JENNY ARCHIBALD is a Fremantle councillor and chair of the City’s Towards 2029 Working Group
OVER the past few weeks, there have been a number of views presented in the Fremantle Herald about the work of the Towards 2029 Working Group and its plans for acknowledgement of the events around May 2, 1829.
It was on this day nearly 200 years ago, that Captain Charles Howe Fremantle “took formal possession of the whole of the Western Coast of New Holland in the name of King George the Fourth, and the Union Jack was hoisted”.
The working group at its outset agreed to not pre-empt outcomes, but to carefully explore and more fully appreciate all aspects of establishment of the Swan River Colony at this time.
To achieve this, we plan to work with many within our community and that process is in its infancy.
However, we agreed to first consult with the City’s Working Group for the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
On Tuesday this week, we met with this group to start discussions and to launch the second Stretch RAP action plan.
As we progress, we will continue to be guided by members of this group as well as many others in our community, as we explore how best to acknowledge all aspects of this period of our City’s history.
It is always interesting to consider this place prior to May 2, 1829.
For more than 45,000 years it was home to First Nations people – the local group known as the Whadjuk people at the time of contact.
This community successfully lived in the area of Walyalup, using techniques of firestick farming, planting and the like to ensure reliable food sources.
Former archaeologist Sylvia Hallum recorded that “they were genuine farmers who modified the structure and distribution of floral and faunal communities”….leading to effects on landscape which “may have been more crucial than we can yet fully appreciate”.
The former areas of Manjaree, Arthur Head, North and South Bays and shallows within the Swan River all hosted large gatherings with feasts of fish, kangaroo and wallaby along with fruits and other foods.
The land was long inhabited by Indigenous people who told stories of sea level changes over millennia.
In his Western Australian Diaries and Dictionary from the period 1830-1841, George Moore records the story told by several that Rottnest, Carnac and Garden Islands were once connected with the mainland.
Retreated
Some 20,000 years ago the sea level was around 100m lower than today and the shoreline had retreated eight kilometres or more further to the west.
At the time, the story was seen as fanciful but it has since been put into context with subsequent research.
The Whadjuk people nurtured a complex culture and were a very viable community until 1829.
Having assessed in his visit in1826 that the land was suitable to establish the Swan River Colony, Stirling arrived with other settlers in June 1829; Fremantle was already here.
It was agreed that initially two towns, Fremantle and Perth would be established.
In 1830, only months later, Henry Revelly – who arrived with Stirling – was commissioned to draw up plans for the Roundhouse.
Its construction of 12 sides and weatherboard roof commenced in September 1830 and was completed January 18, 1831.
Among its earliest inhabitants was Yagan, who in 1833 was placed in the Roundhouse pending his exile on Carnac Island.
By close of 1833, both Yagan and his father, Midgegooroo, had been killed along with many others – both settlers and Whadjuk people.
In 1834, the Battle of Pinjarra took place where it is now suggested that some 80 people were killed, the majority Indigenous people of that region.
Following this, few Indigenous people were allowed into areas that were once the livelihood of the Whadjuk people and were now occupied by settlers.
The Roundhouse itself has a long history.
It is now considered the oldest public building in WA and Fremantle’s oldest building.
Surviving demolition approval in 1929 by the then state government, it was saved by the Fremantle harbour master and others in Fremantle.
Having been restored several times, including with an investment of $1.3 million by the City of Fremantle and supported by a $500,000 grant from the WA government, this significant building will continue to need attention so that it can remain an important icon of this era.
As we move forward, the Roundhouse can provide an essential piece in telling the story of Fremantle/Walyalup for our visitors, tourists and locals alike.
The Arthur Head area will continue to play a vital role in our continuing journey.
However, this is but a small snapshot of complex times – hence our need to move forward carefully and appropriately, acknowledging all aspects of this history – amazing achievements by many and other times that hopefully never occur again.
Our goal is to deliver a shared vision which will last into the future, and which will facilitate a better understanding of our place here in Fremantle.
1: Lord Cottesloe (Ed) (1979) Diary and Letters of Admiral Sir C.H. Fremantle, G.C.B. Published in the Centenary year of Western Australia by Fremantle Press
2: Appleyard, RT and Manford, T. (1979) The Beginning. European Discovery and Early Settlement of Swan River, Western Australia. University of WA Press
3: Moore, GF. (1984). Diary of Ten Years Eventful Life of an Early Settler in Western Australia; and also A Descriptive Vocabulary of the Language of the Aborigines. London: Walbrook (facimilie edition 1978 by University of WA Press)
4: O’Brien, Phillipa (2022) No Stone Without A Name. Ellenbrook Cultural Foundation.