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Fremantle Stuff > Fremantle Walks > Walk 5
Walk 5: Market Street to the Cappuccino Strip
From Fremantle Walks by David Hutchison, 2006, pp. 139-164. (See also facsimile version.)
For visitors arriving by train this walk, beginning at the Railway Station, offers a good introduction to the West End. Allow half an hour, or treble the time if coffee tempts you.
Railway Station
Architect: Acting Chief Engineer Dartnell. Builder: S B Alexander
Construction of the Fremantle to Guildford railway began in 1879. During the next two years land was reclaimed from the river for construction of the line, which was opened on 1 March 1881. The first railway station was at the end of Cliff Street. That was demolished in 1907, the year the existing station was completed. It is constructed of Donnybrook stone and brick in a Federation Free Classical style. The spacious central hall has a high arched roof of steel latticework with a lantern and skylight. On either side of the central arch of the facade are groups of black and white swans. (Swans also adorn the tower of the Town Hall.)
When the building was restored in 2007 it was decided to make the swans white, that being the original colour. The Town Hall was restored in 2017 and the swan on the tower is no longer black, but the natural colour of the material, again because that was its original state.
The original garden forecourt is now a bus station. Additional works on the station occurred in 1951-52, 1965 and 1977. In 1988 and 1991-92 renovation and modernisation works were carried out to the station, partly due to electrification of the service.
When there are new developments on Victoria Quay, the station will be an important boundary marker between the new and old areas. In 2005 plans were under development for a new road crossing near the station and for redesigning the forecourt.
Pioneer Park
Opposite the station, the park provides a pleasant entry to the city. On the original Roe Plan the north-west corner of this site was on the original river shoreline. In the early years, apart from Manning’s Folly (see p. 128 - Warehouse), there were residences and industries on the site, including a sawmill. The site was cleared in 1911 when John Forrest planned a transcontinental railway terminus — and may still have envisaged Fremantle as the ‘Brindisi of Australia’ — but that did not eventuate. During the 1920s the Ugly Men’s Association, a community welfare organisation, held regular fund-raising carnivals in the park. The association was founded in 1917 to raise funds to relieve the hardship of families whose breadwinners were serving in World War I. After the war, their work expanded to provide assistance for the unemployed and migrants. The association insisted that they did not offer charity but helped the needy to return to employment. They provided retraining courses and helped migrants find work on farms. The Uglieland Carnivals held in the park were a major source of income and included imaginative and entertaining ways of raising funds. In addition to standard funfair stalls, such as lucky dips, chocolate wheels, shooting galleries and coconut shies, there were dances with a cabaret orchestra, merry- go-rounds, swinging boats, dance competitions, fancy dress balls for children and modest gambling at bingo (housie) games. The association also commissioned a four-reel feature film by the Western Australian pioneer cinematographer Fred Murphy, whose cameras are in the Western Australian Museum history collections.
Uglieland was closed in 1929. There had been growing opposition from some women’s organisations and church councils which believed that the positive effect of the charitable work was outweighed by ‘moral danger’ for those who took part in gambling and some of the events. The Fremantle Business Association and the Fremantle Retail Traders Association also claimed that the carnivals harmed business in the city. By then, with increasing unemployment as the Depression loomed, governments began to provide more welfare.
The Metro Bus Company had a terminus in Short Street from the 1920s until the late 1950s, when the company was incorporated into the Metropolitan Transport Trust. The terminal later moved to the front of the Railway Station.
Spare Parts Puppet Theatre
The building in the park is now used for the popular and innovative productions of this theatre group. It was originally constructed, in c. 1905, for the wholesale butchers and grocers, Henry Berry and Co., who occupied it for only about a year. From then until c. 1955 various companies used the building. At that time major renovations were carried out so that the building could be used by the State Shipping Service. The service occupied the building until 1976 and there were plans to demolish it. However, the City of Fremantle recommended that the building be restored for use as an arts centre and it was vested in the city in l975. The Fremantle Art Gallery was opened in it to display the city’s art collection. Fremantle Arts Centre Press also occupied part of it briefly. It was renovated and converted as a theatre to become the premises for Spare Parts Puppet Theatre in 1985. A new foyer was added in 1992-95.
