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Gettingaround > tours art Fremantle is known as the city of artists. Renowned as a cultural centre, Fremantle is reputed for its artistic endeavours and creative community. Fremantle's streetscapes are filled with public art worthy of a stroll through the city. Take a walk in the south east
Begin your tour in Kings Square, the heart of the city.
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Chess Table and Seating
In Kings Square you will find the chess table and seating constructed from jarrah and mild steel. The artwork was designed to fit in with the surrounding architecture of the church, and other elements of St. John's Square such as the large chessboard. The artist was Coral Lowry who has other public artworks in Fremantle. This work was completed in 1995. Continue down past the church towards Queen Street and you will see the Sculpture of Pietro Giacomo Porcelli also in Kings Square.
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Sculpture of Pietro Giacomo Porcelli
The sculpture of Pietro Giacomo Porcelli is a life-size commemorative piece honouring the Fremantle Sculptor who has a number of artworks in the city, including the monument erected to C.Y. O'Connor. Greg James is the artist and he was approached by friends of Pietro Porcelli and asked to create this bronze sculpture. This piece is probably Fremantle's most popular piece of public art. Walk back towards the church, past the chess table and seating and you will see the next public art piece next to the chessboard, the Tom Edwards Memorial Fountain. The sculpture was completed in March of 1993.
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Tom Edwards Memorial Fountain
The Tom Edwards Memorial Fountain is the work of Pietro Porcelli. The fountain was completed in 1919 and unveiled by W. Renton, the President of the Fremantle Lumpers Union. The fountain was erected to the memory of Tom Edwards who was the victim of a violent clash between waterside workers and police on the Fremantle waterfront on May 4, 1919. This piece was originally located in front of Trades Hall. The City of Fremantle agreed to relocate the work to Kings Square when Trades Hall was sold in 1968. Cross over William Street and walk through the High Street Mall until you reach Market Street. Turn left and keep walking. Cross over Cantonment Street and between Cantonment Street and Elder Place you will find the next public art treasure, the Taylor Memorial Fountain.
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The Taylor Memorial Fountain
This horsetrough and drinking fountain was erected in Fremantle in memory of John Taylor's sons Ernest and Peter who were believed to have died on a desert expedition in Western Australia. The piece was shipped from England following the instructions detailed in John Taylor's will. Completion date was in 1905. The memorial fountain was renovated and moved 2 metres from its original site in 1982. Local potter, Joan Campbell and her students created new tiles and blocks to replace the missing and damaged ones. Cross over Market Street to the Pioneer Park opposite the Railway Station. Here you will find the Heritage Trail Bollards.
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Heritage Trail Bollards
The heritage bollards are ceramic mosaic tiles on concrete bollards. The bollards are modelled from timber wharves, and are located at significant points along the original shoreline of Fremantle.
There are five bollards and they are located at
- End of Market Street, near Railway Station.
- Arthur's Head
- Point Marquis
- Anglesea Point
- Cnr of Essex Street and Marine Terrace.
Joan Campbell was the artist who designed and produced the mosaic bollards. This was a Bicentennial Project which was part of the WA Heritage Trails Network and was jointly funded by the Commonwealth and WA Governments. Joan Campbell donated her time on the project.
The marking of the heritage trail makes it possible to retrace the original shorelines of Fremantle. The City of Fremantle developed the concept. A limestone path and wall marked the alignment of the old shoreline. Woodcarver, Zolton Endos created timber impression moulds of the local marine life for stamping into the bricks. The blue mosaic bollards created by artist Joan Campbell represent the waterfront and the colours of the sea. Directly behind the Old Shoreline, in Pioneer Park you will find a Reconciliation work.
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Reconciliation Work
This reconciliation piece with red, black and yellow people representing the rainbow of humanity and people working together was painted by Melanie Evans in 1999. The history of Noongah people is depicted along the base of the work. Keep walking down Phillimore Street towards the Fremantle Port Authority building. Turn right into Cliff Street and discover the C.Y. O'Connor Statue.
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C.Y. O'Connor Statue
This bronze statue is a 3200mm high monument to the memory of CY O'Connor. It stands at the entrance to the Harbour just off Phillimore Street. CY O'Connor, Engineer in Chief from 1891 - 1902, was a visionary whose successful projects included the Fremantle Harbour, Water Pipeline to the Goldfields, Mundaring Weir, and the Swan View Railway tunnel. The statue stands as a reminder of his work on all major engineering projects at the time. Pietro Giacomo Porcelli is the artist. Porcelli has portrayed O'Connor standing with one foot forward and his arms crossed; the left hand clasping a roll of plans for the Harbour and the right hand extended, as he gazes out across Fremantle Harbour. On either side of the pedestals are bas-relief panels depicting his other major projects. The front panel bears the inscription. Make your way to Bathers Beach by walking towards the Round House. Follow the railway line down towards the Maritime Museum and just in front of the restaurants you will find the monument to the old jetty.
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Monument to the Old Jetty
This piece is the work of artist, Joan Campbell. She raised public subscriptions for the work. Sections of the old jetty are still visible in the sea. This was where all the boats loaded and unloaded before Fremantle Harbour was built. Joan Campbell and her students designed and made the tiles you see embedded in the wooden pylons. Joan Campbell's Gallery was to the right of the monument before her death in 1996. It is now the Kidogo Gallery. Cross back over the railway line near the Maritime Museum and make your way to the Esplanade Reserve on Marine Terrace to the right of the Museum. The first piece of public art you will come across is the memorial to Vasco de Gama.
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Memorial to Vasco de Gama
Vasco de Gama (1469 - 1525) was a Portuguese navigator whose voyages linked Europe with the Indian Ocean. This work is the collaborative effort of a number of artists. John Kirkness designed the work, Edgar Nailor was the Ceramist, and Clare Bailey the Sculptor. The work was inspired by the strong Portuguese community and the Portuguese colours are prominent in the work. The work was completed in 1997. A little further on, still in the Esplanade Reserve, is the next public artwork, the Maitland Brown Memorial.
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Maitland Brown Memorial
This is one of the City's most controversial pieces of public art. The artist was Pietro Giacomo Porcelli. Lady Forrest unveiled this work in February of 1913. The work stands approximately 6 m and is a bronze bust of Maitland Brown on a granite pedestal. The four panels of the pedestal have been formed in bas-relief. One of them is in memory of early explorers, Goldwyer, Harding and Panter. Maitland Brown recovered the bodies of these three men at Boola Boola. The controversy with the work lies with the inscription in one of the panels that reads that the three explorers were attacked and murdered by Aboriginal people at Boola, near Le Grange Bay. The Aboriginal communities have long thought that the work was racist in nature and showed bias in interpreting the events which led to the white domination of Western Australia. This view had much support throughout the community. As a result of this the work now carries a plaque in memory of the Aboriginal people killed at la Grange and commemorating all other Aboriginal people who died during the invasion of their colony. Make your way up Marine Terrace to Collie Street. Turn up Collie Street and keep walking until you reach South Terrace. Cross over South Terrace and directly in front of Timezone you will find the last work on this tour of public artwork, a piece by Coral Lowry titled, 'What's It's Like to be Me'
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What It's Like to be Me
This work was part of the South Terrace Redevelopment and involved groups of young people contributing to the concept, design, construction and installation. Groups involved were: Project Working with Youth, Kim Beazley School, Yonga Aboriginal Secondary Unit, and the Juvenile Justice Team. The work aims to encourage young people to use public space, and consists of stools, chairs, a table and umbrellas. This piece was completed on May 27, 1996.
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