Fremantle, Western Australia

Fremantle is a port city a few kilometres down the Swan River from Perth. Fremantle was settled before Perth and was soon the home to Fremantle Prison, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, part of several other Australian Convict sites.

Fremantle Prison was built as a convict barracks in the 19th century and remained in continual use until 1991. The Prison was a place of hangings, floggings, dramatic convict escapes and prisoner riots. Inmates included imperial convicts, colonial prisoners, enemy aliens, prisoners of war and maximum-security detainees.

We took a tour and heard numerous stories about some of the prison's notorious inmates over the years. A few artists were among the population, and some were allowed to paint inside their cells.

Fremantle is also the home of Bon Scott, the original lead singer of AC/DC. Scott’s family immigrated from Scotland and ended up in Fremantle. Bon attended elementary and high school in Fremantle and later used the Canning Highway that leads to Perth as inspiration for the song, “Highway to Hell”