Saturday 26th April

Today we returned to Fremantle, after checking out the hats at Top Hatter in William Street! They didn’t have the same Barmah oiled leather hat, which was one of those that went missing, but they had a similar one. Sensibly, Tom didn’t dive in and buy it. Knowing it was there, he said we’d see if we could find it in Fremantle – failing which, he’d come back on Monday.

It was cheap fare day again on the train, so another £4 well spent. When we arrived, we walked up through Cappucino Strip – it’s actually part of Market Street/ South Terrace, but is known as Cappucino Strip because of the number of cafes down the length. We found a tucked away little alley with tiny shops surrounding a sensibly priced café and enjoyed 2 of the best stickies we’ve had all holiday. Then it was on to the Markets,
loads of stalls tightly packed together, brimming with goods at less than touristy prices and plenty of cheerful, helpful stallholders. Tom found his hat!! Exactly the same as the lost one and $15 cheaper than the almost correct one in Top Hatters. I had to restrain myself from buying too much although there were so many bargains that it was very difficult.

A helpful lady pointed us in the direction of High St where the charity shops are, and we spent a little time rooting through the 50c bargain books. I got 2 to see out the rest of the holiday but Tom had enough so was very good and didn’t buy any!

Next stop was the Round House, the original Prison built by convicts for their incarceration, but we’d miscalculated the timing and only had 10 mins to look round as they closed at 3.30pm. After this flying visit, we walked through town again to Fremantle Prison – also built by convicts, but this one is much bigger to cope with the larger numbers of convicts brought from overseas plus prisoners sentenced for crimes carried out in the state. We hadn’t thought about the difference between the two terms before. The prison was used until 1991, undergoing several alterations and additions in the interim. Our guide was an ex-warder called John who had worked at the prison in its final years.

Each cell started off as 7’ x 4’ with a small barred window (some prisoners had no beds, only hammocks), then, with legislation, each cell was doubled in size by the removal of a dividing wall. However, when prison numbers rose, bunkbeds replaced single beds, so it was back to 2 persons per 7’ x 8’. At its most crowded, the prison had over 1,000 detainees, most convicted felons but some on remand. Internal divisions had been built to segregate the various categories of prisoner. Toilet facilities were very basic and even up to the end of use, were buckets in the cells for overnight use. The same as today, the worst offenders (in the eyes of the other prisoners), the paedophiles were kept separate at one end of the building. Ex-policemen and –prison warders were also separated for their own safety.

The worst riot the prison suffered was in January 1988 when daytime temperatures were in the high 30’s/low 40’s for days on end. At weekends, there were no classes or work, and with nothing to occupy them and baking conditions in the enclosed exercise yards, prisoners took 5 warders hostage and set fire to part of the building. Only 3 years afterwards, the prison was closed completely and all inmates moved into a new, improved facility.

We were able to see the cells, both original size and larger; the damage to the roof caused by the fire; kitchens and washrooms and exercise yards, and quite a lot more. We were even taken into the “death cell” where prisoners would spend the last 2 hours before being hanged, and into the execution chamber where the hanging paraphernalia has been set up to demonstrate what happened – gruesome and quite chilling. It was a fascinating tour but not for the faint hearted. We were a very select group – only three, us and a Frenchman. After being released (!), we caught the train back to Perth and stopped off for dinner on the way back to the motel. I fell asleep watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – I’m definitely feeling the effects of all the travelling around and all the busy days doing things. Since it looks like we have all the family coming to visit the first w/e we’re home and the following w/e is Scarlett’s first birthday celebrations, the lazy days will have to be put on hold for a little while!!

Anyway, folks, there are only a few more blog entries for you to endure before the great adventure is over – just hang on till the end! Take care and we’ll see you soon.