Fremantle Prison

This is the second post from today so see below to read about my trip to the Swan Valley.

On Tuesday the Brunmeiers and myself took the train down to Fremantle to spend the day there. It is a great town where my oldest brother, Tim, did his study abroad a while ago. Fremantle is located on the mouth of the Swan River (Perth is up the river a bit) and is known for it's shipping industry and for the fact that it hosted the Americas Cup in 1987. The city is very Victorian as it was founded in 1829 by the Swan River Colony.

We decided to spend our time with a tour of the Fremantle Prison, which is about as old as the city. Built in the 1850s, the prison was shut down in 1991 and it is a sight to behold. Entering the prison it feels as if you are walking back in time because practically everything is outdated as it is nothing like a modern prison.

The tour consisted of a walk through the main cell block area, the outdoor yards, the mess hall, the chapel, the solitary confinement area, and the execution room. What was most striking was how incredibly small the cells were. Each cell was about half of the size of a University dorm room, but was used by two inmates. Each cell also lacked running water for a sink or a toilet. The toilet was a bucket which had to be brought out to one of the yards for cleaning (the worst job possible for any inmate).

The outdoor yards were nothing special except for two facts; They had toilets and urinals and in one area, instead of using barb/razor wire, the top of the walls were covered in shards of broken glass. Ouch! Also striking was the lack of shade. There is one covered area, but the rest of the yard is open air and believe me, Australia is HOT and SUNNY!!

The solitary confinement cells were nearly exactly what was portrayed in the Shawshank Redemption. The cells had high ceilings, a tiny window (about 1 x 1 ft), and nothing else. Some people had to spend up to 6 months in these cells for bad behavior. They made me think of my old Anne Franke corner at my last apartment. Good times. One cell in particular stood out because it was more wide open than the rest and it was the closest to the door. The reasont that this cell was so different is because prisoners only spent two hours in it. The prisoner was put in the cell, given food and two glasses of brandy, and then taken out and executed. It is said that the prisoner was dead within a minute of leaving the cell. Scary...

The last room was the execution room, which consisted of just a noose and a trap door. The pictures show it all so I will only relate the story told to us about the ghost. Apparently a couple years back a tour guide was taking a family of three (Father, Mother, very young Daughter) around and the daughter had been well-behaved the entire time, until she got to the execution room. After entering and crying for a minute, and family decided to move on. But, just as they were leaving the daughter spun around in her stroller, looked up at the noose, waved and said goodbye. After that story I had to leave the room as I was freaked out.

The tour ended after the execution room and I was sad to go. The tour was incredibly cool and I could have spent a few more hours just walking around and going on other tours (they have tours for underground tours and for ghosts). It was a great time and hopefully I will be able to go back!!