No building dominates the city of Fremantle more than the Fremantle Prison, with both its architectural superiority and traditional prowess. Built from 1851 to 1858 out of limestone by convict labour, the Fremantle Prison has emanated feelings of sheer awe and trepidation upon all its onlookers and guests over the last century and a half. Beginning in 1855, the Prison commenced housing convicts from England, a practice that would continue for the following three decades before the Prison was transferred to colonial control in 1886. Over the next 100 years, the Fremantle Prison experienced a myriad of events, including 47 executions, childbirth, the internment of some 10,000 convicts, and a riot in 1988. Although health clearance advised for housing no more than 220 prisoners at one time, there were times when up to 630 individuals called Fremantle Prison their home at once. Most cells are inhumanely tiny within Fremantle Prison, where an eerie smell of decay forever lingers throughout its grounds. In 1991, the Prison was finally decommissioned, and the old building was emptied of its inmates for good. Today, Fremantle Prison still stands, functioning as a tourist attraction and public museum. It still remains as easily one of Fremantle’s oldest and most famous structures.
