Bathers Beach, Fremantle

Last updated

Tall ships off Fremantle Jetty with Bathers Beach in the foreground in 1870. Fremantle Jetty and Bathers Beach with 2 ships 1870 Fremantle.jpg
Tall ships off Fremantle Jetty with Bathers Beach in the foreground in 1870.

Bathers Beach, also known as Whalers Beach, is a section of coastline that has a written history since the European settlement of what is now called Fremantle, Western Australia.

In the 1890s it was bounded to the south by the Long and Short jetties.

The jetties and baths prior to the first world war Plan of the Fremantle Municipal Baths in the 1900s.jpg
The jetties and baths prior to the first world war

In the 1930s and 1940s it was called City Beach. [1] [2]

The water offshore has also been called Bathers Bay. [3] It is the shore below the Round House and is located just south of Arthur Head, at the entrance to Fremantle Harbour with the South Mole starting at its northern side.

History

On 4 September 1829 Marquis of Anglesea dragged her anchors and was wrecked on Bathers Beach during a gale. A rocky promontory, which defined the southern end of the beach (now hidden beneath reclaimed land) and from which the Fremantle Long Jetty extended, was subsequently named "Anglesea Point". [4] [ text–source integrity? ]

Daniel Scott, who was the local harbour master, businessman and chair of the town council, made substantial investment in the Fremantle Whaling Company in 1837. An impressive investment was made when the company created a 57-metre-long (187 ft) tunnel that linked the beach to the High Street, allowing easy access for transporting heavy equipment or products. The tunnel was built underneath the substantial Round House without damage. It was dug in five months and completed in January 1838. This rapid progress was possible because prisoners from the Round House were used, the rock was capable of being mined with a pick axe, and the work was overseen by Henry Willey Reveley. Today the tunnel is only 45 metres (148 ft) long as the cliffs were cut back some time after 1880. [5]

There were two local whaling companies started in 1836 but the Fremantle Whaling Company was based here. This company, which included investors in Liverpool, had mixed fortunes as the market collapsed in 1840. However the company did build a whaling station at Bathers Beach. The station included the tunnel and a number of buildings and a jetty where whales could be processed. [5] Scott rented this station in the 1840s and he also operated a number of whaling ships including Napoleon and Merope. The whaling business does not appear to have been driven hard and Scott sold up his whaling boats and equipment in 1850. The Fremantle Whaling Company also ceased to operate that year. [6] (Scott's new task was accommodating convicts that year.) [7]

Due to the range of activities since the 1820s, including whaling, the area adjacent to the beach has attracted archaeological interest. [8]

Bathers Beach, Fremantle4.JPG

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fremantle</span> Port city in Western Australia

Fremantle is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for Fremantle is Freo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Kwinana</span> Local government area in Western Australia

The City of Kwinana is a local government area of Western Australia. It covers an area of approximately 118 square kilometres in metropolitan Perth, and lies about 38 km south of the Perth central business district, via the Kwinana Freeway. Kwinana maintains 287 km of roads and had a population of almost 39,000 as at the 2016 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King George Sound (Western Australia)</span> Large body of water in southern Western Australia

King George Sound is a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Named King George the Third's Sound in 1791, it was referred to as King George's Sound from 1805. The name "King George Sound" gradually came into use from about 1934, prompted by new Admiralty charts supporting the intention to eliminate the possessive 's' from geographical names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flinders Bay</span> Bay and former port in south west Western Australia

Flinders Bay is a bay that is immediately south of the townsite of Augusta, and close to the mouth of the Blackwood River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Round House (Western Australia)</span> Former gaol in Fremantle, Western Australia

The Round House was the first permanent building built in the Swan River Colony. Built in late 1830 and opened in 1831, it is the oldest building still standing in Western Australia.

Over 1400 ships have been wrecked on the coast of Western Australia. This relatively large number of shipwrecks is due to a number of factors, including:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whaling in Western Australia</span>

Whaling was one of the first viable industries established in the Swan River Colony following the 1829 arrival of British settlers to Western Australia. The industry had numerous ups and downs until the last whaling station closed in Albany in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Challenger Harbour</span> Boat harbour in Fremantle, Western Australia

Challenger Harbour is a marina in Fremantle, Western Australia adjacent to the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour. The harbour breakwater covers the historical site of the Fremantle Long Jetty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour</span> Fishing boat harbour in Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour is a marina in Fremantle, Western Australia adjacent to the more recently constructed Challenger Harbour. It provides large sheltered mooring areas and wharf space for vessels up to 60 metres, refuelling facilities and support services to the Fremantle fishing industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fremantle Harbour</span> Port in Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle Harbour is Western Australia's largest and busiest general cargo port and an important historical site. The inner harbour handles a large volume of sea containers, vehicle imports and livestock exports, cruise shipping and naval visits, and operates 24 hours a day. It is located adjacent to the city of Fremantle, in the Perth metropolitan region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships</span> Sailing event in Perth, Western Australia

The 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships was held in Perth, Western Australia, this was the third edition of the ISAF Sailing World Championships. It is the world championships for all disciplines used at the upcoming Olympics. As it used to allocate 75% of the qualification quota for the 2012 Summer Olympics this event has added significance.

