Fremantle Studies Number 1

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This page is a record of a journal volume relating to Fremantle.

Part of: Fremantle Studies
Title: Fremantle Studies Number 1
Authors:
Published: 1999 Fremantle History Society (Fremantle)
Reference URL: https://freopedia.org/Fremantle_Studies_Number_1
Tags: Fremantle Studies
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Volumes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.

Introduction

When the Fremantle History Society was launched on 12 October 1994 one of the aims of its original steering committee was to eventually organise seminars on Fremantle history, making available to the public recent research and findings by both amateur and professional historians. This aim was realised with the holding of the first Fremantle Studies Day in May 1996, which was attended by a large and varied audience. Another equally successful Studies Day followed in 1997.

As well as organising Fremantle Studies Days, the Fremantle History Society holds monthly general meetings which take various formats. One of these is the presentation of talks, sometimes by professional historians and researchers and sometimes by Society members who have interesting memories and experiences to share.

We felt that at least some of the wealth of fascinating material generated in Studies Days and at general meetings should be preserved for future researchers, but as papers presented were quite lengthy it was not possible to publish them in our quarterly newsletter. Unfortunately as a non-profit community group charging minimal fees for membership we were in no position to finance the publication of an historical journal. We were therefore delighted when the WA History Foundation and the City of Fremantle agreed to come to our assistance. We thank them for their generosity, and hope they find pleasure in this publication; the first, we hope, of a continuing series.

We owe a special thanks to our talented contributor Alec Smith, long renowned as a Fremantle raconteur and personality, who provided us with his original cartoons to embellish his text and also the cover of the publication. Jamie Dineen of the Fremantle City Council went to endless trouble to perfect the design of the layout and prepare the publication for printing. We acknowledge particularly the extraordinary efficiency and dedication of our indexer, Brian Wall, who took on the task at a moment’s notice and under extremely trying conditions.

Foreword

All who are interested in Western Australian history will welcome the arrival of this new journal, Fremantle Studies, as a valuable avenue for the publication of research and reminiscence on Fremantle's diverse and rich history. Fremantle Studies is the journal of the Fremantle History Society, an organisation which has claimed a significant place in history-making in Western Australia since its establishment in 1994. The Society promotes research and dissemination of information about Fremantle's past by providing a forum where all those fascinated by that past can meet to present papers and give talks. There is no lack of enthusiasm for Fremantle's history. Indeed, the distinctive and proud place of Fremantle in Western Australia’s past is evidenced by both the rich flow of oral reminiscence and the keenness of numerous researchers to delve into archival, published, built environment and oral records relating to the port city.

This inaugural issue of Fremantle Studies makes available some of that history- making in published form. The Fremantle Studies Days held by the Fremantle History Society in 1996 and 1997, together with talks given at the Society's general meetings, have provided the papers which form this first issue. They explore a variety of Fremantle's pasts.

The first two articles examine Fremantle women's work. Ann Delroy and Phyl Brown, curators at the Western Australian Museum, analyse the patterns of women's work which produced the ‘sugar and spice‘ of Mills & Ware's cakes and biscuits for almost the whole of the twentieth century. This research was undertaken when the factory closed as background for a splendid museum exhibition on the workplace, the workers and the place of Mills & Ware and its products in the memories of Fremantle people. Patsy Brown casts her net wide to picture the great variety of women's work in Fremantle in the first part of the twentieth century. Both articles point to the importance of paid work for generations of Fremantle women, to the cultural and social constraints they faced and to the value of the work they did.

Other articles focus on Fremantle as a port. Tony Fletcher examines the port during the 1939-45 war, examining the wartime conditions of waterfront work and uncovering three forgotten incidents of port violence, two of them involving Chinese crewmen on ships forced south by Japan‘s advance. Sally May follows the fortunes of Fremantle's Sicilian and Molfettese fishers from their establishment of a significant fishing industry in the 1890s through their struggles for a fair marketing system to their successful establishment of the Fremantle Fishermen's Co-operative in 1947. The article builds most successfully on the work of earlier researchers of Fremantle's Italian history, notably Charles Gamba and Margaret Howroyd.

Fremantle is fortunate in the strength of its Local History Collection at the City of Fremantle Library, as it is in the extent of heritage research on its built environment. The preservation of the Round House was among the first campaigns of the newly formed Royal Western Australian Historical Society in the interwar period. That society also appears to have instigated an attempt to establish a Fremantle Historical Society in 1960 when it suggested the need for such an organisation to Fremantle's mayor, [[../../../people/samsonfrederick.html|Fred Samson]]. While this endeavour proved unsuccessful, the 1960s was marked by the small beginnings of an interest in heritage - chiefly the preservation of the [[../../../buildings/roundhouse.html|Round House]] and the Old [[../../../buildings/asylum.html|Asylum]] in Finnerty Street - on the part of the mayor and some Council staff. With the formation of a residents’ association, the [[../../../society/index.html|Fremantle Society]], and changing Council attitudes, Fremantle was well-placed to take advantage of some of the earliest National Estate grants.

Extensive research on Fremantle's built environment has continued from the mid- 1970s to the present, involving numerous historical heritage consultants. One of them, David Hutchison, provides an account of his heritage research into Victoria Quay's transit sheds as well as indicating some significant incidents in waterfront history which occurred in their environs. Geoff Harcourt also focuses on port structures and port work, specifically on Co-operative Bulk Handling's North Fremantle grain terminal in the period from the 1940s to the 1960s, and on the distinctive work culture which developed there. His vivid picture of a close-knit, assertive, casual labouring culture built around a workplace hierarchy of purple circle, untouchables and seagulls draws on the lively reminiscences of ex-workers themselves.

