W. H. Kitson Park
Kitson Park, East Fremantle, is on the riverfront below the Plympton (now Tradewinds) Hotel, and contains the 'Plympton Steps'. It is named in honour of W.H. Kitson, MLC.
Click/tap images for larger size.
[[img/kitsonpark.jpg|File:Freotopia parks img kitsonpark.jpg]]
My photo from 2006 gives some idea of what Kitson Park looked like with its original steps, and many more palm trees. It now looks radically different since being rebuilt in steel and concrete in 2015, apparently due to 'safety' concerns.
Bob Sommerville's photo (posted to Facebook) showing the Park in June 2016
My snap, 27 October 2020, shows the difference between the professional photographer and me. Mind you, there is quite a bit more vegetation now obscuring the view of the two buildings, the Plympton Hotel and Tom Owen's pharmacy.
The stone building at the extreme left is the 'Plympton Pumphouse' and is allegedly a remnant of a brewery. There was an installation called 'Transitions' in it during the 2021 Biennale.
References and Links
East Fremantle Council Design Workshop on this park 2014: 'The Plympton steps are currently undergoing stabilisation and important safety works and will form an integral part of the plan developed for Kitson Park.'
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 March, 2016 and hosted at freotopia.org/parks/kitsonpark.html (it was last updated on 24 April, 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.