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Fremantle Stuff > Early Days: Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society

Fremantle Street Names

Kate Caldwell

Caldwell, Miss K[ate], 1931, 'Fremantle street names', Early Days, vol. 1, part 9: 45-57.

In the following record of names of streets which are in the Fremantle Municipality proper, exclusive of those in North and East Fremantle and the Melville and Fremantle Road Board districts, information is included which may not appear to have much relevance to the subject matter, as, for instance, salaries and hospital statistics. The idea, however, has been to preserve as accurate a record of the progress of the town as possible, and this information may be useful at a later date to make comparisons.

Such information as is official has been obtained from the early maps in the Titles Office through the courtesy of Mr. Ashley Cooper, the blue books of the Colony, and old records in the possession of the Chief Secretary's Department. Thanks are due to Mr. F. I. Bray for research into these records.

Unless corroborated, too much reliance cannot be placed on oral testimony, for life in the early days of the Colony was extremely casual, just as it is in the outback to-day. A family who arrived in 1829 had been living in the town for over 40 years, and were under the impression their address was Beach-street; in fact, their letters were addressed so. It was not until the Titles Act under the Torrens system came into force in 1874 and their property was registered, that they realised they had been living in Phillimore-street. In this connection it might be stated that Phillimore-street was not a continuation of Beach-street, Bay-street coming between. Before the Titles Act became law, many lots that had been abandoned were “jumped,” and in many cases when real owners of property came to register they found caveats had been lodged by creditors, in many cases hotelkeepers, for accounts long overdue.

Fremantle like most of the towns in Western Australia possesses valuable land, the ownership in which is reputed to have passed for a bottle of rum. This is as it may be, but the owners no doubt thought rightly that a bottle in the hand was worth two blocks in the bush, and that is all that most of the town was for many years. It was very little material comfort that the old settlers had, especially before the production to any extent of flour and other commodities in the Colony. (Even as late as 1890 tinned imported butter was in general use.) After paying rates on land for years, it was quite problematical if it would ever have any saleable value in the lifetime of the owners, so it was only natural they should say with Esau, “What profit shall this birthright do to me?” Hence it was bartered.

Thanks are due to Mr. Joseph Hope, of Hope and Klem, Perth, without whose help the compilation of much of this paper would have been impossible.

Following is an alphabetical list of the principal streets with information concerning their origin and other matters of interest:—

ADELAIDE—Queen Adelaide, consort of William IV., after whom the city of Adelaide was later named. This is one of the earliest streets, appearing in the survey of 1833.

ALMA—This street does not appear on the survey of the town in 1844, and did not come into existence until after the convict period, when the Convict Establishment (1855) and the Comptroller's residence, the Knowle, were built. Many of the pensioners who came out as guards on the convict ships would no doubt have seen military service in the Crimea, and from the Battle of Alma in that campaign (1854) the street would derive its name. The Knowle, which took up the greater portion of the northern side of the street, was later converted into an Old Men’s Depot, and when it was afterwards taken over as the Fremantle Public Hospital, the old men were removed to the Barracks (now the Immigrants’ Home) in South Terrace. Before October 25, 1897, when the first board was appointed, all that was in existence in Fremantle was a casualty hospital, the staff comprising a sister-in charge, two servants, and an orderly. In the report for the year 1895 the total of patients was 156, with a daily average of 18, and 17 deaths in the period under review. The hospital was under the supervision of Dr. A. R. Waylen, who is shown in the blue book as having paid it two surprise visits in 1894. He joined the service in March, 1859, and was appointed Colonial Surgeon for the Colony in August, 1872.

AMHERST—The Hon. J. G. H. Amherst was private secretary to the Governor, Sir Fred. Napier Broome, 1885-1889.

ARUNDEL—Edwd. Geo. Fitzalan Howard, first Baron Howard of Glossop (1818-1883), second son of the 13th Duke of Norfolk, was M.P. for Arundel in England from 1853 to 1863, losing his seat in the general election that year. Howard-street adjoins Arundel-street, thus making the connection. Between this street and Howard-street was situated the old water jetty. The Fremantle sea baths which were demolished in the early part of this century were built over the spot. Eastward of the jetty was a well and a pump house. The water was carried by a pipe to the jetty where it was put into casks and shipped on lighters to be transferred to overseas vessels anchored in the roads.

