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We picked up our car at the airport, a Kia Picanto, and used it a lot to get around. With Kate's bum ankle I would chauffer her to her meetings at Notre Dame University or we'd take an Uber if it was dinner and drinking. We did get to explore a bit of the coastline — a trip down memory lane to Cottesloe, City Beach and Hillary's — but we never got far afield. We had talked about going back to Margaret River but that's far enough to be an overnight adventure. There is a lot to see in the Perth area but distances can be quite far. And, as this was our 3rd or 4th trip to the area we didn't feel compelled.
In another blog I'll write about Chester Villa, our AirBnB, suffice to say here it was pretty nice and convenient. It's in an older suburban neighborhood just off South Terrace and near South Beach. There are some pictures of the neighborhood and some of the shops along South Terrace. I was most impressed by the "coffee culture" in Fremantle. People who enjoy their cappuccino would have no end of opportunities. "Ootong and Lincoln" is one of those on South Terrace that is colorfully decorated.
The weather when we arrived was quite warm, hot even. We were told it had not rained for 8 months but while we were there a gale arrived that dumped a ton of rain and shook our villa! After the gale it cooled down considerably. People continued to go swimming every day (like our landlord) but we never got in the water. We did catch some glorious sunsets from South Beach. There's another blog entry and photo album on the beaches.
Our first fancy dinner was at Tonic + Ginger, a Southeast Asian Fusion restaurant located in an old Synagogue across from the Fremantle Markets. We sat up in the balcony area and ordered far too much food. We brought a doggy bag back to Chester Villa but it's not quite the same as having a meal there. Kate had a meeting with some of her colleagues later and that ended up being at the same restaurant and again they order way to much food.
On the Sunday I walked along South Terrace and then up Marine Terrace towards the Fishing Boat Harbor. That's very near Tannoch Hall, Notre Dame University where Kate's meetings were held. On the way wandering back I bumped into our friend Anne Marie (from Melbourne) as I walked by Tonic + Ginger. She was busy getting prepped for the meeting that Kate was going to later that day and recognized me. I did a walk through the Fremantle Market, I had been there many years before, but it seemed to have become a kitschy souvenir market rather than a proper farmers market.
Fremantle was a bustling sea port from the mid 1800's and there is ample evidence of the old Victorian era buildings around Notre Dame and on the High Street. I suspect that one reason the university is there is to encourage the preservation of these old buildings. The old town hall has an interesting story (from Wikipedia). On opening day back in 1887 things got out of hand with those "wild colonial boys":
"On 23 June 1887 a children's fancy dress ball was held in the Hall. The Town Supervisor, W. J. Snook, and two other men had some trouble in keeping a group of rowdy men out of the Hall. Amongst the group was the landlord of the National Hotel in High Street, William Conroy, who gatecrashed the supper just after midnight, as the Mayor was congratulating the stewards and officials on the "happy conclusion of the Jubilee". At 12.45 am Conroy was seen in the entrance hall and soon after a shot was heard.[6] Allegedly, Conroy had shot Snook because Snook would not let him in.[7] Despite his injuries, Snook lived for three more months before dying in September. Conroy was convicted of the crime, becoming the last person to be hanged at Perth Gaol."
I spent quite a bit of time wandering the Victoria Wharf. Across from the wharf is the container port. The warehouses and such on this side are repurposed as shops and a big brewery. At the end of the dock is the Western Australia Marine Museum (not to be confused with the Shipwreck Museum), where the KBS welcome event was held on Monday night, and at the very tip is the "South Mole" (a break wall) with a lighthouse at the end. The Rottnest Ferry departs from the wharf, we have been before and passed on it this time. Some friends did go out to bicycle around on a very rainy Monday. There's also a ferry that runs back and forth to Perth up river and I investigated that. Unfortunately by the time I went looking I discovered that in this off season it only runs on the weekend — so we missed out on that adventure. But again, it's something we've done before and you wouldn't want to do it on a cold and rainy day.
A short walk from the conference is the historic Round House, a small stone fort, which overlooks Bather's Beach. This building dates from the settlement of the area and was once used as a prison. It's now a museum and viewpoint. The Ship Wreck Museum is very near the conference center but I had been before. At Esplanade Park there are several monuments and a large ferris wheel (there's Brisbane "Eye" as well). I found the monument to the Maitland Brown Explorers very interesting for the addendum added later:
"This plaque was erected by people who found the monument before you offensive.
The monument described the events at La Grange from one perspective only; The viewpoint of the white `settlers`. No mention is made of the right of Aboriginal People to defend their land or of the history of provocation which led to the explorers` deaths.
The `Punitive Party` mentioned here ended in the deaths of somewhere around twenty Aboriginal people. The Whites were well-armed and equipped and none of their party was killed or wounded.
This plaque is in memory of the Aboriginal people killed at La Grange. It also commemorates all other Aboriginal people who died during the invasion of their country.
Lest We Forget. Mapa Jarriya-Nyalaku."
There are some nice restaurants around the Boat Harbour. It would have been nice to have lunch on a sunny day sitting on the harbor. I had my eye on Cicerello's as it claimed to have the "best fish & chips in WA" but it was not to be. The weather didn't cooperate for us. There's this very odd statue out front of Cicerello's for the Coast Guard. It's an odd yellow metal man, perhaps 20' tall, with a prominent wiener! I guess the WA Coast Guard are famous for their "equipment".
We did have pizza one night at the Little Creatures Brewery on the harbour. That was an odd travel suggestion from one of our Facebook friends. There does seem to be a lot of breweries around Fremantle. We, of course, are more interested in the wine. We ended up getting a Dan Murphy's membership (that's a large retailer of beer, wine and spirits found all across the country) to take advantage of discounts offered but never got to us it. We did buy some "Clean Skin Wines" — that's a uniquely Australian offering. They are surplus wines the retailers buy and bottled up with no name labels that tell you the wine and region but not much else. It's a great deal for pissants like me.
Wednesday afternoon Kate took a break from the conference for an Asian lunch at the "Joy Kitchen" on Marine Terrace. Kate had noted the place on our drives back and forth to the meetings. It was a wild and windy day — so much so that they had us enter through the service entrance as the front doors were catching the wind and rain. The gale that came in on Monday night persisted for several days with wet windy weather more typical of the season. That evening the KBS banquet was held at the Bathers Beachouse on Bathers Beach — only a very short walk from the meetings at Tannock Hall.
On Thursday Kate and I took a drive down memory lane. We explored the beaches north of Fremantle stopping at Cottesloe, driving as far as north as Scarborough and Hillary's (we had stayed at both on previous visits). On the return we stopped at City Beach and had a lunch at Clancy's Fish Bar. We had been before but that was many years ago!
Friday at lunch I drove Kate and some friends north again. This time just across the river to Bib & Tucker at Port Beach. I left them to their meeting time, wandered the beach for a while and then drove north again to havea fish & chips lunch at Cottesloe Beach.
Friday night we caught a final dramatic sunset at South Beach and packed up to leave the next day for Brisbane.
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