2023. The extent of the tip site is shown in the map below outlined in red, approx. 3.5 km² around Richmond Raceway. It is an area well-known to metal-detector enthusiasts and bottle collectors. The excavation area is within the small triangular area to the right of Moss Street (running up the centre of the map) and went to a depth of 2m when it was apparent there was no more to find.
The Fremantle Trotting Club bought the land in 1917, developed into Richmond Raceway in the 1920s, but it had been previously used as a football oval since 1906 so the tip site ceased operations before this. East Fremantle became a municipality in 1897 but many people lived there before that, when it known as ‘The Blocks’, a canvas town with no connected water, no gas or electricity, no roads or footpaths.
Steve went on to describe how materials can be dated. There is a dating sequence for most Australian bottles and a lot of this information is freely available on the internet; publications such as Early Australian commercial glass by James Boow, and Samantha Bolton’s thesis: ‘Just passing through: Archaeology of settlements en route to the Eastern Goldfields WA, are very useful. Then bottle manufacturing has gone through a sequence of developments over time, from hand-blown, to torpedo bottles, codd bottles, then mass-produced bottles.
So what does this tell us about the people? Animal bones found – skulls, cut up leg bones, vertebrae, are cheaper cuts of meat and indicate a working class diet. A wide range of sauce bottles and flavour-enhancing food additives back this up. Remember that this was the turn of the century and there was no electricity, so food preparation and storage was not ideal. Bottles of malt powder, cod liver oil, milk of magnesia and castor oil were found, all general health supplements to aid in dietary deficiencies. But then there is evidence of ‘Quack cures’ – remedies touted as miracle cures with glowing testimonies in the papers, but did not necessarily work or worked in ways unintended. Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup for infants is a good example. The claims stated it cured colic, dysentery, diarrhoea and relieved teething, but its main ingredients were alcohol and morphine. It is not known how many babies died but certainly some thousands worldwide.
So what did the dig reveal about East Fremantle’s first colonial settlers? I think we all had a pretty good picture of this by now; Steve summed up his findings by saying ‘people were doing alright but they were doing it hard’.
Steve Wells belongs to the BACWA (Bottles and Collectables Club of WA) who you can contact through their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2822234451326997/
They meet on the 3rd Tuesday of the month so it doesn’t clash with your FHS meetings. I think Steve is actually the President. He finished up telling us about an upcoming dig in June: an old tip in Coolgardie where they have located sanitary trenches. Sounds fascinating!
TREASURES FROM TROVE – THE TOWN HALL CLOCK
After enjoying Garth Caesar’s talk on the Town Hall Clock, I wondered what the newspapers of the day had to say about it and its pecularities. It was also a good excuse to indulge my addiction to Trove.
The call for tenders in the West Australian of 1 January 18871, set the ball rolling. After tenders closed on 1 February, the Albany community published a listing of tenderers, bemoaning that their local man, Mr Galle, who put in a tender was not successful and that the job had gone to Mr W Hooper.2 Mr Galle himself then wrote to the editor arguing that his tender was better value and Mr Hooper’s would cost Fremantle ratepayers an additional £154.3
Mr Galle was not the only one dissatisfied with the tender process. A Fremantle ratepayer put pen to paper, pointing out that Mr Hooper, the successful tenderer, was in fact:
… the Mayor's son-in-law … but owing to the Press having been excluded from the adjourned meeting the ratepayers are in total ignorance as to the cost. It is contrary to the provisions of the Municipal Act to incur such expenses before obtaining the ratepayers authority ; but so accustomed are the people to these irregular and illegal proceedings that they are allowed to pass by like the idle wind, which they regard not. Of course the Council will ask for another loan and will get it. The working man will have to suffer, but who cares for that? Not the Mayor or Councillors. – Yours &c. Ratepayer, Fremantle, February 19, 1887.4
All the protests were to no avail as in April 1888, just when:
The people had almost begun to give up all hopes of ever seeing it, and to look upon the holes in the tower as some new species of ornamentation, or as places for the swans to roost in.5
… it was reported that ‘the Fremantle Town Hall clock, with set of Chimes, has arrived and will be erected shortly.6
…Mr Hooper and his men have now got charge of it, and in a few weeks’ time we shall no doubt see it in position and be able to tell the time within a foot or two at least.7
