After
seven long days at sea and crossing the breadth of the Indian Ocean, we were
pleased to finally see the shores of Australia. Early in the morning, we
arrived in Fremantle, the first of seven ports we would be visiting in
Australia. Fremantle is the port city outside of the larger city of Perth.
Perth,
which is on the west coast of Australia, is the capital of the state of Western
Australia, and has been called one of the most isolated cities in the world. It
is a region known for it mining, including gold mining. The temperatures can
reach quite high, but today, much to our relief, it was only 81 F. When we
visited before, it was well over 100 F.
Cunard
offered some good tours of the area. In fact, when we visited Fremantle/Perth several
years ago, we took a daylong tour that included a visit to an animal preserve,
where we saw kangaroos, koalas, and other indigenous animals. We also toured a
vineyard and had a wine tasting. According to people who know a lot more about
wine than we do, Australians produce some very fine wines. Back home, we drink
Australian-produced Yellowtail wines and enjoy them.
On
this visit, we decided to see Perth and Fremantle, and from the information
provided in the Port Presentation, we felt very comfortable setting out and
touring the cities on our own.
As
we walked into the cruise terminal, we were met by very friendly people welcoming
us to Australia. We later saw a sign that read, “Real Australians Say Welcome.”
We weren’t sure if that was just a nice welcome, or whether there was some
message in that.
We
stopped at the information booth to ask about the trains and for maps of
Fremantle and Perth. The man at the booth told us that Fremantle is the best-preserved
port city in all of Australia, maintaining most of its Victorian architecture.
He looked so disappointed that we were looking for information about Perth that
we assured him that we were coming back to tour Fremantle in the
afternoon.
Perth
is a 30-minute ride by train from Fremantle. The ship was docked within a short
walk of the train station, so it couldn’t have been easier. They called it the
train, but it was like the Metro (subway) cars that we are accustomed to in our
area. The fare was 4.50 Australian dollars each way. You keep your ticket, and
if you get back on the train within two hours, the ticket is still good for the
return journey. They don’t have a round-trip fare. What we found surprising was
that no one checked our ticket going in or coming out—either direction. Unlike
the garbled messages identifying an upcoming station that we get on the Metro, each
stop was identified by both an announcement and the name of the station
flashing on a light board above the aisle.
The
ride was pleasant, and we got to see Perth’s suburban areas, consisting of
attractive bungalows, schools, churches, and small businesses. Lots of school
children in uniforms got on the train, which made us think that the Fremantle
high school kids go into Perth for school.
The
train stopped in the middle of Perth, and we walked out of the train station
right into the business and shopping area. Close by Hay Street is the place to
go for shopping.
Perth
is an attractive and clean city, without a lot of downtown traffic congestion. It
is also vibrant city but a comfortable one. The scent of eucalyptus trees
filled the air. The city helps keep the amount of inner city traffic down by
providing free bus transportation throughout the downtown area in a system
called the CAT. Four long circular routes (red, green, yellow, and blue) cover
most of the downtown area and pass close to most of the major points of
interest. If we saw something along the way that we wanted to visit, we got off
at the next stop. We created our own Hop On, Hop Off bus.
We
passed the Perth Mint, which according to one of our tablemates, is one of the
few mints where you can see them actually pour gold into molds. We got off the
bus to visit St. Mary’s Cathedral, which sits on a hill in the center of town.
It was an unusual building in that a modern extension was added right in the
middle of it.
St.
Mary’s Cathedral
The
man at the Fremantle information booth had said that many of the historic
buildings in Perth had been demolished and replaced with office buildings. It
is a very modern city, but we saw some interesting 19th century
buildings wedged in between tall office buildings. Something new to us were the
dispensing machines along the sidewalks where you could refill your water
bottle for 25 cents. That’s one way of keeping down the number of plastic
bottles in landfills.
From
the Red CAT route bus (the green route goes there as well), we made our way to
King’s Park, a huge park along the scale of Hyde Park or Central Park. It
contains the Western Australian Botanic Gardens, overlooks of the city, and
multiple war memorials and monuments. One that we liked was in honor of Dr.
Arnold Cook, who introduced the training of guide dogs to Australia.
Dr.
Arnold Cook and Companion
At
the park, we stopped for a bottle of water at the StickyBeaks Pavilion (a
refreshment area at children’s play area). The young woman behind the counter
told us that to Australians someone with a sticky beak is nosy. Not sure what
that has to do with a children’s play area or refreshments, but interesting.
Outside the refreshment area, we saw some parrots and unusual birds with long
curved beaks. Maybe that’s where the name of the refreshment area came from.
Continuing
our travels through Perth, we crossed Altona Street (almost the spelling of my
hometown).
We
returned to the ship for a short break and then set out for the Western
Australian Maritime Museum. (We brake for maritime/nautical museums.) We asked
the shuttle driver if he went near the museum and he explained that it would be
a short walk from the drop off place in the downtown area. Before we realized
it, we were pulling up to the museum. The driver told us that he decided to
give us a break, which really helped us since the museum would be closing in
ninety minutes. That’s an example of how nice the people here have been.
The
museum was well worth the visit. It featured a special exhibit showing wooden
models based on Leonardo DiVinci’s designs. You read about some of his
inventions, but until you see examples of them, you don’t realize what a genius
he was. His inventions included a double hull on ships, paddleboat, water skis,
lifebuoy, diving helmet, pulleys, bicycle, helicopter, and many more. We’re
convinced that he was a time traveler.
Fremantle
is known for its fishing fleets. A display at the museum pointed to the
contributions by Italian, Greek, Croatian, and Portuguese immigrants to the
fishing industry in Fremantle. Fremantle is the sister city to Capo d’Orlando,
Italy; Molfettese, Italy; and Madeira, Portugal, where many of the fishing
families came from.
But
pride of place in the main hall of the museum was given to Australia II, which
is the yacht that won the America’s Cup on September 26, 1983, breaking
the132-year record of U.S. teams winning the race and holding the cup.
Australia II was sailed by members of the Royal Perth Yacht Club. It was such a
monumental event for Australia that the prime minister declared the day a
national holiday. The strong winds off Fremantle, called the Fremantle Doctor,
because of its famous sea breezes that air condition the city, make for perfect
sailing conditions, which are said to be the envy of the world.
Australia
II
Docked
outside of the museum was the three-masted sailing vessel, Leeuwin II,
Australia’s largest ocean going tall ship. The Leeuwin Ocean Adventure
Foundation, as part of its youth development program, enables young people to
take the helm of the ship, set the sails, climb the masts, and navigate.
Leeuwin
II
Tribute
to British Children Displaced During WWII
During
WWII, John and has family were evacuated from London to Northamptonshire. Many British
children were evacuated to Australia—most never to return to Britain or see
their families again. A statue outside the museum and a plaque paid tribute to
those children and their contributions to Australia as parents, workers, and
citizens.
Several
years ago we met an Australian man who had been one of those children. His
early years in Australia had been awful ones filled with hardship and abuse,
but he said he built a good life for himself in Australia. He had the misfortune
of having his luggage lost before the start of the 2008 world voyage of the QE2
and it never caught up with him during the voyage. After all that he
experienced in life, he took it in good humor. Everyone knew him on the ship,
and he was a favorite of the passengers. He bought a few pieces of clothing and
said it was amazing how little clothing one needed for a world voyage.
Late
that night we sailed away from Fremantle, wishing we could have spent more time
there and met more of the people. It is a splendid place. Tomorrow we cross the
Great Australian Bight.
More
information about Perth and Fremantle is available at
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