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Australia Travel Guide
> WA >
Perth >
Attractions >
The Round House Precinct, WA Australia
| Address | 10 Arthur Head,
Fremantle
Western Australia, 6160, Australia | | Enquiries : | Send an enquiry to The Round House Precinct | | Telephone Enquiries : | 08-9336 6636 |
The "Swan River Colony" was established as a British colony for free settlers in 1829. Convicts did not arrive until 1850. Nevertheless, the first permanent building was a gaol. Early 1830 Henry Willey Reveley, the colony's civil engineer, was instructed to prepare drawings for it.
The site chosen for this gaol was a headland which overlooked the river mouth and had uninterrupted views of Cockburn Sound. This was also an obvious place to establish navigation lights and a signalling station.
The role of the headland for law enforcement was strengthened in 1835 when a courthouse was built on the south side of the Round House. Stocks were installed in the 1840's and in 1844 John Gavin, a fifteen year old convicted murderer, was hung nearby.
Apart from the Round House and the courthouse other buildings on Arthur Head included cottages to house the harbour-master, pilots and lighthouse keepers, and two lighthouses.
Bay whaling was carried out from Bather's Beach below the Round House. As part of the whaling operations a tunnel was constructed under the Round House to give easy access from the beach to the town. A look-out would alert boat crews after sighting a whale and the chase would be on. Captured whales would be towed back to the beach and processed.
Aborigines were held in the Round House for short periods of time before being sent to the Rottnest Native Penal Establishment, founded in 1840.
The first convicts arrived in 1850 to boost the colony's labour force. The Round House was inadequate to house them so one of the convicts' first task was to build another prison. This new complex was completed in the mid-1850's and was used as Fremantle Prison until 1991.
The Round House continued to be used as a gaol for short term prisoners and as lock-up for ticket-of-leave men who broke curfew.
In 1886 the Convict Establishment in Fremantle was handed over to the Colonial Government. Fremantle Prison then became part of the local penal system. The Round House having lost its role as a prison became the responsibility of the police who used it as a lock-up until 1900. It then became living quarters for a chief constable, his wife and ten children.
The headland was always in demand by port authorities and for defences, due to its prominent position and its proximity to the port. The first gun battery was built on the headland north west of the Round House was completed in 1908. The battery existed until 1942 when the guns were moved north of Fremantle to Leighton. Part of a gun enplacement can be seen in the shallows at the northern end of Bather's Beach.
The Fremantle City Council became responsible for the Round House in 1982 when the headland was vested in the City. The building was opened to the public soon afterwards.
The Fremantle Time Ball and Time Gun:
A Time Ball was erected near the lighthouse and signal station in 1900 as part of a procedure to give mariners and residents an exact daily time check. For ships captains in the harbour, time checks were a valuable way of rating their chronometers so accurate navigation at sea was possible.
The ball was hoisted to the top of the tower three minutes before 1pm and was released exactly at 1pm by an electrical signal sent by wire from the Astronomical Observatory in Perth. The electrical signal also triggered a shot from a cannon. Later the gun was replaced by an audible signal from an exploding stick of gelignite suspended in a hanging bracket.
This time signal procedure was discontinued on 8 January 1937 because radio telegraphy made it unnecessary.
Jardine's Time Gun:
On March 27 1998 the Fremantle Signal Station was re-inaugurated. The cannon now installed just west of the Round House belongs to the Fremantle Football Club (Fremantle Dockers) and is on loan to the Fremantle Tourism Association.
The Docker's cannon, constructed by Tom Talbot, is a replica of one salvaged from the Salve. This ship beached at Port Augusta, just east of Cape Leeuwin, on 25 October 1878. The original gun is now in Bunbury.
Financial support from Jardine Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd has made it possible to fire the gun daily. This company has a long history of involvement in Time Guns. In Hong Kong the Jardine's Time Gun is a daily highlight for tourists and an important link with Hong Kong's maritime traditions.
Fremantle Heritage Guides:
A team of volunteer Guides are on duty at the Round House during opening hours. The Guides fire the Jardines Time Gun and drop the Time Ball each day at 1pm. They also fly National and sponsors' flags on the signal station. The National flags of visiting ships are hoisted to the mast-head as a courtesy to the vessels as they enter the Port of Fremantle.
Fremantle Tourism Association Inc e-mail freotour@dialix.com.au
** Fremantle Round House Precinct
* Preserving Western Australia's most historic site
* Inspect the colony's first prison built 1830-31
* Witness signal station activities and enjoy panoramic views
* Watch the daily 1pm firing of the Jardines Time Gun
* Learn about the history of the site from the volunteer Fremantle Heritage Guides
* Group tours by arrangement
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| Entity Facility | Car park. | | Experience | Historic/Heritage. |
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