Fire, Flood, Pestilence

Sunday 26 January 2020

Part 8 : AUSTRALIA DAY 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Day

Before we arrived in Australia in December 2019, I have to admit that I knew nothing at all about Australia Day. I knew there was some sort of national holiday at some point but I had no idea when.

Thinking about it now it does seem strange that we all know about America's 4th July holiday and their Thanksgiving in November yet I am sure I am not alone in the UK to know little or nothing about Australia Day. 

According to Wikipedia, Australia Day is the official national day of Australia.

It is celebrated annually on 26 January and it marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales, and the raising of the Flag of Great Britain at Sydney Cove by Governor Arthur Phillip.

In present-day Australia, celebrations reflect the diverse society and landscape of the nation and are marked by community and family events, reflections on Australian history, official community awards and citizenship ceremonies welcoming new members of the Australian community.

I also read that unofficially, or historically, the date has also been named Anniversary Day, Foundation Day and even Invasion Day or National Day of Mourning.

The date of 26 January 1788 marked the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia

Although it was not known as Australia Day until over a century later, records of celebrations on 26 January date back to 1808, with the first official celebration of the formation of New South Wales held in 1818.

On New Year's Day 1901, the British colonies of Australia formed a federation, marking the birth of modern Australia.

A national day of unity and celebration was looked for. It was not until 1935 that all Australian states and territories adopted use of the term "Australia Day" to mark the date, and not until 1994 that the date was consistently marked by a public holiday on that day by all states and territories.

In contemporary Australia, the holiday is marked by the presentation of the Australian of the Year Awards on Australia Day Eve, announcement of the Australia Day Honours list and addresses from the Governor-General and the Prime Minister.

It is an official public holiday in every state and territory. With community festivals, concerts and citizenship ceremonies, the day is celebrated in large and small communities and cities around the nation.

Australia Day has become the biggest annual civic event in Australia. Some Indigenous Australian events are now also included.

However, since at least 1938, the date of Australia Day has also been marked by Indigenous Australians as a day of mourning, lamenting  what is seen as the invasion of their land by the British and the start of colonisation.

These groups also tend to refer to 26 January as Invasion Day or Survival Day, and they observe it as a counter-celebration and advocate  that this holiday should be abolished entirely.

The Swan Valley Wine Tour

As this was likely to be a very congested day in the city of Perth, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to treat ourselves to a Swan Valley wine tour. 

We would be travelling to several vineyards by boat along the Swan river, breaking for a three course lunch at one of them then continuing to two other vineyards, a micro-brewery and finally a chocolaterie before returning back to the city by mini bus. 

The only down side was our very early start.

We were due to meet at the port at 8:00 am so we set our alarms for 7:00.

Not a good prospect at all after our very late night the previous evening. 

But once we arrived at the port, the dawn light over the river was so glorious that any thoughts of tiredness were superseded by the wonderful spectacle before us. 

The weather was as perfect as it had been every day since our arrival in Perth so the city's magnificent harbourside CBD was positivity resplendent in the early morning light.

it was going to be a very good day.

Australia Day Firework Display

By the time we reached our apartment on Murray Street it was almost 7:15 pm. It had been a wonderful but also very long day so we all agreed that a cup of tea and a rest at home was vital if we hoped to stay awake long enough to enjoy the harbourside firework display later that evening.

At 9:00 pm we left our flat and headed back to the harbourside area of Perth where we joined what seemed like thousands of others all desperate to enjoy this year's Australia Day Firework display over Perth's spectacular harbour. 

We had to wait over an hour before it started so we were glad we had managed a short rest after our Swan Valley excursion. 

When it finally began we were overwhelmed at how wonderful it all was.

Sadly we were not able to secure a spot at the front as we arrived much later than most.

We speculated that those who had secured the prime spots, would have probably got there mid afternoon or earlier, but considering how far back we were, we still had an excellent view of the higher fireworks which seemed to fill the entire skyline above us for almost two hours.

It dawned on us later, that our day had started in the harbourside area of Perth at 7:30 am where we were mesmerised by the early morning light over the water which was gloriously reflected onto Perth's wonderful glass and steel towers; it then ended almost at the exact same spot with this most spectacular firework extravaganza, which certainly competed favourably with the Sydney Harbour New Year's Eve display just a few weeks before.

It had been a truly extraordinary first Australia Day celebration for us all.

I may not have known much about Australia Day before but I think on 26 January from now on, I will always remember our wonderful first (but hopefully not last) Australia Day in Western Australia.

Fremantle Prison

Adapted from: https://fremantleprison.com.au/history-heritage/history/a-brief-history/

"The town of Fremantle … looks pretty and cheerful.
Conspicuous above all rises the prison, or, as it is called here, the ‘establishment’ : James Roe, Convict Number: 6709

As the ferry to and from Rottnest was in Fremantle, we decided to book a tour of Fremantle Convict Prison on our return later that day. 

At some point or other at school, in books or on TV most British educated youngsters will have had a literary or historical encounter with the transportation of convicts from England to the New World.

"The initial idea of transporting criminals lay in a law of 1597, entitled: “An Acte for Punyshment of Rogues, Vagabonds and Sturdy Beggars.”

This law stated that, “Obdurate idlers shall…be banished out of this Realm…and shall be conveyed to such parts beyond the seas as shall be…assigned by the Privy Council.” (Hughes 40)

Convicts began to be shipped to the New World.