Henry Willey Reveley (1788–1875) was a civil engineer responsible for the earliest public works at the Swan River Colony, the foundation of the state of Western Australia.

Joan Ruth Campbell MBE (1925–1997) was a Victorian born potter/ceramic artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fremantle Long Jetty</span> Demolished jetty in Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle Long Jetty was constructed in 1873 to replace the smaller South Jetty which had become too small for the large amounts of vessels entering the colony in Western Australia. The jetty lies in Bather's Bay which has been an occupation site since the Swan River Colony was established in 1829. It was a centre of trade and communications that served Fremantle and Perth until Fremantle Harbour was opened. An increased amount of shipping made it necessary to improve the harbouring facilities by the late 1860s. Long Jetty was built as a less expensive alternative to building a harbour at the mouth of the Swan River due to a lack of funds and technological shortcomings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Quay, Fremantle</span> Wharf on the south side of Fremantle Harbour, Western Australia

Victoria Quay is a wharf on the south bank of the Swan River mouth in the Western Australian port city of Fremantle. It is separated from the Fremantle CBD by the railway line. Originally named South Quay, it was renamed Victoria Quay on 26 July 1901 in honour of the late Queen Victoria. With North Quay it forms the Inner Harbour area of Fremantle Harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esplanade Park, Fremantle</span> Public reserve in Fremantle

Esplanade Park is a public reserve in Fremantle, Western Australia. Situated on Marine Terrace and opposite the Esplanade Hotel, the reserve features about 100 mature Norfolk Island pines and the Explorers' Monument.

Anthony Curtis was an Australian whaler and businessperson. Owner of many ships, Curtis sent the Fanny, which weighed between 25 and 36 tonnes, to Java, Indonesia, in December 1834, and also purchased the Lady Sterling in the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Head</span> Heritage area in Fremantle, Western Australia

Arthur Head in Fremantle, Western Australia, is a former large limestone headland on the southern side of the mouth of the Swan River, now also the entry to Fremantle Harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Scott (harbourmaster)</span> Western Australian harbour-master

Daniel Scott was a Western Australian harbour-master. Originally from Liverpool, England, he moved to the newly established Swan River Colony in 1829. Scott was the first chair of the Fremantle Town Trust in 1848. In addition to his civic and harbour duties, he was involved with launching a number of enterprises in early Western Australia, including the first whaling business, the first ship builders, and a lead mining business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Bateman (Australian settler)</span> Early Australian colonist

John Bateman was an early colonist at Fremantle. He was the postmaster, general store owner and an investor in the Fremantle Whaling Company. The suburb of Bateman is named after him and his family.

References

  1. ↑ "SWIMMING". The West Australian . Vol. 52, no. 15, 699. Western Australia. 19 October 1936. p. 6. Retrieved 13 August 2020– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "FREMANTLE CLUB". The West Australian . Vol. 54, no. 16, 128. Western Australia. 8 March 1938. p. 11. Retrieved 13 August 2020– via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ Randall, Nuala (1987), "Western Australia's shore based whaling heritage", Bulletin of the Australian Institute for Maritime Archaeology, 11 (2): 33–36, retrieved 9 November 2012
  4. ↑ Anglesea Point, 1902, retrieved 27 July 2022
  5. 1 2 McIlroy, Jack (1986). "Bathers Bay Whaling Station, Fremantle, Western Australia" (PDF). Australian Historical Archaeology. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  6. ↑ Gibbs, Martin (2010). The shore whalers of Western Australia : historical archaeology of a maritime frontier. University of Sydney, N.S.W.: Sydney University Press. pp. 15, 22, 42, 127. ISBN   978-1920899622.
  7. ↑ Behind Bars Archived 20 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine , Jen Hamilton, Construction in Focus, accessed August 2013
  8. ↑ McIlroy, Jack; Fremantle (W.A. : Municipality). Council; Heritage Council of Western Australia; Campbell, Rob McK; Andrews, Bill (1990), Arthur Head stage three : the excavation and conservation of a 19th century retaining wall at Bathers Beach, Fremantle, Western Australia, Distributed by Heritage Council of W.A, retrieved 9 November 2012

32°03′31″S115°44′30″E / 32.0585°S 115.7418°E / -32.0585; 115.7418

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.