Relaxed on the Northbridge Piazza and watched the news while waiting for my friend.
ANYWAY......I finally went to the Roundhouse! Have been waiting for a while to go there. Anyway that was kind of a trip to celebrate the completion of the thesis. I was so exhilarated when I finished my thesis and bound it - so I decided to take a very good breather. Now my final Honours assignment is done...and I'm so glad that I can finally focus on my exams and nothing else!
Anyway we've been blessed with good weather since Friday or so - and that Sunday was no exception!
Had lunch at San Churro and then headed down to the Roundhouse. Before that I was walking around the streets and admiring the old buildings. Tried looking for a picture of Fremantle in the 1800s to early 1900s but didn't seem to have much luck! Anyway I did find a picture of the Roundhouse in the 1890s, and the surroundings look kind of different to what we see today.
The Roundhouse was built between 1830-1831 and is the oldest standing building in Western Australia. It was built to house convicts until 1886, and then was used as a police lockup till 1900. Subsequently it was closed, and then re-opened to the public in the 1980s. Here's the official site for it: http://www.fremantleroundhouse.com.au/index.html
Only the second floor of the Roundhouse was open, and that was the main place where prisoners were housed. The Roundhouse is technically not round - it has 12 sides, and contains 8 cells and a guard room. Anyway the rooms we entered were mostly cells - we didn't manage to see the other rooms constituting it.
Walking up the steps to the Roundhouse. The view of High Street from here was pretty good.
There were few people in the Roundhouse. But there was this guy with a semi-pro camera and a nifty tool that allowed him to take pictures of the whole Roundhouse - making it look like a mini-Earth! It involved a circular mirror, and a special customised tool. He basically set the camera to self-timer and left it on a tripod, and the job was done! Super super awesome!
When he pressed the self-timer, we had 10 seconds to duck into one of the rooms, as we definitely didn't want to be in the picture! As I was "hiding" in the room, I took a shot of part of the Roundhouse - and we can see his tripod and nifty tools next to the well :)
Went out when his shot was taken...to attempt to get a picture of the side facing High Street.
And he then set the timer again, so yup, we ducked back in!
And by then he had taken all his shots - thanks to his nifty tool! So out I came - and it was now MY turn to take all the shots I wanted! Would really like to buy that tool, but you know, musicians are poor...so I guess I'll have to save up for a while before getting it! I also heard that there's some panorama tool that can create the same effect. Might look up on it!
I decided to take pictures of ALL angles of the Roundhouse - full picture of the compound, see?
The timeball was erected in 1900. Well, it served as a time check for those staying in the Roundhouse.
Got to try these out too! Stocks were used as a punitive measure - and often culminated in public humiliation. When people were locked in these stocks, those passing by would be encouraged to throw rotten eggs/food/tomatoes etc at them. These were a replica of the original stocks used during the Medieval Ages and was last used in the Victorian era. One of the volunteers would ask if we wanted to try it, and then he "locked' us in, pretending to leave. Of course, we got to take as many pictures as we wanted, and after than he would unlock it and let us out. I got myself "locked in" - and got pictures!
Apparently the hole was so big that I could fit my whole lower arm through it easily! One of the volunteers later told me that this wasn't the original size. Apparently it's not for females either.
Oh and here's another (better) pic of the timeball.
People were starting to stroll in to the Roundhouse just before it was closing.
Explored each of the 8 rooms in the Roundhouse. This was a poster with information on how prisoners were expected to behave while being cooped up. If not...punishment!!!
Now - the coolest part of the Roundhouse is its design. It had a panopticon shape. This was a sneaky design that allowed guards to observe each and every prisoner surreptitiously, without being caught. And the prisoners could all look out to the courtyard. I went into each and every room to get a good view of how the panopticon actually worked. And wherever I was - I could see the well clearly, plus other rooms.
Decided to stay longer, as the atmosphere was kind of peaceful.
And yes, after I got "locked" in the stocks, quite a number of people decided to try it. Most were guys though! I think I was the only female who got "locked" when I was visiting the place.
Last picture just as I was about to leave...
And I bumped into a band who decided to come for a recording/photoshoot in the Roundhouse! So guess what - I decided to stay for a tad longer.
When I entered the Roundhouse, I had already made a gold coin donation as part of the entry fee. So I wrote something nice in their guestbook and headed out.
Spotted someone's pet dog outside the Roundhouse but I'm kind of apprehensive about dogs...so I took pictures of the building from a distance.
Ended off by taking pics of the Roundhouse - like how I started off. The tunnel on the first floor is known as the Whaler's tunnel. I've been through the tunnel on the first floor, and it led to a small beach known as the Bather's Beach. Posted some pics here.
Ending with a picture of High Street...facing the Roundhouse. You can vaguely see it in the distance. The Roundhouse is definitely a must-see, if you're interested in historical sites! I'll definitely go back there again if I have the time!
Anyway I deliberately set the camera to black-and-white as I wanted to give a vintage feel to the pictures. In fact, I took ALL my pictures in black-and-white that day! Might try to take pics of the Roundhouse in colour next time - so that I have 2 sets of pictures :)