2000 Tonne Slipway

South Slipways (no. 2 [610 tonne) left, no. 1 (2000 tonne] at right), c. 1960 (Fremantle Ports)

In 2022, the Maritime Museum would be standing on the left of this photo, the slipway on the left empty, and the submarine HMAS Ovens would be on the (largest) slipway on the right. As seen in my photo below.

Jack Kent describes the first (and largest) slipway in the 1991 report:
2000 TONNE SLIPWAY
HISTORY
The construction of this slipway commenced in October 1940 to handle vessels up to 2, 000 tonnes. It was completed in September 1942 and the control of this and the old slipway at Rous Head was transferred to PWD.
The construction of the slipway was helped by the US Navy providing extra 'manpower'and the Commonwealth Government providing funds through the Department of the Navy.
The first vessel to dock at the slipway was the Chungking on 22 September 1942. After that, the slipway was almost monopolised by US vessels. During the year, as well as later, the Harbour was extensively used for the repair of merchant vessels which had been damaged by enemy action or which had broken down after long periods of service.
ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
The significance of the 2000 tonne slipway can be seen in two ways. Firstly, being physical evidence of Navy operations and US use of Victoria Quay and how it was constructed under joint effort as a result of pressure generated from the Second World War.
Secondly, as a working primary port activity that contributes to the overall significance of Victoria Quay. However, the full history of slipways has not been adequately researched and it is recommended that full research be completed before the significance of slipways be fully determined.

References and Links

Hutchison, David, Jack Kent, Agnieshka Kiera, Russell Kingdom, Larraine Stevens, Tanya Suba, 1991, Victoria Quay and its Architecture its History and Assessment of Cultural Significance, City of Fremantle; Part II: Jack Kent: 'Architectural evaluation of existing buldings and assessment of their cultural significance', 54 pp. This is page 36.

Sherriff, Jacqui 2001, [[../../fhs/fs/2/Sherriff.html|'Fremantle South Slipway: a vital World War II defence facility']], Fremantle Studies, 2: 106-119.

[[../books/slipway/index.html|Slipways Development Concept]], 2005.

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 2 October, 2017 and hosted at freotopia.org/slipways/slipway1.html (it was last updated on 3 May, 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.