And below is the road leading to the Round House, Freo's original jail built in 1831 shortly after the colony was first founded. The Round House was closed in 1886 and then used a a police lock-up and various other uses until being preserved as part of Freo and WA heritage.
The beach looking towards the Roundhouse with the port in the background
I liked Freo so decided to come back another day to explore better.... I got the ferry down the Swan River from Perth past some fabulous houses on the north bank. The most expensive plots face south, away from the hot sun. At home the best plots face south to get as much warm sun as possible!
Arriving at Freo port
With the Maritime museum and a tall ship
The Maritime museum was very interesting, although we weren't allowed round all of it as there was a wedding being held that afternoon.
A beautiful venue but a bit surreal as this yacht looked like it was about to land on the guests!
I walked past this sculpture on the dockside
And up to the prison. It was built by convicts in the 1850s and operated as a prison initially for convicts only, but when the Round House was closed in the 1886 it became the main prison for the colony as a whole. The number of inmates boomed along with the WA population during the Gold Rush years of the 1890s, and a new wing was built in the early 1900s. It was used to house Italian Australians during WW2. Riots and a fire led to its closure in 1991. Hangings, floggings were carried out here. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site
I did a guided tour...
The original cells were tiny
But then made bigger by knocking two into one
Eventually some prisoners were allowed to decorate their cells as it calmed the men down..... they were living here in temperatures up to 50 degrees in the summer, with no breeze or air, no fans or air con.
And after a wonderful day out I caught the train back home...
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