Remember these cuties I mentioned at the end of the fifth installment from the Ultimate Maritime Trip series? Well, here's the proper post of my adventures in the Fremantle Prison. I was "locked up" together with 10 other members for an hour and fifteen minutes, and brought around the Prison compounds. Well, not literally "locked up", but it was a really fulfilling and informative tour. But before we start, here's yet another look of my cute mascots and the book I bought!
The little mascots are actually magnets, and they're now sitting happily on one of my shelves!
I was actually at the famous Fremantle Arts Centre at Finnerty Street (more to that in the next post), when I suddenly made an impromptu decision to walk to the Fremantle Prison. So I walked down Ord Street (where the facade of the Fremantle Arts Centre could be clearly seen) onto Hampton Road...all the way...
I was starting to think that I was lost. But when I saw these ominous-looking high walls, I knew I was approaching prison grounds. This area was actually the back of the prison, and I decided to walk down the street to get to the main entrance. I believe this is Knutsford Street, and the street parallel to it - on the other side, is Fothergill Street.
It was quite an easy descent to the bottom of the slope. The prison walls were on my left. On the right - houses. I wonder how it is like living next to such a historical landmark. The Fremantle Prison was actually listed on the World Heritage Sites in 2010, alongside some other Australian convict sites.
Turned around to take a couple of pics from the bottom of the hill. The ominous-looking walls looked even more dominating now, and was only emphasised by the quietness of the road I was on.
Something cheered me up though - a creative car plate I spotted on one of the vehicles. The vehicle was advertising a skills training company, and its car plate was "TRAIN NOW". How apt!
When I reached the bottom of the hill, the main entrance was nowhere in sight. Then I noticed people walking upwards - and I realised I had to climb UP a certain distance to get to the main entrance!
After much disgruntled sighing, crunching of leaves and shuffling of feet...here I was - right in front of the Prison gates! The gates have remained largely unchanged since the Prison was built. They were built between 1854 and 1855 and were made of limestone.
The gift shop was initially used as a stores dispensary for prison staff in 1897, and then got converted to an armoury by the 1950s, and in the 1980s, it became a Contact Room where prisoners could meet visitors...before it was converted into a gift shop. The gift shop was one of the first places I went into - to grab my souvenirs! There were lots of other attractive souvenirs on sale, but I kept reminding myself that I needed to preserve my luggage space! Eventually my souvenirs went into my carry-on luggage.
The other smaller buildings were mostly used as Contact Rooms at some point for low-security prisoners to meet visitors. However, visiting was restricted of course!
Right now - people were walking in and out to understand more about the history of the Prison and how it was built. These rooms were mostly air-conditioned.
Who can ever miss the looming presence of the Fremantle Prison blocks behind the Wray Gates? Here we go - pics of the Prison through Wray Gates (heavy iron gates made from poor quality iron, designed by Captain Wray and blacksmith Joseph Nelson in 1855 with its distinct inscription).
The Fremantle Prison was colossal! I really can't imagine how the convicts managed to construct it - especially since it was constructed in the 1800s!
And here's the famous Wray Gates with the prison behind it.
The back of the main gates. The ticketing office is inside - and you can also see part of the cafe on the right.
The Convict Cafe was initially the backyard of the Prison Superintendent's residence in the late 1800s, and in the 1970s, it was then converted into the Public Works Department Store and Armoury. It was later restored, renovated and converted into a cafe. Here's the official site for the cafe.
I settled for a sausage roll with tomato sauce and a hot Milo for my lunch (although I had already eaten a brownie and drank a small cup of hot choc at the Canvas Cafe at the Fremantle Arts Centre), as I was really famished from the walk! The menu contained lots of prison slang used by the inmates, but I decided to go the easy way out. Anyway here we go - "prison food" for the day! To be honest, it was totally DELICIOUS! The tomato sauce was tasty, and complemented the sausage roll really well. The Milo filled me up equally well, and nothing beats having a hot drink with a high quality hot meal! I'd really like to go back there again when I return to Perth! Mainly for the food of course!
Since I had time before my tour commenced, I took some additional pictures of the prison compounds.
And here we go! A ticket for the "Doing Time" tour, at a really affordable price!
First things first - and I bet this is totally mandatory for any inmate - ground rules. We were brought to this room where we were given a quick introduction and some safety rules to follow. As you can see - we were allowed to take as many pictures as possible, so here we go!
This place is actually the prisoner reception area where prisoners had to surrender their personal belongings.
We took a tour through the bathrooms before heading towards the kitchen courtyard and the kitchen. We also walked through the kitchen exercise yard.
Our next stop was the main courtyard - right in front of the main facade of the Prison.
Our tour of the cell blocks was done in sequence. So first up - Cell Block 1 for short-sentence criminals, remand prisoners and juveniles. The youngest person ever confined in the Prison was an 8-year-old! Juveniles were typically sent to classes based on their age and year levels, and adults were sent to do labour work and other forms of work. A strict routine was always followed.
Cell Block 1 kind of reminded me of the Old Melbourne Gaol, except that it was way more dominating. Probably because of its height and size.