MARKET STREET
Former No. 3 Pumping Station
Architect/builder: Metropolitan Water Supply Sewerage and Drainage Department
On the corner of Market Street and Elder Place. As a consequence of the rapidly expanding population during the goldrush, Fremantle was provided with a reticulated water supply in 1898. This pumping station was completed in 1913. Later, the building was converted for use as public toilets.
Taylor Memorial Drinking Fountain and Horse Trough
Builder: Doulton Factory, London
Next to the former Pumping Station. This memorial commemorates two young English migrants, Ernest and Peter Taylor, who died in Western Australia in 1905. Their father, John Taylor of London, commissioned the memorial. He intended, it is believed, that it would be a facility for all creatures: humans, animals and birds. It was prefabricated at the Doulton factory in London and arrived
in Fremantle in 1905. It was erected when the alignment of the station had been determined. It fell into disrepair by 1976 due, it was found, to foundation problems. It was restored by the City of Fremantle in 1981-83 using a National Estate grant. The renowned Fremantle potter, Joan Campbell, reconstructed missing pieces, producing a glaze to match the original green of the tiles. The memorial was moved about two metres onto new concrete foundations.
Commercial Building
On the corner of Market Street and Elder Place. This richly decorated brick and stucco building, with some Byzantine influence, is of an unusual style for Fremantle. It is a pity that ground-floor alterations have been unsympathetic. The site was owned by the Wesley Church Trustees and this building was completed in 1915 for Ivan Lewis. The Wesley Trustees owned it again subsequently, as did the builder Richard Rennie for a period.
Post Office
Architect, Hillson Beasley, Chief Architect, Public Works Department. Builders: Atkins and Law
In 1829, Captain Daniel Scott was appointed as the first postmaster of the colony. Several local merchants held this office subsequently. John Bateman operated, after 1850, from part of the Convict Establishment Commissariat in Cliff Street. Later the postal service operated from the now demolished post office opposite the Commissariat. This building, completed in 1907, is of a somewhat severe Romanesque style with little ornament. However, this is softened by cement dressing over brickwork to accentuate openings.
Princess Chambers
Architect: Edwin Summerhayes
Nos. 21-27. These commercial premises were built in 1897 for the businessman Captain Frank Biddles, a Broome pastoralist with pearling interests. After settling in Fremantle in 1902 he established himself as a developer.
Former Princess Theatre
Architect: J McNeece. Builder: C Moore
Nos. 29-53. This extension to Princess Chambers was built in 1912 for Captain Biddles. It was a cinema and occasional vaudeville theatre. During World War I, Captain Biddles made the basement available as an amenities centre for service personnel. Extensive works to the building were carried out in 1941. The theatre closed in 1969 after operating for fifty-seven years. A panel-beating firm was established in the auditorium. In 2005 the building was occupied by several retail businesses.
Uniting Church (Formerly Wesley Church)
Architects: Terry and Oakden (Melbourne). Builders: Davey Bros
Corner of Market and Cantonment Streets. The first Methodist service was held near the mouth of the Swan River soon after two Wesleyan Families, the Hardeys and Clarksons, arrived on the Tranby in February 1830. The 175th anniversary of this event was celebrated in 2005. The first chapel for the Methodist congregation in Fremantle, Wesley Hall, was built in 1840-41 on a site east of the present church; the Wesley Manse (1893) was next to it. With the rapidly increasing population in the 1890s a larger church was soon needed. This Gothic-style church was built in 1889, and extended nine years later. Stone for its construction came from the government quarry in Cantonment Street. Inside, the clerestory, with elliptical windows, is supported on cast-iron columns finished in gold bronze. In the 1970s the Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian Churches formed the Uniting Church of Australia and the last Methodist service in this church was held on 19 June 1977.
