OLD MAN WITH A CAMERA
- HOME
- CONTENTS
- PHOTO GALLERY
- COMMENTS /FEEDBACK
- Hong Kong Street Art
- Gravesend, An Indian Princess and Tilbury
- Alcatraz : The Rock
- A Russian Tank in London
- TESTING PAGE
- Hastings Pier
- Postman's Park
- Tolpuddle Martyrs
- Gallery Index
- Gallery Myanmar
- Gallery Ship Canal
- Gallery Zurich
- Gallery San Francisco 01
- Village of Eyam
- John Babbacombe Lee The Man They Couldn't Hang
- Gallery Flatiron Building
- Others Index
- RICE PUDDING AND RADIO
- Romania, Vampires and Whitby
- CITY OF BUCHAREST
- BUCHAREST PARKS
- PELES CASTLE
- BRAN CASTLE
- BRASOV
- WHITBY
- WANCHAI BUILDINGS
- History
- TESTPAGE
- Salem : Witches Beware !
- SALEM ANSWER
- Salem Slide Show
- A Random walk around Toronto Sept 2018
- Stonehenge
- TEST TEST 01
- Sydney : Random Notes
- Freemantle
- PORTMEIRION
- Sydney : Random Notes
- IMAGE FIND PAGE
- PERTH - FLOWER STEALING KANGAROOS AND MORE
- BATH
- KEW GARDENS IN AUTUMN
- PERTH - FLOWER STEALING KANGAROOS AND MORE
- ALCHEMY
- PARIS SIGHTS
- Hobart : explorers, flags, yachts and a zoo!
- Frestonia - A Very British Revolution
- Gallery Template
- SAIGON SIGHTS 01
- EDINBURGH STORIES
- FRESTONIA
- FRESTONIA
freemantle : A reluctant prisoner and A working class hero
|
Introduction
Fremantle is the city in Western Australia which provides port facilities and access to the state capitol, Perth.
Occupied by the British in 1829 as part of the so-termed Swan River Colony (basically what became Western Australia).
It is a very pleasant city with many attractive colonial era buildings and a relaxed coffee-culture feel.
Although the buildings and infrastructure offer nice photo opportunities, as always, for me, it is the stories that matter most.
Fremantle is the city in Western Australia which provides port facilities and access to the state capitol, Perth.
Occupied by the British in 1829 as part of the so-termed Swan River Colony (basically what became Western Australia).
It is a very pleasant city with many attractive colonial era buildings and a relaxed coffee-culture feel.
Although the buildings and infrastructure offer nice photo opportunities, as always, for me, it is the stories that matter most.
Fremantle Prison
I think pretty much every tourist who comes to Fremantle will visit this establishment and most will certainly not be disappointed.
Well-organised tours and knowledgeable guides present the history of the prison in a detailed and enjoyable manner.
The prison was originally due to be built in Perth on what is now the site of the excellent King's Park (see future posting). Fortunately, it was decided to place it away from the city in a more "remote" location. When completed in 1855, it was the largest such structure in Western Australia. In fact it was the tallest prison building in the Southern Hemisphere.
It closed in 1991.
Not surprisingly, it was built by convicts, supervised by army engineers. It was built mainly for the imprisonment of British criminals sent out to the colony for the twin aims of punishment and cheap labour. Eventually, as you would expect, these overseas "guests" were gradually replaced by locally-produced scoundrels.
In some ways, I was rather surprised at the enthusiasm given to the convict origins of Australia. I suppose, in my ignorance, I thought it would be regarded as a part of history to be given only limited attention. I was very wrong. On the contrary, this period is seen, (at least by the people I met ), as a vital part of the development of Australia.
I think pretty much every tourist who comes to Fremantle will visit this establishment and most will certainly not be disappointed.
Well-organised tours and knowledgeable guides present the history of the prison in a detailed and enjoyable manner.
The prison was originally due to be built in Perth on what is now the site of the excellent King's Park (see future posting). Fortunately, it was decided to place it away from the city in a more "remote" location. When completed in 1855, it was the largest such structure in Western Australia. In fact it was the tallest prison building in the Southern Hemisphere.
It closed in 1991.