It wasn’t long before complaints started to roll in. By June 1890 it was asserted that the timekeeper, Mr Wheeler, had failed in his duty. A spirited defence of Mr Wheeler was put up by Mr Bowra in a letter to the West Australian8,, claiming that Mr Wheeler was ‘a truly competent person’ and that the poor state of the clock was due to the roof of the tower being ‘in a very bad and leaky state during the late rains’ resulting in the works of the clock becoming damaged. Further maintenance was carried out in 1903, when:
For once the Fremantle town hall clock yesterday took a holiday, and as a consequence there were many references to watches. It was stopped for about two hours while the dials, which had become very dull, were frosted.9
Efforts were made to keep up with modern technology. In 1907 the clock was connected to the Observatory to accurately reflect ‘the flight of the hours, but for some reason the ancient time-piece remained inert’, leaving the ‘man in the street’ wondering why.10 The next day, however, the Evening Mail reported that the failure was due to it not having been cleaned for some time. This was done, the clock was reconnected to the Observatory and Fremantle then had ‘a dial from which the correct time will be recorded day by day’. This led to expectations that the town and its people would feel ‘it their duty to always be up to time’.11 Not so, for by February 1908, it was reported that:
An electric wire was connected with the Fremantle town hall clock to regulate the time, but it didn't. Somebody blundered and connected the clock with a wrong wire £3 13s. 10d to be paid for the work and the wire to be cut off at once. Council instructed the works committee to find out who was responsible, and in the meantime Mr, Stevens, the contractor for the electrîc apparatus, is to be urged to complete the installation.12
The Truth, never a paper to avoid an issue, published a piece on the clock in November 1908, under the heading of ‘Fremantle Fantasies’ indicating that things were still amiss:
THE TOWN TIMEPIECE. The Fremantle Town Hall clock has never quite recovered from the shock it received when the Government Astronomer, Bill Cooke, turned on the electric current and coupled it up with the Observatory chronometer. Prior to this a local mechanic put in some connecting wires and the arrangements for making the clock keep time were theoretically perfect; but the ancient timepiece now has matters more its own way than ever. In the evening the clock may be half-an-hour — more or less — fast; but having slumbered in the night those who take its time by the face value in the morning are apt to miss trains. Sometimes the clock strikes and sometimes it is on strike; while if the hands point to a quarter past one it is almost certain to boom out the hour of noon.
In days gone by the clock once struck 108 without stopping, and ratepayers began to reckon up where they really stood, while one man celebrated his birthday, 24 hours too soon. A serious municipal question is involved in the clock's vagaries, and it is this: Suppose it is twenty-five minutes fast in the morning and twenty-five minutes slow in the afternoon, how much times does the Council lose in a week on the day-labor system? ….13
Over the years there are various reports on the vagaries of the clock and of it being stopped for repairs – in 1924 the Westralian Worker14 took delight in reporting that ‘Fremantle Town Hall Clock has stopped – in sympathy with the Clerks’ Union. While they are on strike, it won’t blackleg either.’
As late as 1949 problems were still being experienced. A Daily News reporter could see the funny side of it, reporting that:
On Wednesday night the Fremantle Town Hall clock, evidently under the impression that everyone was in bed, anyway, and that nobody cared about the time, relaxed and enjoyed itself. At 1 a.m., tired of the old monotonous routine, it struck 12. At 2 a.m. it introduced a little more light relief by whizzing on eight melodious notes. Flushed with success, it could hardly wait until 3 o'clock, when it struck nine. My spy kept the clock under close observation for any further signs of mechanical madness until four in the morning and then went to bed.15
… and again in 1951:
…. And so on…..
- 1 West Australian, 1 Jan, 1887, p.2.
- 2 Albany Mail and King George’s Sound Advertiser, 9 Feb 1887, p3.
- 3 Albany Mail and King George’s Sound Advertiser,12 Feb 1887, p3.
- 4 Inquirer and Commercial News, 23 Feb 1887, p 5.
- 5 WA Bulletin 14 April 1888, p4].
- 6 Southern Advertiser 10 April 1888, p5.
- 7 WA Bulletin 14 April 1888, p4.
- 8 28 June 1890, p3.
- 9 Fremantle Mail, 22 Oct 1903, p2.
- 10 Evening Mail, 25 June 1907, p1.
- 11 Evening Mail, 26 June 1907, p 1.
- 12 Empire, 22 Feb 1908, p5.
- 13 The Truth, 21Nov 1908, p3.
- 14 22 Aug 1924, p4.
- 15 23 Sept 1949. p.16.
Camels and Cameleers in Fremantle
Sir William Frederick Samson (1892-1974), long time Mayor of Fremantle, claimed one of his earliest memories was of seeing camels in Fremantle Park, opposite his home on Ellen Street. The cameleers used to bring their camels to the backyard of his house for water from the well. This was in the mid-1890s when camels were a frequent sight around the town.
