Monday 24 June 2013

POSTCARD FROM FREMANTLE



“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.” - Charles M. Schulz
 
I am in Perth for work for a few days and I staying in Fremantle. Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829. It was declared a city in 1929, and has a population of approximately 25,000.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. The city contains well-preserved 19th-century buildings and other heritage features. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for Fremantle is Freo.
 
Being a weeknight in Winter last night, it was not surprising that the streets were quite deserted even though it was still early when I went out for a walk. Nevertheless, the atmosphere was one of eerie desolation, accentuated somewhat by the sodium lamps and their amber light. Winter in Perth is much milder than in Melbourne, with the temperature yesterday climbing towards 20˚C and falling to about 12˚C at night. Very pleasant, compared to the -1˚C minimum in Melbourne the other night.

Fremantle is quite an amazing town with many old, lovingly restored Victorian buildings. The University of Notre Dame has done quite a great deal in reviving and renovating whole blocks of the West End, with many of the streetscapes reminding one intensely of times gone by. There is great architectural heritage, including convict-built colonial-era buildings, an old jetty and port, and prisons; presenting a variety and unity of historic buildings and streetscapes. These were often built in limestone with ornate façades in a succession of architectural styles. Rapid development following the harbour works gave rise to an Edwardian precinct as merchant and shipping companies built in the west end and on reclaimed land.

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