Not surprisingly, it was built by convicts, supervised by army engineers. It was built mainly for the imprisonment of British criminals sent out to the colony for the twin aims of punishment and cheap labour. Eventually, as you would expect, these overseas "guests" were gradually replaced by locally-produced scoundrels.
In some ways, I was rather surprised at the enthusiasm given to the convict origins of Australia. I suppose, in my ignorance, I thought it would be regarded as a part of history to be given only limited attention. I was very wrong. On the contrary, this period is seen, (at least by the people I met ), as a vital part of the development of Australia.
I found the visit left me with a strange contradiction in my mind, concerning the attitude to the prisoners.
On the one hand, conditions were harsh with small cells, regular beatings and even executions. But, at the same time, it seemed that every effort was made to get convicts back into the community as quickly as possible, even though it would be a release with conditions.
In fact, I was very surprised to learn that some convicts arriving in Australia were already eligible for a form of parole on landing, due to time served in England before their placement on to a transportation ship. (see later section on "Moondyne Joe" )
Ironically, it seemed to be that failed prison escapes were the main reason some non-violent convicts remained in jail for long periods. (see more of this later when discussing a renown "escapee")
On a personal level, I think that the most interesting sights in the prison were the images left on the cell walls by the occupants.
Here are some :
Thomas Edwards
Walking through King's Square, effectively the centre of Fremantle, I was drawn to a drinking fountain and it's dedication to a Mr Thomas Edwards, described, interestingly, as a working class martyr
It was not difficult to get the background to Mr Edward's sacrifice.
It all revolved around a labour dispute involving the port authorities and the somewhat descriptively-named Lumpers Union of Dock Workers.
This union was formed in 1889 to defend the rights of unskilled workers at the Fremantle docks.
In 1917, the union refused to offload ships which were believed to be taking supplies to Germany, which was, at that time, a so-termed "enemy state". The Governments denied the claims although they were later proved to have been true ( Wow, fancy that ... a government telling lies!)
As part of a dispute agreement, the "Lumpers" allowed non-union labour to be brought in purely temporarily to clear the docks.
However, the shipowners reneged on this agreement allowing the non-union workers to remain, indefinitely, at the expense of union members who were effectively prevented from returning to their duties.
So the docks were definitely a place of conflict and just waiting to explode into something very bad.
On the 4th May 1919, a date to be later termed as "Bloody Sunday", the authorities who were anxious to offload perishable food supplies were confronted by union workers who refused to board the boat, named, SS Dimboola.
The union claimed, accurately, that the vessel was technically still in quarantine due to an influenza outbreak. Therefore to go on board to work risked the disease finding it's way to the people of Fremantle.
This was a valid objection but there is little doubt that the continuing toxic atmosphere on the docks, between union and non-union men played it's part in developing of the dispute into a physical encounter
As with most such events, blame was allocated later to almost everyone involved.
However, the facts of the specific incident concerning the injury to Thomas Edwards were generally undisputed.
After coming under attack from stones, the police were instructed to "fix bayonets" ( ie place knives on the end of their rifles as weapons to drive the crowd back).
This led to a certain union man, Edward Brown, being stabbed in the thigh and seriously wounded. Thomas went to help his colleague and was struck on the head by a police baton, according to witnesses, just as he was helping Edward to his feet. Thomas died 3 days later from the injury, leaving behind his wife and 3 daughters.
At the inquest, the specific policeman who had delivered the mortal blow could not be identified so the death was recorded as an "accident"
Afterwards, people from both sides of the argument all made substantial efforts to see that Thomas's family was provided with support and funds. Seems like there was a lot of guilt feelings going around.
His funeral brought the city to a halt as 5000 people, including prominent politicians, attended. It was the largest funeral ever seen in Fremantle and was accompanied by silent tributes as most businesses closed while the coffin was taken slowly through the streets
(Although there seemed to be a spirit of reconciliation after the tragedy, it is interesting to note that some 79 years later, Fremantle and other Australian ports were involved in a bitter dispute which, amongst other issues, concerned the position of the union which was again threatened by government-supported efforts to use non-union labour.)
However, the facts of the specific incident concerning the injury to Thomas Edwards were generally undisputed.