Former Imperial Chambers
Nos. 55-55, extending from Leake Street to the National Hotel. These substantial commercial premises were built for Edwin Foss in 1896. His family retained ownership until 1947.
INTERSECTION WITH HIGH STREET
National Hotel
On the corner of High and Market Streets, trading for a while as ‘The Nash’. A branch of the National Bank operated on the site from 1880 in a former shop. Six years later the bank relocated and the building was converted to a hotel for J J Higham, opening in 1886 as the National. It underwent major reconstruction in 1895. Its first manager after reconstruction was W Conroy, who had the tragic distinction of being the last man to be hanged at the old Perth Gaol. On 23 June 1897, the day after the Town Hall was opened, the event was celebrated with sports and a ball in the evening. Early in the evening, Councillors Elias Solomon and WJ Snook, with the Town Supervisor, Mr Gliddon, had difficulty keeping a group of unruly men out of the hall. One of them was Conroy, who returned after midnight and gatecrashed a supper at which the mayor was congratulating officials on the happy conclusion to the celebrations of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee — the day of the Town Hall opening. Conroy left after a few minutes, but was seen, soon after 1am, in the courtyard. A shot was heard; Conroy had shot Councillor Snook, allegedly because Snook had refused him entry. Snook eventually died of his wounds on 25 September. Conroy, although pleading temporary insanity, was found guilty of murder at a trial in the Supreme Court on 6 October. Although the jury recommended mercy, he was sentenced to be hanged.
The original hotel was demolished in 1902 and replaced with the existing building in September of the same year. The top floor was destroyed by fire in 1975. In 1995 renovations by architect Michael Patroni saw the reconstruction of the original first-floor balconies. The facade was restored in 2001. In 2019 the hotel is fully restored, and trading once again as the National Hotel.
>> Walk down the north side of High Street. The National Australia Bank, No. 98, and the adjoining Commonwealth Bank, No. 88, date from the 1930s: with more recent renovations.
Former ANZ Bank
Architects: Hobbs, Smith and Forbes (1929), Summerhayes and Associates (1959), Forbes & Fitzhardinge (1960). Builder: R V Ritchie (1929), A H Thompson (1959)
No. 84. By 1928 there were four shops on this site. The Union Bank of Australia Ltd purchased the property and commissioned the building in 1929. initially, besides the bank, other tenants included a wool company, a hairdresser, a medical practitioner, a dentist and solicitors. Renovations were carried out in 1959 and 1969. The property was transferred to the Australia and New Zealand Bank Ltd (ANZ) which continued to operate a branch there until 1990. The bank, on moving to new premises in 1991, sold the property. It was used briefly by a ‘market’ selling handmade knick-knacks and keepsakes. The new owners were granted approval to convert the premises to a restaurant. However, in 2005, they were vacant.
Former Commonwealth Bank
Architects: Forbes and Fitzhardinge (alterations 1967-68)
No. 82. This building, with its massive columns, is of a markedly different style to other buildings nearby. Thomas Bousfield established a menswear business in 1902, doing a good trade fitting out diggers heading for the Eastern Goldfields. He occupied the premises for three years. They were demolished in the 1930s and the existing building was constructed in c. 1935 for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Alterations were carried out in 1967-68. The Hospital Benefit Fund bought the place in 1977 and restored the c. 1935 building. In 2005 it was occupied by Indigenart and the Mossenson Gallery.
>> Return to Market Street along the south side of High Street.
The Wyola Club
Architect: T Anthoness (1903), Allen and Nicholas (1946)
Almost opposite the Commercial Hotel, at 81-83 High Street. This was the headquarters of the RSL (Returned Services League). It was built in 1903 for the tailors J A Hicks and Company. Soon after its opening, the building was damaged by the explosion of a gunpowder store in the harbour; the blast resonated through most of the West End. It was extended, using designs by Allen and Nicholas, in 1946 and the RSL probably moved in at about that time.
