The Round House

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 :)

Good ol' Fremantle...Again!

Fremantle has become one of my favourite hangout spots these days.  I've been in Perth for less than a year and yet I've been to Fremantle so many times!  Let's see...I went for the Fremantle Street Arts Festival (documented here, here and here), went once to take pics of the buildings - to take a breather from studying, and of course, went to the Maritime Museum and E-Shed Markets!  I've also been there for dinner with Steph and Jenny.  And I definitely remember my very first trip there in March!  

OK to be honest, this trip was a follow-up of my first trip as I wasn't entirely happy with all the pictures I took.  So I decided to try again!  I just went again today to visit the Round-House, and to take more pictures - and pics will be up soon!

As usual I stopped at the bus terminus and walked down to the city centre...down Market Street.

And then I turned into High Street where I was greeted with familiar sights.

I was walking down High Street when a seagull started flying towards me...and hence I managed to capture it in mid-air just in front of the backpackers' inn!  The backpackers' inn used to be the old Commercial Hotel.

Here is a better view of the backpackers' inn.  I had a glimpse of the interior, and it looked a little dark.  Definitely different from the facade!

New Edition Bookshop - just next to the inn.  I haven't walked into it before, but would probably do so one day.  The bookshop looks really nice from the outside, and equally nice inside!  It also had a cafe.  Anyway I really like the exterior!

More pictures of the backpackers' inn...

And just next to the inn - an old building which was converted into a fine arts gallery.

At the intersection between High Street and (if I'm not wrong), Pakenham Street.  Oh and at the intersection of the 2 streets - there was a tourist centre.

More older buildings, which have since been converted.  There was a military surplus store...

And a fine arts gallery just next to the surplus store.  There were quite a number of fine arts galleries in Freo. I remembered seeing a photographer's gallery somewhere down this street as well.

Yet another look down High Street.

I was really lucky that day.  Walked into a second-hand bookshop wanting to find a biography of Dame Julie Andrews...and when I walked into this one - I found the exact copy I wanted!  And best of all, it cost only $12!  So I bought it without hesitation.  It's now on my desk and I've read it a couple of times already.  Dame Julie is seriously amazing!  I really admire her tenacity and her gorgeous voice!

Orient Hotel, and the famous Bar Orient.  People were starting to party already - although it was only about 3pm or 4pm in the afternoon.

Looking in the direction of the Round House.  I actually wanted to go to the Round House that day but it was already closed for the day.  Wanted to bring Steph and Jenny there but we didn't have time.  Anyway we came back to High Street on their 2nd day here.

Had this new idea here, so decided to try it out :)

I walked mainly around High Street and into some of the smaller streets.  Some of the buildings have been leased out to Notre Dame University.  I seriously envy them for having such an awesome campus!  Right in the middle of Freo - and also with gorgeous buildings!  Some of the older buildings have been converted to accomodate the campus.

There were quite a lot of bed and breakfast hotels (B and B) in Freo!  Anyway I turned into another street - Mouat Street.

Someone from South Africa commented, "This is the 3rd time in these 2 days that I've seen someone take pictures of this B and B!"  I wonder what's so special about this B and B...though the outside looks really nice.

The outside of the Adelaide Steamship Company building, plus its neighbouring buildings.

Ended up in Phillimore Street - one of the more major streets, and decided to take a look around.  I usually walk down Phillimore Street to the train station.

Ended up in High Street again, and here we go - the Round House just as it was about to be closed!  The Round House was built between 1830 and 1831, and is one of the oldest standing buildings in Australia (probably the oldest in Australia)!

Few more pictures of the buildings along High Street.  I was starting to get a little envious of the lucky students studying in Notre Dame University!

Cliff Street - another street along the way.  I didn't manage to get decent pictures of this building, but this time I managed to do so!

Back on High Street!  And we can roughly see the gorgeous B and B from here...

Passed by the 2nd-hand bookshop again and nearly hyperventilated when I saw these!  GOSH I wish I could have them all - but when I thought of luggage space...GRRRR...

Anyway I was already happy with the Julie Andrews Biography!  Although the Judy Garland book looked really enticing...She's gorgeous to start off with!

Walked down Market Street again - where I started off from.

And ended up on the Cappuccino Strip.  I have not tried any of the restaurants down here, but would probably do so one day.  Although it looked a little expensive...

Oh and in case you were wondering, many events from the Street Arts Festival were held on this strip.

Caught the bus from Fremantle Markets...and that marks the end of yet another Fremantle trip!

I think I'll plan a trip to Fremantle Markets before I leave Perth for good.  Haven't been in there, but have been to the E-shed markets.  Bought a bracelet-watch during the Perth Royal Show and later found out that they were also sold at Freo Markets - might go check that stall out!

I'll probably post stuff about the Perth Royal Show soon!  Do stay tuned!  Oh and I HAVE SUBMITTED MY THESIS!!!  YEEEEAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!