After coming under attack from stones, the police were instructed to "fix bayonets" ( ie place knives on the end of their rifles as weapons to drive the crowd back).
This led to a certain union man, Edward Brown, being stabbed in the thigh and seriously wounded. Thomas went to help his colleague and was struck on the head by a police baton, according to witnesses, just as he was helping Edward to his feet. Thomas died 3 days later from the injury, leaving behind his wife and 3 daughters.
At the inquest, the specific policeman who had delivered the mortal blow could not be identified so the death was recorded as an "accident"
Afterwards, people from both sides of the argument all made substantial efforts to see that Thomas's family was provided with support and funds. Seems like there was a lot of guilt feelings going around.
His funeral brought the city to a halt as 5000 people, including prominent politicians, attended. It was the largest funeral ever seen in Fremantle and was accompanied by silent tributes as most businesses closed while the coffin was taken slowly through the streets
(Although there seemed to be a spirit of reconciliation after the tragedy, it is interesting to note that some 79 years later, Fremantle and other Australian ports were involved in a bitter dispute which, amongst other issues, concerned the position of the union which was again threatened by government-supported efforts to use non-union labour.)
The Round House
This structure is the "everyone visits" site in Fremantle.
The oldest public building in Western Australia, it started life as a prison in 1831, later becoming a short-term "lock-up", then housing for water police and a "storage area".
Threatened with demolition more than once, it has survived as a tourist attraction.
This structure is the "everyone visits" site in Fremantle.
The oldest public building in Western Australia, it started life as a prison in 1831, later becoming a short-term "lock-up", then housing for water police and a "storage area".
Threatened with demolition more than once, it has survived as a tourist attraction.
In 1838, A tunnel (originally 57 metres, now 45 metres long), was dug out, below the structure, by hand, using convict labour. This had been requested by the Fremantle Whaling Company
Whaling was a very important industry at this time and the tunnel allowed for the efficient movement of whale products from the beach into the town
Whaling in the area ended in 1978 although it is a little unclear how much this was a financial decision and how much this was an ethical decision, maybe both
Whaling was a very important industry at this time and the tunnel allowed for the efficient movement of whale products from the beach into the town
Whaling in the area ended in 1978 although it is a little unclear how much this was a financial decision and how much this was an ethical decision, maybe both
There is an interesting sculpture in the grounds of the Round House. It is called "Ship of Stories" dating from 2014, it is a celebration of the animals shipped from Australia to support the troops in the 1st World War. These included 136,000 horses (of whom only one came back...), many dogs and, for mascot use, kangaroos.
If the ship looks a little like the paper sculptures popular, for example in my Vietnam home, that is not a co-incidence as one of the two sculptors involved, Sue Codee, is famous for such art. You can see her work here
Finally, for me, perhaps the most interesting story of this place is the design of the former prison. It has a so-termed
"Panopticon" layout which has it's origins in 17th century England.
The concept was developed by, and became an obsession of, Jeremy Bentham, a philosopher who offered many "revolutionary" ideas, for his time, such as the abolition of slavery, gay rights and an end to capital punishments.
Despite all his interests, he certainly spent much of his life promoting the idea of the panopticon building design and people control system.
This system was based on the idea of a specially (circular) shaped structure whereby those inside could be seen from one point (by one man) but would not know if they were being watched. He considered this concept as being suitable for prisons or for industrial enterprises where monitoring of employees was desirable.
The Roundhouse is one of a small number of circular buildings (mainly prisons) around the world which adopted all or some of Jeremy Bentham's design.
Jeremy Bentham was obviously quite a character and wished to be converted into some kind of automatic robot after his death. Unfortunately, he was about 150 years too early for the technology. Nevertheless, his friends tried to follow his wishes and his body is preserved and dressed in a display case at the University of London. Sadly, the head is not original but a wax model
"Panopticon" layout which has it's origins in 17th century England.
The concept was developed by, and became an obsession of, Jeremy Bentham, a philosopher who offered many "revolutionary" ideas, for his time, such as the abolition of slavery, gay rights and an end to capital punishments.
Despite all his interests, he certainly spent much of his life promoting the idea of the panopticon building design and people control system.