With the outbreak of rebellion in the American colonies, a new solution needed to be found, the American colonists would no longer be polluted with England’s refuse.

The solution arrived at, the Hulks Act of 1776, is described in Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations.

The Hulks were the old naval troop transports and men-o-war ships that were rotting at anchor along the Thames and various southern naval ports.

As the convict population continued to grow on board these largely uninhabitable vessels, security and disease became serious issues.

Examples of the security issues are reflected in Great Expectations with the escape of Dickens' convict Magwitch.

While Pip, his sister, and Joe are sitting by the fire, the sounds of guns echo in the distance. ” ‘Ah!’ said Joe. ‘There’s anotheur conwict off'” (Dickens 17).

Magwitch managed to escape the Hulks before he is transported and was able to swim to the shore where he meets Pip at the cemetery.

Due to the challenges of holding the convicts on the Hulks it became evident to the English authorities that transportation must begin again and the new destination was the vast and lonely land of Australia". 

"Fremantle Prison was built as a convict barracks in the 19th century and remained in continual use until 1991.

The Prison was a place of hangings, floggings, dramatic convict escapes and prisoner riots.

Inmates included imperial convicts, colonial prisoners, enemy aliens, prisoners of war and maximum-security detainees.

The first convict transport sailed into Fremantle Harbour in 1850.

The Convict Establishment, as the prison was first known, was built by convict labour between 1852 and 1859 using limestone quarried on the site.

The first prisoners moved into the main cell block in 1855.

The Establishment was renamed Fremantle Prison in 1867.

Transportation ceased the following year when the Hougoumont carried the last convicts to Fremantle.

Nearly 10 000 convicts passed through the ‘establishment’ between 1850 and 1868.

At first only imperial convicts were confined at Fremantle Prison.

By 1886 less than 60 convicts remained inside a prison built to hold 1000 men.

Perth Gaol closed and Fremantle Prison became the colony’s primary place of confinement for men, women and juveniles.

With the population boom of the 1890s gold rush, Fremantle Prison became busy once again.

More space had to be found for a burgeoning prison population.

After the Rottnest Island Aboriginal Prison closed in 1903, prisoners from Fremantle Prison were sent to the island to carry out public works.

New Division was built and opened in 1907.

During the Second World War, the Australian Defence Department sequestered part of the prison as a military detention centre.

A large number of Italian Australians, identified as ‘enemy aliens’ were incarcerated at Fremantle during the war.

Following a series of prisoner riots and growing concerns with prison conditions, a royal commission in 1983 recommended the Prison’s closure.

Female prisoners had already been transferred to a new facility at Bandyup Women's Prison in 1970.

Fremantle was decommissioned on 8 November 1991 and its prisoners transferred to Casuarina Prison, replacing Fremantle Prison as the state's main maximum-security prison.

After its closure the WA state government embarked on a long-term conservation plan to ensure the Prison’s preservation for future generations.

Fremantle Prison is one of the largest surviving convict prisons in the world today".

For us the tour was an emotional rollercoaster.

It was difficult to imagine a world so brutal that it would subject human beings to the ordeal of transportation in despicable conditions on ramshackled vessels for months on end, then on arrival force them to live in stone cells, labour and toil all day on the task of 'building the new land' and brutally flog 'men' as young as 15 for the slightest misdemeanour.

Yet Fremantle reminds us that such brutality was commonplace at that time.

Considering that the the most common crime that led to transportation was petty theft or larceny, this was indeed a severe punishment to be sentenced to.

As emotionally charged as it may be, the Fremantle Prison Tour is certainly one that we would highly recommend.

Ours was well organised, detailed and sympathetic to the age range within the group.

There are many tours to choose from as well as talks, school events and exhibitions which may also be of interest. More information available on: https://fremantleprison.com.au/

Little Creatures Brewery 

After two hours on a Fremantle Convict prison tour we were SO glad that we had arranged to  meet our daughter and future son-in-law at one of their favourite Perth watering holes: the Little Creatures Brewery in Mews Rd. Fremantle. 

You can find out more about the Little Creatures Brewery on https://www.littlecreatures.co.uk/our-story, but in brief the Brewery started in 1999 with a group of friends who wanted to brew a "hop-driven Pale Ale with a distinctive aroma and delicious flavour".

Based on our experience of it in Fremantle and now also online in the UK, they totally succeeded in their quest. 

'This is a brewery built on Pale Ale", they state on their website. "So much so in fact, that it was designed specifically to brew in a certain way. Slowly, gently and patiently, our Pale Ale takes nearly six weeks to brew, ferment, bottle and condition".

"A huge shed (and former crocodile farm) on the water’s edge" in Fremantle was to become the home of this beer and the birthplace of Little Creatures Brewing.

Work began in 1999 and they "swung the doors open in late 2000".

By 2005, people in Fremantle were becoming Pale Ale aficionados so this was a good time for the team to expand their operation.

This led to their opening a new brewhouse next door in Fremantle and eventual expansion nationwide in Australia.

Little Creatures is now "proud to be a part of London's burgeoning craft beer scene". 

We managed to order some Little Creatures Pale Ale online in the UK during lockdown.

It definitely helped during those long, lonely weeks of seeing no one at all. 

Do try this beer if you get the chance, either online or at a craft beer pub that stocks it but if you can get to their brewery in Fremantle then that would certainly be the best place to sample it.