Fremantle Town... an interesting historic town to be visited

Coordinate: S32°03.5112′ E115°44.8007′
Website: http://www.fremantlewa.com.au/

After the shopping spree on the last day, we decided to come over to Fremantle city. The city is rich of history values, as Fremantle boasts the best preserved example of a 19th century port streetscape in the world with its world-famous heritage buildings and a fascinating maritime and convict history.

Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829. It was declared a city in 1929. The city is named after Captain Charles Howe Fremantle, the English naval officer who had pronounced possession of Western Australia and who established a camp at the site.

Fremantle Market is located in the heart of Fremantle on the Cappuccino Strip - South Terrace. This historic marketplace was first opened in 1897. Known simply as the 'Freo Markets' they were refurbished in 1975 and today are home to over 150 shops.

The market was closed during our visit, what a disappointment for us. It would be good to check on the opening hours for the market where one can easily find from the official website (http://www.fremantlemarkets.com.au/). We could only took photos as part of our memory in this historic town.

This is Wesley Uniting Church, Fremantle. We were walking along the street, and came across this beautiful old church just besides the road. The building architecture really amazed us, and it stood still throughout the years. The church definitely gives hope to many residents over here, especially in its early days.

The original Fremantle railway station was constructed in 1881 next to Cliff Street. Following the extension of the Eastern Railway to Kalgoorlie in 1896, the station was an important hub for gold miners arriving in Western Australia via ship and then travelling to the Yilgarn and Eastern goldfields. In 1907 the station was moved to its present location to better service the newly constructed Fremantle Port. It was designed by William Dartnell, Chief Engineer of Existing Lines of the Railway Department, in 1906. The station was classified by the National Trust in 1974 and entered into the Heritage Council of Western Australia's Register of Heritage Places in 2001.

While entering the toilet in the railway station, I'm again amazed with the maintenance work done. The conservation works done here just marvelous, where it could bring back one memory to old days, with the doors made of wood and have those classic feelings in the old days of Fremantle town.

We just passing by another amazing building, without knowing the history value behinds it. The National Hotel, one of the city's historic buildings, was almost destroyed by fire on the night of Sunday, 11 March 2007. Though the interior was gutted, the historic façade was saved and the building has since been fully restored. Again, we just walk pass as we try to cover as much as possible in this beautiful town before it is getting too dark.

Another building that capturing our heart is Fremantle's Post Office. It was opened in 1907. Again, we just passing by over here, and taking few photos before proceeding to our next building visit around this wonderful town.

Basically, it is a nice experience to visit Fremantle, but too bad the weather wasn't good that time. We only able to cover part of the town, and hopefully could return back one day to enjoy the cafe at the street or even beer, and bring us back to memory lane. Even though at first we hesitated to visit the town, but once we were here, we just fall in love with it. A nice town to visit when one is in Perth.