This system was based on the idea of a specially (circular) shaped structure whereby those inside could be seen from one point (by one man) but would not know if they were being watched. He considered this concept as being suitable for prisons or for industrial enterprises where monitoring of employees was desirable.
The Roundhouse is one of a small number of circular buildings (mainly prisons) around the world which adopted all or some of Jeremy Bentham's design.
Jeremy Bentham was obviously quite a character and wished to be converted into some kind of automatic robot after his death. Unfortunately, he was about 150 years too early for the technology. Nevertheless, his friends tried to follow his wishes and his body is preserved and dressed in a display case at the University of London. Sadly, the head is not original but a wax model
Finally, before leaving the Round House, we should note the cannon and "Time Ball", part of an old system to let nearby ships know it was exactly 1pm, presumably so they knew when to eat lunch.
The cannon would fire and the black sphere would drop into a lower position so there was an audio and visual signal. There are several "Time Balls" around the world including, perhaps the most famous, in New York, which is used to signal the arrival of the New Year. Those of us lucky enough to have lived in Hong Kong will also know of the famous midday gun, in Causeway Bay, fired each day at 1 pm since the 1860's.
Moondyne Joe
For most non-Australians like myself, the "criminal" we know best is Ned Kelly but for many Australians, especially in the Western province, Moondyne Joe, frequent resident of Fremantle Prison is, at least, as famous as Ned.
His real name was Joseph Bolitho Johns but he earned his better known name for his intimate knowledge of a nearby area with the aboriginal name of Moondyne
Joe was born in Cornwall in 1848 and, if the dates given in one biography are correct, he became a copper miner when just a child. At the age of 18, he moved to Wales becoming an iron ore miner.
This move seemed to start his criminal career and that same year he was sentenced to 10 years penal servitude for stealing food, including a shoulder of lamb (well Welsh lamb is rather good!), some cheese and some partly-eaten bread.
His insistence to plead not guilty, in what might have been his first confrontation with authority, resulted in the sentence mentioned above. This compared with very much lower sentences for similar offences but where the accused pleaded guilty (clearly, the courts of that time didn't like trouble-makers who wanted to claim innocence !)
The sentence of penal servitude really just meant he would be imprisoned and forced to work but, in practical terms, at that time, it would very likely mean transportation to Australia. After being held in English prisons for around 5 years, Joe was indeed sent to Western Australia.
In fact, because of the time already served and his relatively good behaviour, Joe was given a kind of conditional release into the community, on arrival, without actually ever entering an Australian prison cell. He settled into the area from which he would take his nickname, Moondyne, as mentioned earlier.
He started off with good intentions, creating a business where he would find and trap escaped horses, returning them to their owners for a reward. Unfortunately, Joe was tempted into his old ways and, when he found a horse without an ownership brand, he added his own brand and kept it. This was technically horse stealing as, by law, Joe was supposed to advertise the finding of an unbranded horse.
The local police soon learned of what had happened and Joe found himself arrested and placed in a local jail. As others were to find out later, putting Joe in prison and keeping him there were two quite different things. At the first opportunity, Joe escaped from his cell, stole a new saddle and rode away on the "stolen" horse. Further, he eventually and rather cruelly killed the horse and cut out his brand, thus destroying the evidence against him. Consequently, he could only be charged with escaping from jail for which he received a sentence of 3 years (horse-stealing would have given him 10 years.)
He was again released into the community a couple of years later. He found work on a farm before an event took place which was to affect his life and attitude forever. He was charged and convicted of killing a bull belonging to a neighbour.
The case was a complex one with mutual accusations flying between Joe and his boss
There were claims and counter-claims of people being framed. The only actual presented evidence was thus both circumstantial and disputed.
Nevertheless, Joe was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years penal servitude.
(the sentence was later slightly reduced but not to the satisfaction of Joe, himself)
Although Joe had accepted earlier convictions without too much fuss, he was very vocal in protesting his innocence of this particular crime.
According to some writers, it was this sense of injustice which drove Joe to become something of a dedicated escapee....
Meaning that, from then on, Joe clearly considered it was his right to escape if possible.
Very early into his sentence, efforts to cut the lock out of his cell door were discovered and his sentence extended.
