Fremantle Prison is located in the city's Terrace neighbourhood. The 60000 square metre site contains the prison building, a guard booth, small single-storey living quarters and an exhibition of prisoners' work. All of this is walled around the perimeter. Fremantle Prison is listed as a World Heritage Site as one of 11 places in Australia where prisoners were held.
The prisoners themselves actually built the prison in the 1850s. In 1886, the building was taken over by the colonial government, who used it as a place to hold criminals. Only a century later - in 1991 - the prison was closed and the building was turned into a historical monument. Today it is a museum run by the Western Australian state government, and day and night tours are available. Some tours take you to the legends of the allegedly haunted walls. Others lead to a flooded tunnel and aqueducts underground.
Construction of the prison began shortly after the Scindian ship arrived in these parts in 1850 with 75 prisoners on board, and was completed in 1859.
In 1868, penal exile in Western Australia ceased and the number of prisoners arriving dropped dramatically. But many men and women convicted in Perth were transferred to Fremantle Prison, and the prison retained its status as the largest in the state.
In 1896, a series of tunnels were built 20 metres beneath the prison to gain additional catchment area. The tunnels stretched for a kilometre, but by 1910 the need for them had disappeared and they were closed, subsequently becoming the objects of urban legends.
In 1907, with the onset of the Western Australian gold rush and the rapid growth of the local population, the prison had to be enlarged by the addition of a new sector. This accommodated death row.
From 1939 to 1946, part of the prison was used by the Australian Army to hold war criminals. The last person hanged here was serial killer Eric Edgar Cook. The execution took place in 1964.
Interestingly, in almost a century and a half of its history, the prison has only experienced one riot - it occurred on 4 January 1988, when the temperature inside the building rose to a record 52.2 ºC. 70 prisoners took 15 officers hostage. A fire broke out in the building causing A$1.8 million worth of damage!
The mutiny probably played no small part in the authorities' decision to close the prison - on 8 November 1991 the prisoners were moved to Perth and the building was turned into a museum of sorts. In June 2005, a network of underground tunnels was opened to the public. Today, Fremantle Prison is considered the best-preserved building in the country where prisoners were held. It is visited by up to 130,000 people a year. The Anglican Chapel often hosts wedding ceremonies, the former hospital is home to the Children's Literary Club and the women's prison is an arts college. There is a gift shop and restaurant on site.
Of particular interest to visitors is the art gallery, which houses the work of former inmates. Art therapy has been used for years to educate and rehabilitate criminals, and today favourite works can even be bought. Decent works can also be seen on the walls of some of the cells, such as the creations of the 19th century con artist James Walsh, which for many years were hidden under a layer of plaster. Another famous artist prisoner is Dennis Nozworthy, who said he realised art on death row. Some of his work is now in the collections of Curtin University, in Perth and the Western Australian Department of Justice. There are also creations by Aboriginal prisoners among the prison works.
