“I CALL it towel territory—everyone runs around with a towel over their shoulder in the morning,” real estate agent Frank Sander says of the vibrant cafe strip around his South Fremantle office.
Some just wear bathers, like the bikini-clad young woman buying coffee to take back to the beach. She politely declines to pose for a photo, admitting to having pulled a sickie, and not wanting to be sprung.
The southern end of South Terrace has come a long way in recent years with a vibrant beach culture attracting locals and visitors.
“[Customers] from over east say it’s like St Kilda,” says Source gallery and giftware co-owner Natalie Arnold, who’s had a business on South Tce since 1998, noting, “I always thought this area would change”.
The arrival of cafe Ootong and Lincoln next door a couple of years ago attracted even more customers which in turn saw more shops opening, creating an exciting mix, not a boring cafe monoculture, Ms Arnold says.
Nik Jurin owns the South Beach Hotel—long-time locals doggedly refer to it as the Dav—and he agrees variety is the spice of South Freo life.
“There’s a lot more variety, from fish and chips to fine dining, [which is] better than having Italian cafes lined up on the strip.”
After battling bureaucracy for alfresco drinking on the pavement without a meal, business is cranking as punters wander in after a swim to enjoy a bevvy, with “the best views in the house”, Mr Jurin says.
But it wasn’t always so: “[The area] was underrated, South Terrace was seen as the dead end, the arse end of Fremantle.”
Locals have fallen in love again with the revitalised pub which its owner says is keen to attract families, not the trendy set: “We are not trying to be fancy.”
But he warns more work is needed to clean up the area, including more police on patrol.
“There’s an ugly side to beach culture,” he concedes. “Young kids going to the beach and drinking all day.”
Andrew Sullivan, an architect who represents the suburb on Freo council, moved into South Freo in 1985.
The only eatery back then was a greasy spoon, and what is now the dog beach barely existed, next to a toxic industrial site with the filmy water mere metres from the railway line.
There was no grass and the Norfolk Island pines regularly fell into the ocean—which was unpleasantly cloudy, with the occasional sheep bone floating in from Robbs Jetty: “I swam at Leighton,” Cr Sullivan recalls.
The area has come a long way since David Utting burnt an effigy of Cr Sullivan for pushing for construction of coastal parklands which are now enjoyed by thousands.
“Beach culture has returned to South Freo in a big way, not just for us humans but for the dogs as well,” says Cr Sullivan, the Greens’ candidate for Fremantle at next month’s state election. “The cafes have to cater for scantily-clad, sand-covered bodies whether of the two- or four-legged variety.”
When the shabby old beach kiosk was transformed into a local cafe, South Beach became a community hub, not just a place to swim.
It set off a slow chain reaction, says Jack Busch, former CEO of the Midland Redevelopment Authority and a local for 14 years.
“[It] was great to see how a relatively simple extension and upgrade can transform it into such a relaxed people friendly environment.”
More recent arrivals of eateries such as gourmet hot dog business Run Amuk and upmarket hamburger joint Missy Moos are part of the “modern evolution” of South Fremantle, Mr Busch says.
Clusters around Ootong and Lincoln, Abhi’s Bakery and Manna Wholefoods, and those near Douro Road have distinctive qualities.
“[They] are micro-environments…with their own personality.”
Chris Lewis has lived in Fremantle for 22 years, 12 on South Terrace, and has seen old houses restored and semi-industrial businesses move to make way for cafes and galleries.
The “daggy” terrace can be “our Paris boulevard of the future” he says.
“With the city at one end, beach at the other, and interesting things along its short length.”
More trees, decent footpaths and lighting, improved parking, creative bus stops, underground power—and quality architecture would add the finishing touches, the former public relations man says.
All the Herald spoke to were keen for further development in the area. The sprawling Sealanes site, adjacent old wool stores and the former Gull servo at the corner of Douro Rd and South Tce were nominated as ripe for the picking.
“Ironically the annoyance among locals about the lack of quality redevelopment on South Tce in the last decade, the failure of the Sealanes project and the number of sites poorly utilised or neglected may be the ace in the hole,” Mr Lewis says.
“Little recent activity and neglected sites opens the door to a fresh look and an organised approach.”
One of South Fremantle’s biggest drawcards is its sense of community, a place where locals walk, and talk to one another, something that should be protected along with much needed re-development, Mr Busch says.
“I want to see us retain the essence of our current culture.”
by JENNY D’ANGER
