Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1200 men and 58 women. Of those, 43 men and one woman were executed on-site, the
last of which was serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke in 1964.
Entry to the gatehouse, including the Prison Gallery, gift shop (where you can purchase
fetching arrow-printed prisoner PJs) and Convict Cafe is free. To enter the prison proper,
you'll need to take a tour. During the day there are two fascinating 1¼-hour tours on offer,
timed so that you can take one after the other on a combined ticket (single tour adult/child
$19/10, combined adult/child $26/17), although you can return for the second tour any-
time in the next fortnight.
The Doing Time Tour (departs every 30 minutes, first 10am, last 5pm) takes in the kit-
chens, men's cells (the original 2.1m by 1.2m convict cells are smaller than modern toi-
lets), the black-as-hell solitary-confinement cells (the longest anyone did here was six
months on bread and water), the exercise areas, the whipping post (people could be sen-
tenced to up to 100 lashes of the cat o' nine tails, although most would die after 30), the
gallows, an interesting display on the 1988 riot, and the big, light-filled chapel (daily at-
tendance was compulsory).
The Great Escapes Tour (departs every hour, first 11.45am, last 4.45pm) introduces you
to famous inmates such as bushranger and famed escape artist Moondyne Joe and bank
robber Brenden Abbott, who escaped in a prison guard's uniform. It also takes in the wo-
men's prison and the rifle range.
Bookings are required for the two more intense experiences on offer. Torchlight Tours
(90 minutes, adult/child $25/21, Wednesday and Friday evenings) are designed to chill,
focusing on the creepy and unpleasant aspects of the prison's history. The 2½-hour Tun-
nels Tour (adult/child over 12yr $60/40) takes you 20m underground to tunnels built by
prisoners sentenced to hard labour. You'll be kitted out in overalls and hard hats with
headlamps for the descent, which includes an underground boat ride. Children must be 12
years or older for the Tunnels Tour.
Western Australian Museum - Maritime
OFFLINE MAP
MUSEUM
GOOGLE MAP
(
www.museum.wa.gov.au
;
Victoria Quay; museum adult/child $10/3, submarine $10/3, museum & submarine $16/5;
9.30am-5pm)
Housed in an intriguing sail-shaped building on the harbour, just west of the
city centre, this is a fascinating exploration of WA's relationship with the ocean. It faces
out to the sea, which has shaped so much of the state's, and Fremantle's, destiny.