The first lot of animals that arrived in Fremantle in October 1887 were imported on speculation by J. and W. Bateman and were not well received. The locals did not see any use for the 356 camels and their handlers who arrived from Karachi on the Abergeldie. At an auction held in Beaconsfield most of the camels remained unsold. This left the cameleers in a bad situation. According to the Western Mail of 21 January 1888, a group of cameleers were living at the back of Albert’s piggery (near Clontarf Road). Because there was no work to be found for them they were in a dire state of starvation and desperation drove them to fighting among themselves. Even their leader Hadji, of Meer Dost Khan’s company was in bad circumstances. Many of this first lot of camels died or were lost in the bush and the rest were seized for debt. The cameleers, after being put to collecting firewood in the bush or working at the piggery were eventually sent on to South Australia where there was a thriving camel transportation industry and breeding program.
Once the Western Australian gold rush took off in the 1890s the demand for transport increased and many more camels were imported from Karachi and South Australia. Fremantle locals however were less than impressed as they frightened the horses as they made their way south along Marine Terrace from the Long Jetty to their various destinations. Finally the Fremantle Council agreed that the camels would only be allowed through the town between midnight and 5am. The rapid influx of camels meant more quarantine space was needed and the animals were housed at Woodman Point Quarantine Station and the Manning's property at Davilak (Manning Park) from where they sometimes escaped at night causing havoc to the late night traveller.
Camels had been used in the Eastern states since the 1860s, particularly in South Australia, where they were integral to the building of the Overland Telegraph Line in the 1870s. The infamous Burke and Wills expedition was Australia's first major inland expedition to use them as the main form of transport. The cameleers, known as Afghans or Ghans, were needed to care for and take charge of the animals. Many came from Afghanistan but there were also many from Baluchistan, Punjab and Sindh in what is now Pakistan. They came from culturally and linguistically diverse parts of British India and were therefore British subjects.
Once the gold rush was in full swing the value of the animals for carting goods and produce was realised. Large camels can carry up to 600 kg and go for days without water. This made them ideal for the long trek to the Goldfields. Even locally the animals found a use and early residents of Jandakot remember Afghans on Forrest Road pulling wagons of timber from Armadale to Fremantle.
Most of the cameleers came on three year contracts. They were here to earn money and so did not bring their wives and families with them. As the majority returned home after their contract expired their story has been largely been forgotten. Some stayed and married European or Aboriginal women which was illegal in Western Australia at the time. A Punjabi cameleer, Jack Akbar, married an Aboriginal woman from the Goldfields called Lalli. To escape the law they moved to South Australia to raise their family there.
Those who stayed made attempts to integrate into society. They issued open invitations to attend their celebrations (see left) and on their travels were known to carry sweets to distribute among the children.
Some of the cameleers were very successful and developed thriving businesses. Two brothers, Faiz and Tagh Mahomet pioneered new routes in Western Australia in the 1880s using their own camels and provided much needed supplies, water and communication to the isolated communities of the Goldfields. As many of the cameleers were Muslim, on their travels the Mahomet brothers collected subscriptions to fund the first Mosque built in Western Australia, on William Street in Perth. Completed in 1906 it is still in use today.
The success of these enterprises was a cause of conflict with the bullock teamsters who didn’t appreciate the competition. Despite being British subjects and Queen Victoria having proclaimed that all subjects of the empire should be treated equally, they experienced racism and were often treated badly. By the mid-1890s, as letters to the editor show, as the Afghan population increased, people resented these “dirty and troublesome Asiatics” who were in danger of overrunning the Goldfields. In Coolgardie in 1894 two Afghans were murdered by a bullock team leader while drinking water from a well.
There was also occasional conflict between the different groups of Afghans. Despite, or possibly because of his success, on 10 January 1896 Tagh Mahomet was shot in the back by another Afghan, Goulam Mahomet, while praying in the Coolgardie Mosque. Tagh, who was just 37 years old, was buried in the Coolgardie graveyard and his murderer was hanged at Fremantle Prison. The true cause of the dispute between the men remained a mystery. Faiz bought out his brother's estate, but the business soon failed.
The introduction of the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 and the White Australia policy made it more difficult for cameleers to enter Australia and the numbers soon dwindled. By the 1920s motor cars and rail had replaced the camels as a form of transport and they were no longer needed.
