History of East Fremantle

What a colourful history has East Fremantle! Many of the stories of local people collected in this website, reflect the huge divide between the rich, elite and often eccentric ‘entrepreneurs’ living in the grand mansions overlooking the river in Richmond and the working class men and women living in the crowded houses of Plympton. Crime and punishment, ‘two up games’, accidents, drownings, back-yard abortions, and the relentless drive of conservative governments to curb the power of the waterside workers (especially the Lumpers Union) affected life in Plympton. The rich and powerful in Richmond however also suffered public shame and there were often divorces and suicides. Over time the two classes interacted, particularly at the edge of the Swan river, with the construction of breweries and ship yards and Rowing clubs. As ‘New Australians’ arrived, the immigrants first stayed in Plympton but gradually made better lives in the surrounding suburbs of Woodside and Palmyra.

East Fremantle also has a unique history involving maternity hospitals, WA’s first woman doctor and many other strong women.

But our story starts with the original inhabitants- Niergarup 'the place where the pelicans are located' or Preston Point on the north of East Fremantle was an important place for the original custodians of this area- the Noongar Beeliar cultural group, led by Midgegooroo and Yagan- who used this area as a ceremonial and camping ground. It was also the place where Aboriginal people had a first sighting of white people, exploring the river. 1

This Aboriginal group was one of the first in Western Australia to suffer the full impact of European settlement. The invasion was initially peaceful because the Aboriginal people believed the white men were the returning spirits of their own dead relatives, however, cultural conflict developed between the original landowners and the new land occupiers. As Noongar people fought for their land- Rottnest Island began to hold the leaders and young warriors who stood in the way of European development.

Noongar playwright Jack Davis’s first play Kullark (a documentary on the history of Aborigines in WA 1979) has Midgergooroo’s wife Moyarahn, mother of Yagan, exclaiming about white people ‘‘They smell of death’’. (Act 1 Scene 1)

City of Fremantle Aboriginal Engagement Officer Brendan Moore gives a cultural tour of Walyalup which includes the Waugal miran (East Fremantle) here (link)

In 1830, 2 years after settlement, John Weavell made a jetty at Preston Point and operated a cross river ferry to Rocky Bay. In 1833 he mentioned that he had seen about 80 Aboriginal people fishing and camping in this area and a few years later Yagan was also sighted here.

Because of the cultural differences between the two groups, Aborigines were suspected first for misdeeds that happened in the colony. For example, in 1831 Agett’s house on the banks of the Swan River was set on fire. Initially, Aborigines were blamed, but on further investigation it was found that a woman servant and two soldiers had been seen associating with the Aborigines who were accused of lighting the fire… Again, Aborigines were at first blamed for a fire at Wale’s house at Preston Point, but it later came to light that three colonial youths had been seen leaving the scene of the fire. (CSR 1831 Vol. 12/96-97, 133; Vol. 16/196. in Nyungar Tradition: glimpses of Aborigines of south-western Australia 1829-1914 by Lois Tilbrook, 1983 ) Tilbrook also suggests the European affiliation between the Aboriginal family name Wally and Wale. (page 78)

Early white settlement of the area consisted of large farm holdings, however as the colony prospered during the 1890's gold rush the nature of the settlement altered dramatically, rapidly changing to a residential area. Aboriginal groups from all over the state were documented as still gathering in 1899 in Plympton- in an area known as Pearse’s Paddock an area near where Richmond Raceway is now. See article about a death in the camp (reference). An article in the West Australian 22 Sept 1899, after the death recorded that:

“A blackfellow, named Andrew Curenit (aka Curendy) died in the Fremantle Hospital on Sunday night from wounds alleged to have been inflicted on the previous day at Plympton by another native named ‘Hoppy’ Chowell, who has since been committed for trial for murder. An order for the burial of the deceased was handed to Mr. J. C. Semken, undertaker, who is the Government contractor for funerals at Fremantle, and on Wednesday afternoon the corpse was interred in the portion of the Fremantle General Cemetery where natives are usually buried. From representations subsequently made by a brother of Curenit, an educated man, who was at one time in the employment of Bishop Gibney, it transpired that the deceased belonged to the Roman Catholic denomination, and exception was taken by the natives to his interment in unconsecrated ground… The incident caused a little feeling amongst the blacks, which is said to have been intensified by their having partaken of more of the "fire water," which was responsible for the tragedy of the previous week. Recent events have shown the grave necessity which exists for the authorities putting down with a strong hand the supply of liquor to natives…” (reference)

It is recorded that a number of fresh water springs in this precinct were used by local Nyungar. One spring, which no longer exists, has been recorded as once being located at a site adjacent to the present day East Street. 2 (Gibbs, 1988) Two sites where water sources were used by Nyungars are recorded to have been in the vicinity of Blackwall Reach. The exact location of these sites is unknown 3 (O'Connor et al, 1989). The area is known as Jenalup by Nyungars and refers to 'the place where the feet make a track'. 4 (Collard et al, 1996).