There are some differing reports on his specific efforts to escape at this time but it seems he certainly ran away from an outside working party and was free for a period.
As a result, he was sentenced to be placed in leg irons. However, he managed to cut off the irons and escape again with 3 others embarking on a 5-month long "holiday" evading police and committing robberies.
After Joe's eventual recapture, 5 years were added to his sentence and what were termed "extraordinary" measures were taken, by the prison authorities, to avoid being embarrassed again by Joe's ability to escape.
His neck was chained to the window bars and the room was virtually light and air tight, Not surprisingly, Joe's health deteriorated and, for this reason, he was "allowed" the privilege of breaking rocks in the open air.
As escapes from the prisoner working gangs outside the jail's walls were common, Joe was set to rock-breaking by himself within the confines of the prison walls. The prison Governor John Hamilton was so satisfied with this arrangement that he, boastfully, made the statement that, if Joe could escape again, he would be forgiven the rest of his sentence. Joe accepted this challenge gladly and, within a month or so, had indeed escaped!.
The way this was achieved was almost beyond belief in it's simplicity and, in no small way, due to the laziness of the guards.
Theoretically, after Joe had broken a pile of stones, they should have been removed to another location.
However, this was not done and the pile of broken stones got bigger and bigger. Joe realised that much of his body was hidden from the guards by these left-over rocks so he found that, as well as breaking the rocks, he could take the occasional swing of his sledgehammer at the prison walls themselves.
He soon made a hole big enough for him to escape.
I would have loved to have been in the room when the hapless guards had to explain what had happened.
" Ok.guys, what happened, weren't you watching him constantly?..."
"Sure, constantly, we could see his head and shoulders at all times.... in fact, he always seemed to be working hard, swinging that sledgehammer all the time.."
"Yes, but could you see what he was hitting ?"
"Ah well, to be honest, we may have made some assumptions that he was breaking rocks..."
Given that this was a high profile and highly embarrassing escape, it was almost unbelievable that Joe was able to remain free for 2 years given that, according to one source, the police efforts to find him were extremely intensive and persistent.
By the time he had been re-captured, there was a new Governor of Fremantle Prison.
Again accounts vary but the version everybody likes to believe is that Joe was indeed set free by the new Governor who was honouring the well-known but rather foolish promise of his predecessor.
Joe then became a carpenter and, apart from a couple of months in Fremantle Prison for a minor offences, his life of crime and imprisonment had ended. Sadly, he developed mental problems and died in poor circumstances in August 1900.
His insistence to plead not guilty, in what might have been his first confrontation with authority, resulted in the sentence mentioned above. This compared with very much lower sentences for similar offences but where the accused pleaded guilty (clearly, the courts of that time didn't like trouble-makers who wanted to claim innocence !)
The sentence of penal servitude really just meant he would be imprisoned and forced to work but, in practical terms, at that time, it would very likely mean transportation to Australia. After being held in English prisons for around 5 years, Joe was indeed sent to Western Australia.
In fact, because of the time already served and his relatively good behaviour, Joe was given a kind of conditional release into the community, on arrival, without actually ever entering an Australian prison cell. He settled into the area from which he would take his nickname, Moondyne, as mentioned earlier.
He started off with good intentions, creating a business where he would find and trap escaped horses, returning them to their owners for a reward. Unfortunately, Joe was tempted into his old ways and, when he found a horse without an ownership brand, he added his own brand and kept it. This was technically horse stealing as, by law, Joe was supposed to advertise the finding of an unbranded horse.
The local police soon learned of what had happened and Joe found himself arrested and placed in a local jail. As others were to find out later, putting Joe in prison and keeping him there were two quite different things. At the first opportunity, Joe escaped from his cell, stole a new saddle and rode away on the "stolen" horse. Further, he eventually and rather cruelly killed the horse and cut out his brand, thus destroying the evidence against him. Consequently, he could only be charged with escaping from jail for which he received a sentence of 3 years (horse-stealing would have given him 10 years.)
He was again released into the community a couple of years later. He found work on a farm before an event took place which was to affect his life and attitude forever. He was charged and convicted of killing a bull belonging to a neighbour.
The case was a complex one with mutual accusations flying between Joe and his boss
There were claims and counter-claims of people being framed. The only actual presented evidence was thus both circumstantial and disputed.