Davies Building
Nos. 85-89. Erected in 1905 for G A Davies, a town councillor and mayor (in 1895), this property was divided in two, as part of his estate, in 1950. The eastern half, bought by the Totalisator Agency Board, was demolished in the early 1970s and replaced by the present TAB Building, which was set back to allow for the proposed widening of High Street. The western half of the original building remains in use for commerce and residential purposes.
In 2019 the TAB has moved out of no. 97 and various businesses tenant it. No. 99 High St did house The Record Finder, but that has moved west along High Street. Breaks, a coffee shop remains on the ground floor.
Commercial Building
Builder: R Rennie
Nos. 93-95. Economic Stores, a small department store, occupied an earlier building on this site from 1900. The Bank of Australasia bought it in c. 1934 and the original building was demolished. The existing building was completed in 1938 and comprised banking chambers, strongrooms and a shop. The manager’s residence was upstairs, a common practice at the time. The bank continued to operate there until 1952, when it was bought by the government and became the Fremantle Radiological Clinic. To attempt the eradication of tuberculosis, which was epidemic in the early 1950s, the government introduced compulsory chest X-rays in 1952. This reduced the number of cases significantly by the end of the 1950s and the clinic was eventually closed in 1984. For the next ten years the building was occupied by the Fremantle Coastal Districts Branch of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Bousfields Building
Architect: C L Oldham
Nos. 97-99. Samuel Pearse, a confectioner and baker, had a dwelling, sheds, shops and bakehouse on the site in 1895. In 1897 the original buildings were demolished and a new building was begun, owned by William de Lacey Bacon until c. 1904. Alexander Wright purchased it three years later and remained its owner for forty years. There were various occupants in the first half of the twentieth century; the photographer Charles Nixon had his studios here from 1901. Ownership of the two halves of the building was divided, Frank Bousfield owning No. 97 and Arthur John and Arthur Noble No. 99. Caris Brothers jewellers acquired the latter half later and installed a new shopfront to the building in 1966. The Bousfield family retained an interest in the property until the 1990s. Bousfield's Menswear was established by Thomas Bousfield at 82 High Street and also in Market Street, moving to this building in 1958. The business was inherited by Thomas’s son Frank; he worked for forty-five years in the store until his retirement. The business still trades under the original name, but was bought by two long-term employees in 1988.
Higham’s Building
Architects: Oldham and Cox
On the corner of Market Street. This building dominates the western side of this section of Market Street to Bannister Street. John and Mary Higham arrived in the colony in June 1853 on the Sabrina. John opened a bakery, confectionery and grocery business on the north-west corner of Pakenham and High Streets, and the date on the present building, 1853, suggests that he began this business soon after arriving. The couple’s infant daughter and second child, Mary Ann, died soon after they arrived. They had three other children before John died in 1858. His wife continued to run the business and became a highly respected businesswoman. Higham (1994) tells the full story of her achievements. She bought the site of the present building in 1861, and expanded the business by building larger premises, under the name of M Higham and Sons. The company sold imported drapery, dresses and hats so successfully that a large store was erected alongside the first; the two were amalgamated in 1882. Mary died in the following year. The family maintained the firm. Edward, the eldest child, died in 1885. His widow, Alice, married William S Pearse in 1895 and commissioned the present premises, including fourteen two-storey shops and a bulk store. In 1924 the property was sold to Edward J G and W M Higham and remained in the family for another fifty years. It has housed various retail outlets.
>> Cross Market Street into the High Street Mall.
HIGH STREET MALL
The section of High Street between Market Street and William Street was closed and converted into a pedestrian mall in the 1990s. It has become a favourite meeting place for older citizens. There were moves to restore the verandas along the Mall in 2005.