The final articles are reminiscence histories. Alec Smith tells of growing up at the [[../../../hotels/fremantlehotel.html|Fremantle Hotel]] in the 1930s and 1940s: west end residents, customers and barmaids, bookmakers and police, parades and street life. His picture of the port in wartime complements that of Tony Fletcher. Eric Silbert's reminiscence of Fremantle's Jewish families - particularly his own kin, the Masels and Silberts - illuminates another important facet of historic Fremantle's commercial life and ethnic diversity.

The Western Australian History Foundation is delighted to have been able to assist in the publication of Fremantle Studies because of the contribution it makes to a greater understanding of Western Australian history. May research and reminiscence continue.

Lenore Layman
Executive Director
Western Australian History Foundation

Introduction

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Contributors

Patsy Brown was born in Sydney, and was originally trained in social work. She became interested in maritime history during undergraduate study at the University of Western Australia, and her MA thesis was published as The Merchant Princes of Fremantle: the Rise and Decline of a Colonial Elite 1870-1900. She is also co-author of A Goodly Heritage: Christ Church Claremont 1892-1992.

Phyl Brown is a curator in the History Department of the Western Australian Museum and Curator of the Fremantle History Museum. She has been part of the team involved in the refurbishment of the Fremantle History Museum and the new Aboriginal Gallery in Perth and is currently working on a new exhibition, Land and People, for the Perth site.

Ann Delroy has been Head of the History Department at the Western Australian Museum since 1992. She has worked in museums since the early 1980s. In the past five years, Ann has been involved in the complete refurbishment of the Fremantle History Museum and the new Aboriginal Gallery, Katta Djinoong, in Perth.

Tony Fletcher is a former Master Mariner, Master Stevedore and Ships Agent. After 40 years in the sea transport industry he 'changed direction' to take up an academic career, and is currently completing a PhD research thesis on the stevedoring industry in Fremantle at Curtin University.

Geoff Harcourt was born in Subiaco, WA. He was trained as a horticulturalist and worked for the Perth City Council and the City of Fremantle. He was later employed by Co-operative Bulk Handling (CBH) at North Fremantle, where he has worked for the past 22 years. During this time he undertook mature age matriculation and went on to do an Honours degree in history at Murdoch University. The theme of his thesis emerged from his experiences at CBH. It was dedicated to his mother who had long urged him to seek higher education. Geoff is currently a Vice President for the Fremantle Branch of the MUA.

David Hutchison was born in Perth in 1927, and lives with his wife June in Fremantle. He has degrees in engineering and arts, has taught physics and been an adult educator. In 1970 he became the ﬁrst Curator of History of the WA Museum. He is an Inaugural Honorary Fellow of the National Museum of Australia. He retired in 1985 to work as a museologist and heritage consultant. Publications include a guide to Fremantle, a book about the Benedictines of New Norcia, articles, essays, and poetry and short stories - his own and translations from Modern Greek - and botanical illustrations.

Sally May completed a BA at the Queensland University and commenced a chemistry course at the Queensland Institute of Technology before joining the Queensland Museum's Maritime Archaeology Section in 1982. In 1983 and 1985, she was a diving team leader on the HMS Pandora archaeological expeditions and gatekeeper for archaeological data and report production. In 1985, Sally joined the WA Maritime Museum. In 1995, Sally was appointed Head of the newly formed Department of Maritime History. She is currently working on display development for the new maritime museum building.

Eric Silbert AM, DFCMC (Poland), JP was born in Fremantle in 1922. He worked in his family’s business until he and his brother took it over after the second World War. The business was ﬁnally sold to Betts and Betts and Eric managed their Fremantle store.
During the war, he served in the RAAF in the Bomber Command RAF and the Elite Pathﬁnder Force. As well as helping his wife Joan raise their family of four, Eric has been an active member of his community including sporting clubs, local service associations, the Perth Council, the University of WA Senate and the Temple David Congregation.

Alec Smith is a well known raconteur and cartoonist, and a keen amateur historian. He grew up and lived most of his life in the West End of Fremantle, which inspired most of his tales. He is also a collector of toy soldiers and has built up one of the world’s largest collections of these, which he has displayed in many venues in the State. He now lives in Darlington.

Editorial Board
Anne Brake
Dianne Davidson
Alison Gregg
Deborah Tout-Smith
Helen Brash

Fremantle Studies Journal is published by the Fremantle History Society.
The Society seeks to promote interest, research and publication on the
history of the Fremantle area. Activities include guest speakers at monthly
meetings, newsletters, site tours, and an annual Fremantle Studies Day for
research presentations.

This inaugural issue of the Fremantle Studies Journal is the ﬁrst in a series
planned as a biennial publication.

Copyright for papers in this journal resides with the individual authors.
Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the Editorial
Board.

This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of
private study, criticism or review (as permitted by the Copyright Act) no
part may be reproduced by any process without written permission.

This publication was assisted by Western Australian History Foundation and the City of Fremantle.

ISSN 1443-0800

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 24 July, 2017 and hosted at freotopia.org/fhs/fs/1/index.html (it was last updated on 2 June, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 25 July, 2017 and hosted at freotopia.org/fhs/fs/1/contents.html (it was last updated on 4 June, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 25 July, 2017 and hosted at freotopia.org/fhs/fs/1/foreword.html (it was last updated on 4 June, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 25 July, 2017 and hosted at freotopia.org/fhs/fs/1/contributors.html (it was last updated on 4 June, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 25 July, 2017 and hosted at freotopia.org/fhs/fs/1/introduction.html (it was last updated on 2 June, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.

Fremantle Studies Number 1

Contents

Contents

Introduction

Foreword

Contributors