Port Brewery was a brewery on Beach Street, founded sometime betwee 1892 and 1908, and demolished c.1963.
It's suggested that the brewery stood opposite where Peter Hughes Drive now begins at the underpass beneath the railway line. The river that we see in the above photograph is now all land that was reclaimed for the construction of Victoria Quay (the southern wharf).
Library:
Cable laying outside the Port Brewery. Construction of the brewery commenced 15.11.1892. Faulty designs and workmanship caused the whole central portion to collapse at 12.15 pm 4.03.1893. Eight people were injured, one fatally. Brewing activity continued only until 1908; after this various other uses were made of the building until its demolition c1963. Fremantle Library Local History collection photo #692 and text.
The bridge in the above photograph is not the present rail bridge, which is not in the same place. The current bridge comes to the shore further east (to the left). The bridge was removed upstream to allow the harbour to be expanded eastwards, following the Tydeman Report of 1949. This 1881 rail bridge collapsed in a flood in 1926, raising the question of the eastern extension of the harbour, but it was decided then to repair the old bridge for the time being. The prominent building on the shore in the middle of the photo is the Port Brewery (1892-1963).
Library:
Fremantle Railway Bridge looking from North Fremantle. The reclamation visible on the farther shore was spoil from the building of Dalgety's wool store in the early 1920's. Several homes on both the Beach Street and Queen Victoria Street frontages were demolished for the building of the wool store. George Shenton's barge the Gazelle, built 1864, was buried by the reclamation. For many years it lay abandoned and partly submerged in the river and was used by local children as a diving platform and place to fish from. From c1881-1896 the bridge had a single track. After 1896 the tracks were duplicated. A few years later a narrow four foot wide walkway (eastern side of bridge) was added for cyclists and pedestrians. The Port Brewery (in centre) was in Beach Street. Construction began on 15th November 1892, central portion collapsed 4th March 1893. Demolished c1963 to permit relocation of road and rail facilities. Obelisk on Monument Hill erected 1867, demolished 1924. Replaced by Fallen Soldiers and Sailors Memorial 1928. 1976 - the railway embankment occupies the middle scene. From Fremantle Library: Izzy Orloff photo #468 and text.
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Library:
The Port Brewery in the background is almost below the existing railway bridge. The Brewery was commenced in 1892 and was used as a brewery until 1908. Towards the left are fishing boats at 'Dago Flat'. Fremantle Library photo #822 and text.
Port Brewery, said to be 1900, source unknown.
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 19 August, 2015 and hosted at freotopia.org/hotels/portbrewery.html (it was last updated on 29 November, 2023), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.