Barney Silbert's Corner
On the corner of the Mall and Market Streets at No. 109 High Street and built c.1900. By 1907 it was occupied by Freedman and Company Ltd., one of a number of drapers then operating in High Street. Barney Silbert operated his shoe shop and drapery business in the premises until the 1950s. The Silbert family came from the area known as The Pale, between eastern Poland and the western border of Russia. As a corner site, it was a convenient rendezvous for citizens and became known as ‘Barney's Corner‘. 1n 2005 it was occupied by another shoe store. [In 2018 there is a clothing retailer in the ground-floor corner store. The sign with 'Barney Silbert's Corner' has been removed from the first-floor corner window.]
Manning Chambers
Architects: Cavanagh and Cavanagh. Builders: Abbot and Rennie principally
This building occupies the remainder of this side of the Mall. The Manning family arrived in the colony in the 1830s and prospered quickly, having large landholdings in Fremantle, Cockburn and Rockingham. Their Davilak property in Cockburn is now a reserve and the house there is a local museum. Manning Chambers was constructed between 1902 and 1906 as an investment by the trustees of the Manning brothers’ estate. The chambers originally housed the Majestic Theatre. From c. 1940 it was in commercial use. Tenants included the Swansea Cycle and Motor Company, E Moore and Company and the English and Scottish Australia Bank. The chambers were refurbished substantially in 1986 and, despite public protests, in the process three shops were demolished to provide access to the arcade mall. In 1990 the Majestic Theatre was renovated and converted into a new arcade of eleven shops, under the direction of architects Bruce Robinson and Associates. [In 2018 the Majestic Theatre auditorium in the first floor still exists, but is completely empty.]
One of the early tenants of the chambers was a German gold and silversmith, Adolph Kopp, who moved into No. 121 High Street, part of the building, in c. 1902. He had arrived as a migrant in the 1880s, and during World War I was a victim of anti-German sentiment. His home and business premises were damaged during a riot in 1915. 1t was also, probably falsely, rumoured that he was a spy and he was placed under surveillance and may have been interned on Rottnest lsland. Two of his staff took over the business after the war when, probably due to his ill treatment, Kopp sold the business. However, they refused to employ him.
Atwell Buildings
Architect: Harold Boas (the Arcade)
Nos. 112-22. This building occupies about two-thirds of the other side of the Mall. Amelia Lloyd owned a shop and dwelling on the site, which were leased to Henry Atwell and J H Pellew. A new shopfront was built in 1895, and Atwell purchased the property in 1903. Two years later some buildings were demolished and a new building erected in 1906, which was incorporated with earlier buildings behind a new facade. Pellew’s drapery business continued to lease a shop. The name of the business was retained when it was acquired, in 1905, by Herbert Oxbrow, who operated the business until his death in 1950. The business survived for another forty years.
The arcade in this building, originally planned by Henry Atwell, was commissioned by his widow, Sarah, as a memorial to him when he died. The Arcade was a good example of arcades of that period. Culley’s tearooms and cake shop opened in the arcade in 1935.
In 2017 the arcade was renovated and completely transformed. Culley's moved to the other side of the arcade in new premises. A new steel and glass building was erected above the existing buildings. The arcade no longer exists except as a passage between the glass walls of shops.
Terrazzo ground murals
Artists: Simon Gauntiett and Stuart Green
These murals in the pavement, in the centre and at each end of the Mall, depict aspects of Fremantle and its community. The artists also created the Seascape in terrazzo inside the Town Hall building opposite the Service and Information counter.
>> Return to the east side of Market Street. Among the retail shops in this section is Warren’s Menswear which has operated on this site since the 1930s.
SOUTH TERRACE (THE ‘CAPPUCCINO STRIP’)
Newport Hotel
Architects: Cavanagh and Cavanagh (additions 1906)
At the junction of Market Street and South Terrace. The Newcastle Club Hotel was opened in 1898. Cavanagh and Cavanagh designed works in 1906 which included brick and stone additions and the construction of a two-storey veranda. Alterations were made in 1946, 1967 and the 1970s, including covering the courtyard. There were further renovations in 1986, with the approach of the America’s Cup Defence, when it was renamed the Newport Hotel.
