User:Bass hound/Fremantle



Fremantle (-32.05417°N, 115.74806°W) is the principal port city of Western Australia. It is situated at the mouth of the Swan River, 19 kilometres southwest of the state capital, Perth. Fremantle was settled by Europeans in 1829 *NEED REF*, was declared a city in 1929 *NEED REF*, and has a population of approximately 25,000 *NEED REF*.

Naming
Fremantle is the name of both a local government area (City of Fremantle) and a suburb (see Fremantle (suburb)) that contains the primary business district for the area. Where a distinction is required, the full name City of Fremantle will be used to refer to the entire local government area.

The word "Fremantle" can be colloquially shortened to "Freo" in the Australian vernacular.

Location


The City of Fremantle is bounded to the west by the Indian Ocean; to the south by the City of Cockburn, to the east by the Town of East Fremantle and the City of Melville; and to the north by the Town of Mosman Park. The city is south of the Swan River with the exception of North Fremantle.

The port city is connected to the northeast to Perth via Stirling Highway; to the east to Victoria Park via Canning Highway, and to Kewdale via Leach Highway; and south to Rockingham via Rockingham Road. A ferry route connects Fremantle with Rottnest Island to the west.

Natural Environment
Fremantle lies on a series of limestone hills known by the Nyungar people as Booyeembara; the sandplain to the east is Gardoo.

The original vegetation of the area was mainly Xanthorrhoea and eucalyptus trees, being fired annually (in late spring or summer) by the traditional owners. *REF REQUIRED*

Interestingly, although a suburb of Fremantle was named White Gum Valley, there are no white gums in the area. *REF DOLA*

Early History
The native people of the area are the Whadjuk group of the Noongar, an Indigenous Australian people of southwest Western Australia. The Noongar language is not a written language, relying instead on oral tradition. As a result of this and the disruption of the native people by Western settlement, much of the pre-European history of the area is unknown.

European Settlement
Fremantle is named after the British naval officer, Admiral Sir Charles Howe Fremantle, who was Captain of the HMS Challenger, the first ship to arrive in the area from Great Britain in 1829. The area was known initially as the Swan River Colony until the State of Western Australia was commissioned to Captain James Stirling in 1832.

Like most of Australia's settlements, the Swan River Colony was a penal colony, and the first permanent building to be constructed was the Round House, a limestone gaol that was built to house XX prisoners but housed up to XX at various times. It remains a popular tourist attraction, as does the later Fremantle Gaol which closed in 19XX.

Yes, there's a big gap here...
Completion of links to Perth - Stirling Hwy, bridges, railway, Canning Hwy. (?)

America's Cup Defence 1987
Fremantle was selected as the location for the America's Cup defence in 1987, after Australia won the Cup in 1984, the first time a team from the United States had failed to win the Cup in XX years.

This event had a major effect on Fremantle, bringing it international attention and changing it from a relatively quiet harbour town into a busy tourist centre.

Ben Lexcen Alan Bond

C.Y. O'Connor
CY O'Connor - harbour expansion, suicide on Leighton Beach - Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. Suburb name.

John Curtin
Premier. High school and University names.

Carmen Lawrence
WA parliament, federal parliament.

Demographics
For most of the twentieth century, Fremantle was primarily a working class city. Many of the residents worked at the port facility or in related industries. This also meant that it became popular with non-British immigrants; predominantly Mediterranean but also including many Asian groups.

While there has been some small degree of urbanisation, this is mostly in the form of rear strata development, and Fremantle has maintained a predominantly low density in both commercial and residential sectors.

Fremantle Harbour

 * IMAGE REQUIRED - MAP*
 * IMAGE REQUIRED - HARBOUR PHOTO*

Fremantle Harbour is adjacent to the Fremantle business district to the north and northwest. The inner harbour is located on both banks of the mouth of the Swan River, while the outer harbour extends into the ocean and includes sea walls, groynes and reclaimed land. In XXXX, it processed XXXXXX tonnes of goods.