In the Koran the camel is a 'blessed animal'. To the cameleers they were not just a beast of burden. They looked after them and gave them names. The explorer Ernest Giles had great admiration for his cameleer, Saleh Mahomed, who he said would, at the end of a long day, spend half the night repairing saddles so the camels did not get sore backs.
Before returning home at the end of their contracts the cameleers, unable to shoot their beloved camels, released them into the bush. Consequently Western Australia is now home to the largest herd of feral camels in the world. They are present in such large numbers that they are causing damage to infrastructure and other animals.
The camels and the few scattered graves of the cameleers in the bush are all that remains as a reminder of the days when they played a large part in the economic development of Western Australia. However current research into opportunities for camel processing and export from the Goldfields region is being investigated so they may once again be a part of the economy.
References:
- Berson, M. (1978). Cockburn: The Making of a Community. Western Australia. Town of Cockburn.
- Ewers, J. K. (1971). The Western Gateway: A History of Fremantle (2nd Ed.). Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press for the Fremantle City Council.
- Hanslow-Sells, E. et al. (2020). Camel Commercialisation in the Goldfields Region of Western Australia: An exploratory scoping review. La Trobe. Report.
- Jones, P. & Kenny, A. (2007). Australia’s Muslim Cameleers: Pioneers of the Inland 1860-1930s. Wakefield Press.
- Western Australian Goldfields Courier, Saturday 3 November 1894 and Saturday 17 November 1894.
- Western Mail, Saturday 1 October 1887.
- West Australian, Tuesday 25 October 1887.
- West Australian, Saturday 14 June 2014.
Fremantle Heritage Festival
Run in conjunction with the National Heritage Festival 2025 from 17th April – 18th May, the City of Fremantle is holding several Fremantle Heritage Festival events that you might like to attend.
May 10th – Heritage Walk: Cantonment Hill/Dwerda Weelardinup.
Steve Anstey, resident historian and former WA Museum Head of History will lead you on a journey exploring the many layers of stories from this iconic Fremantle landmark. Meet at the top of the Naval Store stairs, in Tuckfield Park. Please wear comfortable shoes as some of the terrain is rough. At the end of the walk there will be the opportunity to enjoy a light morning or afternoon tea in the Signal Station, now the Fremantle Rescue Headquarters.
Saturday 10th May 10.00-11.00 am and 2.00-3.00 pm. Tuckfield Park, above the Naval Store. Bookings through Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/heritage-walk-cantonment-hilldwerda-weelardinup-tickets
May 17 - The Vintage Motorcycle Club of WA
The Vintage Motorcycle Club of WA is staging an exhibition of old classics to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Arthur Grady’s circumnavigation of Australia on a motorcycle. It was the first time it had been done on a motorbike and you can imagine in the mid 1920s this was no mean feat.
Saturday 17th May 9.00 am – 1.00 pm Walyalup Koort, Fremantle
May 18 - Then/Now: Fremantle Fishing and Blessing of the Fleet
The Fremantle Fishing Fleet Festival Committee invites you for an afternoon celebrating the rich legacy of Fremantle’s Blessing of the Fleet and the Western Rock Lobster Fishing Industry as part of the 2025 City of Fremantle Heritage Festival.
Hosted at Running With Thieves—a beautifully restored 140-year-old wool store with a rich Fremantle history, this free community event will feature a captivating photo presentation showcasing the festival and the industry’s history from 1948 to today.
The presentation will be delivered by Fremantle Fishing Fleet Festival Committee Member and President of the WA Fishers Lost at Sea Memorial Association- James Paratore, with special guest Fedele Camarda representing the Western Rock Lobster Council.
Enjoy complimentary grazing platters and drinks thanks to the generous support of the City of Fremantle and the Western Rock Lobster Fishery. Come along to connect, remember, and raise a glass to one of Fremantle’s most iconic industries and traditions.
Sunday 18th May 2:00 - 5:00 pm. Running with Thieves Brewery/Distillery 218 Marine Terrace, South Fremantle
Tickets can be booked through the Trybooking link here: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/
There are other events. For more information check the City of Fremantle’s Heritage Festival page for further details: https://www.fremantle.wa.gov.au/fremantle-heritage-festival-1
YOUR COMMITTEE
Executive:
Judith Robison (President) Allen Graham (Vice President) Beth Powell (Treasurer) Stewart Alger (Secretary)
Committee Members:
Alan Kelsall Fay Campbell Tania Heyne Maeve Harvey Andrew Pittaway
Ordinary meetings are generally held on the 4th Tuesday of the month but be sure to check as the days and times may vary.
Details of these meetings can be found in your newsletter.