A visit to Fremantle Prison comes high on the list of things to do for many visitors to Perth and rightly so. Built originally as a gaol for convicts it was used for general prisoners from 1886 and continued to be so until as recently as 1991. Now a major tourist attraction it has been declared a World heritage site, the only one in Perth.
The quickest and easiest way to get to Fremantle from Perth is by train. Trains depart from Perth’s main railway station every fifteen minutes, more frequently at rush hour, and the journey time is thirty minutes. The cost is 4.90AD. From the railway station ii is a short 15 minute walk to the prison. You can collect a map with directions from the tour guides at the station when you arrive.
A number of tours are available for visitors and you mist book a tour to be allowed inside, all tours are guided and the numbers on each tour is lim tied. Of the four tours available Convict Prison is a good introduction to the prison itself and a general look at what everyday life was like for inmates. If you can only do one tour this should be the one.
The Behind Bars tour is a more detailed examination of the daily life of inmates and True Crimes focuses on some of the prisons more notorious inmates. These tours are all of 75 minute duration. The basic admission price includes one of the there tours and costs 26AD. If you add another tour it becomes 32AD and if you opt for all three tours it becomes 42AD. Concessions are available. It is well worth checking the departure times of tours to avoid unnecessary waiting and maybe even to prebook, especially for busy times such as weekends.
One further tour is available and that is of the tunnels built by prisoners 20m below the prison itself. This is a very popular tour and numbers are limited, its books up very quickly so prebooking is essential. The price is 65AD per adult and includes the loan of overalls and hard hat. Participants need to meet certain fitness criteria so it is well worth checking prison website before booking.
We only had time for one tour so took the Convict Prison option. Our guide was excellent, well informed as you might imagine and interesting to listen to. The tour was conducted at a gentle pace with sufficient time for having a comprehensive look around the basic prison buildings. It is worth bearing in mind that the prison itself has no air conditioning so if you visit on a hot day it is going to be hot inside. One can only imagine what conditions must have been like for inmates.
There is a cafe on site if you require refreshments before or after your tour and gallery displaying the artwork of inmates of prisons in Western Australia is well worth visiting if you have the time