See also C.Y. O'Connor (?) - dredging, expansion

Live Sheep Trade Controversy
Exports from Fremantle of live sheep to Arabic countries has attracted popular and media attention at various times over the years. The practice has been condemned by animal welfare experts *REF REQUIRED*, and remains an unresolved issue in the minds of many locals *REF REQUIRED*.

There are several popular local jokes, mostly in bad taste, made about the "sheep ships" and "sheep trucks" which transport the animals, and the consequent smell, which can envelope the entire city and surrounding suburbs. *KEEP?*

U.S. Navy Controversy
Another topic of debate about the harbour is the presence of U.S. Navy air craft carriers and other warships.

Fishing Boat Harbour
Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour is situated to the south of the business district, and caters for smaller vessels.

Culture
Fremantle is recognised as a cultural centre in many different areas, both because of its early heritage and because of the multicultural nature of its society.

Music
Fremantle is well-known for its street musicians and performers, who can be seen busking in the city centre at all times of the day and night. There are many music and performance venues in the city, and this has been the case for many years. Fremantle Oval was the venue of the first XX annual Big Day Out festivals and the city is the venue of the West Coast Blues & Roots Festival.

The street scene has given rise to many acts and performers who have achieved success on a national and international scale.

Most famous of these is Bon Scott, original vocalist for the legendary rock act, AC/DC. Scott moved to Fremantle at age ten and it was there that he had his first involvement with music. His remains were buried at Fremantle Cemetery in 1980.

More recently, musical acts such as The John Butler Trio, Eskimo Joe, The Waifs and Kevin Mitchell/Bob Evans (of Jebediah), and performance groups such as Bizircus originated in Fremantle. The city has also been the subject of many songs as well as the topic of Eskimo Joe's debut album, Girl. *NEED REFS*

Art
Fremantle is home to artists such as ... The Fremantle Arts Centre contains an art gallery and museum...

Notre Dame University
In 19XX, the Fremantle campus of Notre Dame University was created in the west end. The move, which was intended to revive this under-utilised part of the inner city *REF REQUIRED*, received mixed reactions from the public *REF REQUIRED*.

The campus now offers a variety of subjects, including ...

Sport
Fremantle has a proud history of sporting achievement in a range of events and disciplines.

Cricket
Fremantle Oval was originally built for cricket.

Australian Rules Football
Fremantle has a strong football history, with the first club, the Fremantle Football Club in the area being created in 18XX. This club eventually folded, but two more clubs were created, based in South Fremantle and East Fremantle, and these clubs continue to play today.

There have been many great players from the Fremantle area, including ...

The name Fremantle is used in three current professional Australian Rules Football clubs: Fremantle Football Club (known as the Fremantle Dockers) in the national AFL competition, and East Fremantle Football Club (East Fremantle Sharks) and South Fremantle Football Club (South Fremantle Bulldogs) in the second-tier West Australian Football League. As is common in football codes, clubs sharing a geographical region will often form a "traditional rivalry". East Fremantle and South Fremantle share a rivalry that is over 100 years old **CHECK ACCURACY**, while the Dockers have been rivals of the only other Western Australian AFL club, the West Coast Eagles.

Water Sports
Many water sports are popular in Fremantle, as in most coastal areas of Australia. Swimming, water polo, surfing, surf lifesaving and yachting are all popular as both leisure activities and for competition, with many clubs, schools and groups in the area participating in all of these.

International water polo comp a few years ago?

Following the America's Cup defence in 1987, Fremantle was also a stop in the Whitbread Round the World Challenge.

Tourism
Fremantle contains many heritage and landmark buildings, including the Round House, Fremantle Gaol, Fremantle Arts Centre, several museums including a maritime museum and a military museum and Fremantle Town Hall.

Beaches. River. Nearby: Rottnest

Suburbs
The City of Fremantle consists of the following suburbs:


 * Fremantle
 * North Fremantle
 * South Fremantle
 * White Gum Valley
 * Hamilton Hill *CHECK IF IN COCKBURN ALSO*
 * Hilton *CHECK IF IN MELVILLE ALSO*
 * O'Connor, Western Australia *DITTO*
 * Beaconsfield, Western Australia

Note that East Fremantle is not a suburb of the City of Fremantle; it is contained in its own local government area, the Town of East Fremantle.