East Fremantle was created in 1897, when the ‘Éast Ward’ separated from Fremantle and became a separate Municipality. The 3.2 square kilometre area of East Fremantle is bounded to the North by the Swan River and Riverside Road, to the West by East Street and to the South by Marmion Street and to the East - Petra Street - shared with the City of Melville.

Initially there were two sharp divisions; the poor and working class lived in small workers cottages built in the Plympton Ward and the rich and merchant elite who had built large homes on the escarpment overlooking the river in the Richmond Hill area.

The Plympton Ward was established between 1890 and 1910 in an area originally owned by the Pearse brothers, William Silas and George- prominent merchants, ship owners and station owners in the Swan River colony. They owned the area from East to Allen Streets, which included cattle yards and a noxious slaughterhouse right in the centre. They subdivided this area for workers cottages and built many of the streets- which they named after family members.

The water supply for this area came from their reservoir in East Street. After the East Fremantle Council began in 1897 they requested the Council take control of the streets and George Pearse sold the area to the Government and donated five acres to the Council.

One of the first issues for the new Council was the problem of sanitation. Many houses held two families and it was recommended that every tenement in Plympton be provided with a separate closet and that the pan be emptied by the night soil contractors twice a week.

Richmond may have been named for the residence of William Temple Graham (Public Notary, solicitor and publisher of the West Australian Colonial News 1833) or more likely named after the town of Richmond in Surrey England, which had been the home of Walter Easton, one of the biggest landowners in the East Fremantle area and who had emigrated to Australia in 1857 to become schoolmaster to the convicts in Fremantle Gaol. Easton named the land he owned in the eastern part of Richmond (owned 1850s to the 1890s) Windsor and as the suburb was divided in 1901, by his successors, street names Easton, Walter, Stratford, Gill and Morgan (later changed to Osborne) were named after the Easton family. Frank Easton was an East Fremantle Councillor from 1897-1900. East Fremantle contains one state run primary school- the Richmond Primary School, founded in 1921.

The Woodside Ward was originally land owned by WD Moore extended from Allen Street to Petra Street and bounded by Canning and Marmion. When this big area was subdivided the family names of Dalgety, Fortescue, Oakover, Millenden and Fletcher were given to street names.

During 1941-1942 HMAS Leeuwin (now named Leeuwin Barracks) were constructed on land that had been Gallops farm and State Government Railway land, and after the war the Preston Point area was developed.

The first meeting of the East Fremantle Council was held August 14 1897 in the Plympton Hotel (now the Trade Winds Hotel) where the first Mayor Matthew Moss was sworn in.

1. This information comes from the City of Melville Sites of Aboriginal Cultural Significance webpage (original information from Gail Beck) See (https://www.melvillecity.com.au/things-to-do/museums-arts-and-culture/aboriginal-heritage-and-culture/sites-of-aboriginal-cultural-significance)

2. Gibbs, M. 1988. Report on an Ethnohistorical Investigation into Heritage of the Fremantle Area. Centre for Prehistory, University of Western Australia

3. O'Conner, R. Quatermaine, and Bodney, C. 1989. Report on an Investigation into Aboriginal Significance of Wetlands and Rivers in the Perth- Bunbury Region. State Water Planning. Western Australian Water Resources Council.

4. Collard, Len, Henderson, I. and Collard, Lisa. 1996. De Vlamingh Tricentennial: A Project to Map his Explorations of Wedjemup or Rottnest Island and Darbal Yaragan Beeloo or the Swan River Area of WA and Translations of Salient Nyungar Aboriginal Names. Aboriginal and Islander Studies Programme, Murdoch University.

5. See more information on the area in no 2- https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/management/swan-canning-riverpark/about-the-river-system/landscape-description

Written by Jo Darbyshire, project coordinator, Museum of Perth