Our tour guide then pointed us to the general routine of the prisoners, and then explained that all prisoners had a bucket...which served as their toilet! Prisoners were rounded up and sent to wash up first thing in the morning (and of course to empty their waste) before being sent to work. Routines were generally fixed.
The lines on the floor marked the spots where prisoners had to line up. Guards would always ensure that they were well-behaved and properly lined up before sending them off.
We were then sent to an exercise yard...which was an open space for prisoners to sit around and relax. I heard that privileges were bestowed to prisoners towards the 1980s and 1990s (shortly before the Prison was decommissioned), such as television and radio! Not too sure about how it worked out, but yup, that was what surprised me.
Despite these privileges, restrictions still applied! Barbed wires were lined everywhere.
This courtyard also contained some paintings made by prisoners - a way to maintain sanity I guess. I guess painting serves as a form of therapy to relieve boredom and take prisoners' minds away from violence and wrongdoing.
We then entered Cell Block 2 - for serious crimes without violence.
The first thing we noticed was a net spanning the whole open space of the first floor (where we were standing). This net was to prevent people from committing suicide! Anyway we were also told that this block adopted a really good symmetrical shape!
The ceiling was a gorgeous work of art, with its impressive beams. I still am amazed by how the Prison blocks were built in the 1800s! A lot of hard work and determination, plus meticulous planning must have been put in!
The main chapel with the Ten Commandments on either side of the cross. The chapel was a really peaceful place to be in, and also had an old organ. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to play on it.
We were then brought to another cell block where we were allowed to enter cells.
Here's a brief and general timeline of how the cells were organised.
In the initial years (1850s to 1870s), the cells measured 2.1m by 1.2m, and were lit with oil lamps. Furniture in the cells included a table and a hammock. These cells were literally breeding grounds for pests in the summer, and efforts such as slathering walls with lime wash and plastering the ceilings were carried out. Unfortunately drainage was poor, and leakages from pipes were so common. Prisoners were - of course- forbidden to speak to each other.
In the 1870s to 1920s, the cells increased in size with the removal of one dividing wall. The foldable table was replaced with a wooden table, and electric lighting was progressively introduced from 1907. This took quite a long time, considering the size of the Prison. The cells didn't change much between the 1920s and 1950s, though the hammocks were replaced with simple beds.
Bunk beds were introduced to the Prison in the 1960s by General Colin Campbell, to allow prisoners who were close friends to share a cell. It was also a good way to free up cells when the capacity of the Prison was exceeded.
Not all prisoners were permitted to paint/draw on the cell walls. But in this cell here, the prisoner completed his paintings between 1988 and 1991. He had been allowed to do so due to therapeutic reasons. His paintings were literally plastered all over the walls and were really detailed and beautiful! This cell was A24, on the ground floor. Furniture remained largely unchanged.
At that point in time, our guide alerted us that we were standing in Cell Block 3 - the block used specifically for violent offenders. He then pointed to this picture - depicting the aftermath of the 1988 prison riots.
The riots occurred on a sweltering summer's day (4th January 1988). It was 52 degrees Celsius inside, and prisoners planned this riot as an attempt to stage a mass escape. Twelve prisoners, including the famous Postcard Bandit Brendan Abbott were involved. The whole scheme first involved tipping boiling water onto unsuspecting guards on the ground floor, stealing their keys and then obtaining anything combustible. A fire was then lit - and because the roof was made of jarrah timber, a massive inferno resulted. Unfortunately the fire trucks were unable to enter the compounds as the gates were too small for them! The fire went on for 19 hours, but no one was injured, and no one escaped. The prisoners were eventually coerced into handing the keys back to the guards - but the damage was extremely costly. And because of this, the Prison was condemned for a while. Outsiders were apparently alerted about the living conditions inside the Prison, and this was probably one of the first signs that demonstrated that the Prison might have to be closed down, to make way for better lockup facilities.
That aside - we were led to another courtyard. The ventilation windows of the prison cells are really apparent from here.
Exercise yard. Numbers were painted onto the walls and prisoners had to walk back and forth to different numbers. The number 6 had always been a condemned number - as it signified something sinister, and was hence excluded. As such, the numbers were like this: "1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "7" and so on. Number 6 was skipped altogether.
We also passed through solitary confinement - a means of punishment for the most rebellious prisoners. The cells were extremely tiny, and they were locked up for long periods at a time, only given food through a tiny door at the bottom. This was probably meant to break their spirits.
We also passed through the gallows, and learnt that 44 people (43 men and 1 woman) were hanged in the gallows. The last person to be hanged in the gallows was Eric Cooke - in 1964.
A couple of signs and instructions I spotted while walking through the Prison compounds.
And by the end of the tour, we reached the Wray Gates where we were released! The tour was really good, and our guide was one of the most friendly guides ever! In general, the whole Prison experience was really awesome, and although I initially didn't have the courage to enter the Prison grounds, I eventually did so, and enjoyed it thoroughly.
Well I guess that's it for the Prison tours. In our next post, we concentrate on the Fremantle Arts Centre. Do stay tuned!