Commercial Building
Nos. 85-87 Market Street, opposite the Newport. This site was owned by Amalia Dixon in 1880, when there were a residence and two cottages on the site. She owned the property until 1900; her trustees owned it until 1920 and they owned it in partnership with J J Holmes until 1931. In 1883 the rate books listed a new shop, almost certainly the existing building, and Amalia Dixon was recorded as the shopkeeper. The properties had various lessees over following years. By c. 1894 the lessees were butchers, Reen and Headley, to be Followed, in 1896, by another firm of butchers, Baker and Stevens. In 1898 a third firm of butchers, Holmes Brothers, were occupants; they remained until 1910-11. In the 1920s there was an auction room, possibly in part of the building. The Funeral directors, A E Davies and Co., were in the building from 1921, and in 1958 commissioned substantial alterations, which concealed some of the original facade. Another firm of funeral directors, Bowra and O’Dea was there from 1982 to 2004. When they left, the building was restored — to what appears, from a photograph, to be its original condition — revealing the elaborate brick and stucco facade. The awning is unusual for Fremantle, being markedly curved and supported on decorative iron brackets. The restoration was under the direction of John Kirkness.
This section of South Terrace from the end of Market Street to Essex Street is now occupied mainly by restaurants and cafes, with a bookshop and other retail outlets.
Public art: 'What it's like to be me‘
Artist: Carol Lowry
On the pavement in front of Timezone. Carol Lowry found inspiration for this work in a book written and illustrated by disabled children. Its title was What it’s like to be me. She consulted children, including street kids, and individuals and groups working with Fremantle children. She also received support from the Kim Beazley School. The work includes small tables and seats with inscribed drawings and children’s comments.
Evan Davies Building
Architects: Wilkinson, Smith and Wilson. Builder: L Burness
No. 13, on the corner of Collie Street. In the nineteenth century, mechanics institutes were formed in many towns and cities to establish premises where working-class people could study and attend lectures. They commonly included lending libraries. In 1868 the Fremantle Mechanics Institute and the Working Men’s Association formed the Literary Institute, which, in 1896, had this building erected. At that time there were two shops, a hall and an anteroom on the ground floor; the library was originally on the second floor. The building then had a simple awning supported by cast-iron columns. The two- storey verandas are shown in a 1913 photograph. The building was acquired in 1949 by the City of Fremantle and developed as a Municipal Library. It was renamed after the chairman of the committee which had investigated the establishment of a library, Evan Davies. He was a city councillor who gave distinguished service in other areas of council work as well. The building was restored, and the verandas — which were removed in the 1960s — were replaced in the 1980s. In 2005 the ground floor was occupied by the Dome Coffee House and the upper floor by Kulcha. [In 2018 Kulcha has ceased to exist.]
Former Papa Luigis
Now the Merchant Coffee House on the other corner of Collie Street, this was formerly Papa Luigi's Coffee House. Here, in 1977, the then proprietor, Nunzio Gumina, introduced al fresco dining on the pavement. The city council decided to approve this use of the pavements; this triggered the conversion of this section of South Terrace into the ‘Cappuccino Strip’.
Former Kings Theatre
(Metropolis Night Club)
Architect: F W Burwell Builder: James Brownlie
No. 52. In 1847 James Gallop established a farm, ‘Dalkeith’, on the foreshore of the Swan River in the area which later became the suburb that is named after it. He provided produce to Fremantle and Perth. His son, James, continued to operate the farm after his father's death in 1880. In c. 1897 he built Dalkeith House in High Street, on the Western boundary of Queens Square, to accommodate his family closer to facilities such as schooling.
