The queen left Perth yesterday and forgot to take me home so I've come to Fremantle to visit the prison, roundhouse and shipwreck museum!

I'm currently loving off the lady in the train station queue who gave me $4 because my card wouldn't work in the machine!!!

Well I'm certainly now wishing that both sets of my grandparents had been convicted of stealing sheep and sent to Fremantle prison, so I could grow up in sunny Australia!

Fremantle is named after the first explorer sent over from england to report back his findings! The first of 10,000 convicts arrived in 1850 as a labour force to help construct infrastructure for the swan river colony! Once britain stopped sending over their prisoners, it was used for aboriginal people and they also opened a second base on nearby rottness island which is today used as a holiday resort island! One of their initial projects was to build their own home, the convict establishment, later renamed Fremantle Prison! It's the largest convict built structure in western Australia and the most intact in the nation! The convicts were tasked with digging the rock out the hill to create the structure and cutting the hard wood from kings park in Perth for the roof! Cells were 4ft by 7ft and the prisoners only had a bucket for their waste!!! This eventually became the demise of the prison and the main reason it shut in 1991 as they had no toilets or sinks in the cells! Many escape attempts were made and riots occurred but the main one took place in 1987, the prisoners wanted to stop finding maggots in their meals and so poured boiling water over some guards who they then held hostage, stole their keys and burnt down two wings costing thousands! The governor did not give in and took their privileges away! Small prison yards the size of a tennis court held 160 prisoners for 8 hours a day with 1 guard to oversee! This guard could not see the back of the yard which is where the tortures and rapings took place! The cat o 9 tails was used to flog disobedient prisoners upto 100 times with the birth of the saying 'rubbing salt into the wounds' post flogging to prevent infection! Dark solitary cells were also used! In the 139 functioning years of the prison, a total of 40 inmates were hung on the premises, even an 8 year old boy who killed his employers son! The prison church of England was often used by prisoners to prevent boredom! No graffiti was allowed until a year before the prison shut when the governor granted permission for convicts to decorate their cells! The majority of their work depicts open spaces with no people!

I was pleased to get into the maritime museum on the concession rate as the guy behind the desk took a shine to me! There are many shipwrecks down the west coast of Australia from conquerers all over Europe! Captain sterling was sent in 1867 to explore the Swan river and present his findings back to the British, he said it was an ideal city venue and it was him who founded the colony! A rare 'megamouth' shark was washed up just south of Perth and it's actual remains lie in the museum in a solution filled tank! The shark was unheard of until 1976 and since then, only 13 have been discovered!

The Roundhouse goal was used to house prisoners! It was situated on a beach bay which a whaling company was set up on as they would sometimes become beached there! The prisoners were responsible for building the whale tunnel for the aboriginal fishermen still there today!

Had 2 train rides, an hour wait before an hour bus ride to get home so when I saw a girl without shoes on, I had to ask her why! She did have fake purple dreadlocks in her hair so I shouldn't have been that shocked about her answer but she stated, she lost them at lasts nights Halloween party whilst taking acid, we parted company soon afterwards :0)