Fremantle Prison Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Fremantle Prison
Main Cell Block
Location	Fremantle, Western Australia
Coordinates	32°3′18″S 115°45′13″E / 32.05500°S 115.75361°E / -32.05500; 115.75361
Status	Closed; heritage site
Security class	Maximum
Opened	1855
Closed	30 November 1991
Managed by	Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage
Street address	1 The Terrace

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type:	Cultural
Criteria:	iv, vi
Designated:	2010 (34th session)
Part of:	Australian Convict Sites
Reference #:	1306
State Party:	Australia
Region:	Asia-Pacific
Western Australia Heritage Register
Type:	State Registered Place
Designated:	30 June 1995
Reference #:	1014

Fremantle Prison, also known as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, is a famous former prison in Fremantle, Western Australia. It is now a special World Heritage Site. The prison area is about 6 hectares (15 acres) and includes the cell blocks, gatehouse, walls, and even tunnels.

It first opened in 1855 for convicts sent from Britain. Later, in 1886, it became a prison for people sentenced in Western Australia. Over the years, there were calls for changes to the prison system. Big changes started happening in the 1960s. However, the prison was slow to change its old ways. This led to a big riot in 1988, where guards were taken hostage and a fire caused a lot of damage. Fremantle Prison closed in 1991 and was replaced by a new prison called Casuarina Prison.

The prison was run by a superintendent, who was in charge of the prison itself. The prison officers, called warders back then, worked under tough conditions. They later formed a union to improve their working lives. At first, convicts were chosen carefully to help build the new colony. Later, less desirable convicts were sent. When it became a local prison, most prisoners were white and served shorter sentences. There were very few Aboriginal prisoners at first. By the late 1900s, many prisoners were serving longer sentences, and more Aboriginal people were imprisoned.

Life inside Fremantle Prison was very strict. Meals were eaten in the cells throughout the prison's history. Prisoners used to work on public building projects until about 1911. After that, they only worked inside the prison, but there was never enough work for everyone. Punishments changed over time. Harsh punishments like flogging (whipping) and being put in leg irons were later replaced by longer sentences or not being allowed visitors or entertainment.

Since 1991, Fremantle Prison has been kept as an important historical site. Many parts of it have been repaired and restored. Some buildings inside the prison are now used for new things, and it has become a popular place for tourists to visit. When the prison was being considered for World Heritage status, people focused on its early history as a convict prison (1850–1886). This meant that its more recent history, including the time Aboriginal prisoners were held there, was sometimes overlooked.

Preserving the Past
- A Special Place in History
- Bringing the Prison Back to Life
Visiting Fremantle Prison
- What to See and Do
- Prison Art and Stories
Images for kids
See also

Preserving the Past

The newly restored prison gatehouse in 2005

A Special Place in History

Fremantle Prison was first listed as a historic place in Western Australia in 1992 and became a permanent entry in 1995. It is known as the best-preserved prison built by convicts in Australia. In 2005, it became the first building in Western Australia to be added to the Australian National Heritage List.

The Australian government decided to include it in a group of eleven convict sites to become World Heritage Sites. Five years later, in 2010, these places were officially added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as the Australian Convict Sites.

When people worked to get the prison listed as a World Heritage site, they mostly focused on its convict past. This meant that other parts of its history, like its use as a place to hold people during World War II or the imprisonment of Aboriginal people, were not highlighted as much. This focus can be seen in how the tourist experience is called "Fremantle Prison – the Convict Establishment."

Bringing the Prison Back to Life

Many parts of Fremantle Prison have been restored since the 1990s. For example, between 1996 and 1999, $800,000 was spent on repairs, including fixing the outside of the Anglican chapel.

In 2005, work was done to restore the prison gatehouse area. Old plaster was removed to show the original stone walls underneath. Work was also completed on the tunnels in 2005 and 2006. The main cell block was restored in a big project that cost $1.9 million and took 18 months in 2006 and 2007. The gallows room, where executions took place, was restored in 2013 to look like it did during the last execution in 1964.

Visiting Fremantle Prison

Fremantle Prison welcomes visitors from all over the world. It also sees former prisoners, old prison officers, and their families. The number of tourists grew steadily from 2001 to 2010, from about 105,000 to nearly 180,000 visitors. Since 2006, the prison has won many awards for tourism and heritage.

What to See and Do

When you visit, you can take guided tours and explore a visitors' centre. The centre has a database where you can search for information about convicts. There's also an art gallery, a café, and a gift shop. You can even stay overnight in some of the prison buildings!

The prison often holds educational activities for school children, as well as exhibitions and re-enactments of historical events. You can also have parties and dinners there, with actors performing historical scenes. Tours show you what prison life was like and tell stories of successful and attempted escapes. You can even visit parts of the tunnels. Night tours focus on the prison's spooky reputation for being haunted.

Drawing found in James Walsh's cell

The Fremantle Prison Collection has about 15,000 items linked to the prison's history, its buildings, or the experiences of its workers and prisoners. They also collect oral histories by interviewing people who were connected to the prison. These interviews have been recorded since 1989 and include stories from authorities, staff, volunteers, and prisoners. All these records and collections are a great resource for researchers.

Prison Art and Stories

The Prison Gallery displays and sells artwork made by current and former prisoners from Western Australia. It also hosts other exhibits about the prison's history, including old objects. Many cells and areas of the prison show prisoners' artwork. This includes art by James Walsh, a forger from the 1800s, whose drawings were hidden under layers of paint for many years.

Painting or drawing on walls was not allowed at first. However, graffiti, which can be seen as art or vandalism, appeared throughout the prison's history. This rule was sometimes relaxed, especially for long-term prisoners in their own cells from 1976, but only for art, not graffiti. Art, or art therapy, was not officially allowed until the 1980s. Graffiti was never formally permitted, but in the prison's last six months before it closed, the rule was not strictly enforced.

Other cells contain Aboriginal artwork, many by artists whose names are not known. The Walmajarri artist Jimmy Pike started painting in Fremantle Prison after getting lessons from Steve Culley and David Wroth.