In c. 1902 he bought the property on which now stand the theatre and the Sail and Anchor Hotel. On the site of the theatre there was an ‘Old English Village Fair’ where travelling entertainers performed. The Pavilion Theatre was built on the site in the late 1880s by J C More. When Gallop bought the property, he had the theatre demolished and commissioned the construction of the existing theatre and five adjoining shops. He originally intended to call the theatre the Dalkeith Opera House. Possibly because he foresaw competition from His Majesty’s Theatre, then under construction in Perth, the name was changed to the King’s Theatre. When it opened in 1904 His Majesty's had not been completed. The theatre could accommodate twelve hundred people and included seventeen emergency exits, apparently in response to a report of a disastrous fire in a Chicago theatre, in which 125 people lost their lives. There was also an asbestos fire curtain for the stage, measuring 9.75 by 6.71 metres, on which Phil Goatcher, a noted artist, painted representations of classical legends, symbols of the drama and a view of Fremantle and its harbour. The stage was large, 18.3 x 12.2 metres, with a proscenium arch 15.2 metres high. It boasted the largest ‘fly’ in the Southern Hemisphere at that time. Patrons could enjoy a view of the ocean and cooler air in summer on the balcony at interval. A sliding roof allowed sea breezes to cool the interior.
During World War I it was the venue for variety shows by the Black Butterflies, and in 1924 it was adapted for showing moving pictures. It closed in c. 1940. The building was used for some years for gatherings of the Fremantle Police and Citizens Boys’ Club. At that time it was purchased by Victor Gubgub and used For his car dealership. Part of it was converted to a repair and service department. The dress circle became Victor’s boardroom and kitchen. It was renovated in the 1960s to become a nightclub — under various names — and was a skating rink from c. 1978. It was renovated again in 1984 to revert to a nightclub. Further refurbishment, in 2002, returned the building to its original splendour, including the restoration of the balcony. In 2005 the building was still owned by the Gubgub family and housed the Metropolis Night Club.
Sail and Anchor Hotel
Architect: F W Burwell. Builder: Mr Reynolds
On the corner of Henderson Street. Formerly known as the Freemasons Hotel. It was built in 1903 for James Gallop to replace an earlier (1854-56) hotel on the site. Being next to the Fremantle Markets, it became a favourite ‘watering place’ on market days for producers who resorted to it after the auctioning their wares, which lasted from very early until late morning. The hotel was owned by the Swan Brewery from 1923 until 1977. It was renamed the Sail and Anchor Hotel in 1986 and was extensively restored under the guidance of Michael Patroni. The verandas, removed in 1955, were reinstated. The restoration work received a Royal Australian Institute of Architects award.
Fremantle Markets
Architects: Oldham and Eales. Builder: Mr Kinnaird
On the corner of Henderson Street. This building, in Federation Romanesque style, was opened in 1898. Trading had declined by the 1960s and the markets were closed, but the building was restored and reopened as an art and craft market in 1975; the verandas were restored six years later. The produce market at the rear re-opened later. However, the building still lacks its original corner turret and finials on the gables. The original wrought iron gates on the three frontages are still in place. The markets are built on north-west corner of the former Imperial Convict Establishment.
Fremantle Technical College
Architect: Hillson Beasley, Chief Architect, Public Works Department
On the corner of South Terrace and Essex Street. This brick building, completed in 1925, was one of the earliest in the state to have reinforced concrete floors. The low brick arches above openings are therefore not required for structural purposes; they are merely decorative. The concrete lintels above the windows have curved indentations that look like frowning eyebrows.
Former Fremantle Infants and Girls School
Next to the above, this limestone building was built in 1878. After the opening of South Street (now Fremantle) Primary School and Princess May Girls’ School, girls were moved to the new schools. The stepped pattern carved in the limestone beneath the eaves of the gables is distinctive. The blue awnings are recent.
Norfolk Hotel
On the south-west corner of the intersection with Norfolk Street. It was originally the Oddfellows Hotel, built in 1887 for George Alfred Davies. The front lounge and public bars were demolished in 1985-86 to reveal the 1887 fabric. At the same time the front yard and a new facade and veranda were constructed.