Nevertheless, Joe was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years penal servitude.
(the sentence was later slightly reduced but not to the satisfaction of Joe, himself)
Although Joe had accepted earlier convictions without too much fuss, he was very vocal in protesting his innocence of this particular crime.
According to some writers, it was this sense of injustice which drove Joe to become something of a dedicated escapee....
Meaning that, from then on, Joe clearly considered it was his right to escape if possible.
Very early into his sentence, efforts to cut the lock out of his cell door were discovered and his sentence extended.
There are some differing reports on his specific efforts to escape at this time but it seems he certainly ran away from an outside working party and was free for a period.
As a result, he was sentenced to be placed in leg irons. However, he managed to cut off the irons and escape again with 3 others embarking on a 5-month long "holiday" evading police and committing robberies.
After Joe's eventual recapture, 5 years were added to his sentence and what were termed "extraordinary" measures were taken, by the prison authorities, to avoid being embarrassed again by Joe's ability to escape.
His neck was chained to the window bars and the room was virtually light and air tight, Not surprisingly, Joe's health deteriorated and, for this reason, he was "allowed" the privilege of breaking rocks in the open air.
As escapes from the prisoner working gangs outside the jail's walls were common, Joe was set to rock-breaking by himself within the confines of the prison walls. The prison Governor John Hamilton was so satisfied with this arrangement that he, boastfully, made the statement that, if Joe could escape again, he would be forgiven the rest of his sentence. Joe accepted this challenge gladly and, within a month or so, had indeed escaped!.
The way this was achieved was almost beyond belief in it's simplicity and, in no small way, due to the laziness of the guards.
Theoretically, after Joe had broken a pile of stones, they should have been removed to another location.
However, this was not done and the pile of broken stones got bigger and bigger. Joe realised that much of his body was hidden from the guards by these left-over rocks so he found that, as well as breaking the rocks, he could take the occasional swing of his sledgehammer at the prison walls themselves.
He soon made a hole big enough for him to escape.
I would have loved to have been in the room when the hapless guards had to explain what had happened.
" Ok.guys, what happened, weren't you watching him constantly?..."
"Sure, constantly, we could see his head and shoulders at all times.... in fact, he always seemed to be working hard, swinging that sledgehammer all the time.."
"Yes, but could you see what he was hitting ?"
"Ah well, to be honest, we may have made some assumptions that he was breaking rocks..."
Given that this was a high profile and highly embarrassing escape, it was almost unbelievable that Joe was able to remain free for 2 years given that, according to one source, the police efforts to find him were extremely intensive and persistent.
By the time he had been re-captured, there was a new Governor of Fremantle Prison.
Again accounts vary but the version everybody likes to believe is that Joe was indeed set free by the new Governor who was honouring the well-known but rather foolish promise of his predecessor.
Joe then became a carpenter and, apart from a couple of months in Fremantle Prison for a minor offences, his life of crime and imprisonment had ended. Sadly, he developed mental problems and died in poor circumstances in August 1900.
The story of Moondyne Joe ends with his grave in nearby Fremantle Cemetery.
This is a huge area and I had to make use of the cemetery phone enquiry line and the excellent service they offer of helping you find your way to any specific grave.
I was delighted to see that the accompanying plaque describes Joe as a "Escapologist" !
The gravestone includes the inscription "Rhyddid", meaning "freedom" or liberty (In Welsh). I like the added image of the handcuffs
I did ask the lady at the cemetery office if they were really sure he was still there.. but some people have no sense of humour !
This is a huge area and I had to make use of the cemetery phone enquiry line and the excellent service they offer of helping you find your way to any specific grave.
I was delighted to see that the accompanying plaque describes Joe as a "Escapologist" !
The gravestone includes the inscription "Rhyddid", meaning "freedom" or liberty (In Welsh). I like the added image of the handcuffs
I did ask the lady at the cemetery office if they were really sure he was still there.. but some people have no sense of humour !
Colonial Buildings
It would be wrong to finish this page without a few selected images of the great colonial buildings in Fremantle :
(hover over images for name of building or click for larger image, also captioned)
Proudly powered by Weebly