INTERSECTION WITH PARRY STREET
Scots Church
Architect: J J Talbot Hobbs. Builder: Petrie and Doig
The Presbyterian Church had its beginnings in Fremantle with the arrival of the Reverend Robert Hanlin in 1886. He had been commissioned by the Free Church of Scotland to work in Western Australia, and by 1898 he reported a strong feeling in the church community for a place of Worship. Hitherto, Presbyterian Church services were held in Oddfellows Hall in William Street. Funds were raised and this church was completed in 1898. It is constructed in Gothic style of local stone in irregular coursed work, with mouldings of red brick for doors and windows.
Parry Street used to end at William Street. In the 1980s it was extended to South Terrace to link with Norfolk Street. The buildings along the south side of Parry Street are within the former Imperial Convict Establishment. The Fremantle Oval and Fremantle Hospital are also included within that site. Remnants of the original limestone boundary wall remain alongside the synagogue and the hospital. On the hospital site there was a summer residence for governors, and the former Fremantle Intermediate School (1904), which was renamed South Terrace (Fremantle) in 1927. The original building is now incorporated in 'A' Block of the Hospital. Together with Fremantle Infants’ on the site, the name South Terrace Primary School was used from 1952. In 1961 new buildings were erected on the present site, on the other side of Alma Street, further east. In 2000 it was renamed Fremantle Primary School and celebrated its centenary in 2004. The new school was on the site of the original Fremantle Cemetery. The school recently created a Memorial Garden on its south side to commemorate the cemetery.
Former Synagogue
Opposite Scots Church in Parry Street. This was the first synagogue erected in Western Australia. The Fremantle Jewish community declined and the synagogue was taken over by the Perth Hebrew Congregation in 1908. It was sold to a local businessman, William Beer, in the 1920s. The date on the shopfront, added later, is given as 1924, however this shopfront may, in fact, date from 1932. The City of Fremantle bought the synagogue in 1962 and it was leased to various commercial businesses. The city sold the building in 2004 and future development of the site was under consideration in 2005. [It is still under consideration in 2018 but will be a hotel/tavern of some configuration.]
On the south side of the synagogue, on the site of the Stan Reilly Lodge, there was a group of two-storey timber buildings, originally Pensioner Guard Barracks (c. 1852), which were later used as an immigration centre. During World War I, they became the Base Hospital to house wounded servicemen on their return to the state. They were demolished in the 1950s. [In 2017 the Stan Reilly Lodge was demolished, and the site is now a carpark.]
Victoria Grandstand and Fremantle Oval
Architect: F W Burwell. Builder: Blackman Bros. The oval was known as the Barracks Green and used as a parade ground by the Pensioner Guards of the Convict Establishment and, later, for drill by the local Rifle Volunteer Unit. In 1895 it became Fremantle Oval, and was principally used for Australian Rules football and cricket. In that year, it was the venue, for the first time, for a football match. It is the headquarters of the South Fremantle Football Club, one of the teams in the state competition, and was the headquarters of the Fremantle Dockers, a team in the national competition - before they moved to Cockburn. The architect, Burwell, had his design accepted after he won a prize in a competition for the design of a pavilion or grandstand. The grandstand was opened in 1897.
When Parry Street was extended in the 1980s, it cut across Fairbairn Street, a ramp leading up to the entrance to the prison. The original turnstiles for Fremantle Oval were near the palm tree opposite the entrance to the fruit and vegetable market. They were demolished, to be replaced by the existing turnstiles. In 1993 the Growers Market section of the Fremantle Market was given a permanent roof and a new entrance to the design of Brian Klopper.
>> Walk along William Street past the Markets to Henderson Street.
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 9 January, 2019 and hosted at freotopia.org/fremantlewalks/w5.html (it was last updated on 14 November, 2019), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.