ASHBURTON TERRACE—The original owner of the land on which this street was made was Mr H. J. Higham. and Ashburton was the name of his station in the North-West.

ATTFIELD—-Dr. G. Attfleld was Imperial Surgeon between 1854 and 1879. He married a daughter of Surveyor-General Roe and died in England at an advanced age.

BANNISTER—Capt. T. Bannister was the buyer of the first allotment in Fremantle. He was an early explorer and at one time Government Resident in the town. On December 11, 1830, he set out with Mr. Smythe of the Surveyor-General's Department, and two servants to tramp to Albany via Kelmscott. They duly arrived on February 4, 1831. Bannister, near the Williams, bears his name.

BARNETT—Dr. H. C. Barnett, whose first Government appointment was in 1868, was appointed Superintendent of the Asylum in April, 1872, at a salary of £500. He was also Colonial Surgeon till 1895, when the office was abolished. At the same time he acted as District Registrar of Births. Deaths and Marriages. His private residence was on the cliff overlooking this street. Mr. J. K. Hitchcock in the History of Fremantle, mentions the belief that was never contradicted in Fremantle, that the doctor amputated his own leg when at sea. (He had come to the Colony as a ship’s surgeon.) What he himself did tell one of his patients was that he had had an accident when kangarooing, and the limb had had to be amputated. Some time later it appeared as if the limb were becoming gangrenous. He was then at York and the only medical man in the district, and, as the case was desperate, and he knew he would not be able to take the long rough journey by road to Perth, with the help of his man, and no doubt a local anaesthetic, he was able to cut off a further portion of the leg and thus arrest the mortification.

BATEMAN—The Bateman family arrived in 1830. John Bateman being the first postmaster at Fremantle. The firm of J. and W. Bateman, Ltd., general merchants, founded by his sons, is still in existence.

BEACH—This name is self-explanatory, as the street runs parallel with the shore of the river.

BEARD—Geo. Beard was Town Councillor from 1906 to 1909.

BELLEVUE—The origin of this street name is doubtful, but the short portion northward of Fothergill-street was originally called Higham-street, John Joseph Higham being one of the Town Councillors. His parents arrived in the Colony in 1853 and started business at the corner of High and Pakenham-streets on the block where the Bank of Adelaide at present stands. On the father’s death Mrs. M. Higham built on the block at the south-west corner of High and Market-streets, the property being still known as Higham’s Buildings. Previously it had been a vacant allotment covered with rushes and pools of water, whereto the ducks of the town used to repair for refreshment, and where also small boys used to search for eggs.

BLINCO—Henry Blinco was Chief Warder, Fremantle Prison. He was born in 1832, dying in 1907.

BRENNAN—John Chas. Brennan was a Town Councillor for many years.

BROOME—Sir Fred. Napier Broome was Governor from 1885 to 1889. The town of Broome in the North-West also bears his name.

BOSTOCK—The Rev. G. J. Bostock, B.A., Trinity Hall, Camb., came to Western Australia in 1858 with Bishop Hale and other clergy. His first parish was Gingin, from where he was transferred to Fremantle in 1860. There he remained till 1875 when he returned to England on account of ill-health. He became Rector of Kirby Wharfe, Yorkshire, and died there in 1888. While in Fremantle he built rooms for the Young Men’s and Women's Clubs alongside the old rectory in Cantonment-street.

BURT—Sir Arch. Paull Burt, of St. Kitt’s in the West Indies, succeeded Judge McFarland in February, 1861, later being appointed Chief Justice. He died in November, 1879. His son, Mr. Septimus Burt, a leading lawyer In Perth, became first Attorney-General under Responsible Government, the Forrest Ministry being in power. This position carried a salary of £1000 per annum. The street being named in the '70's, it would no doubt be in honour of the Chief Justice.

CADD—Frank Cadd, of F. Cadd, Ltd. (forwarding agents) was Mayor of the town, 1904-1906.

CANNING—This road leads to the Canning River and district, which were explored by Capt. Stirling and party in 1827, being named in honour of the great English statesman, Canning, who was Foreign Secretary at the time.

CANTONMENT—This street appears on Surveyor-General Roe's very earliest map, Cantonment-road being a continuation thereof and leading to the base of what was at first called Cantonment Hill (the hill on which very recently has been built the Signal Station). Owing to confusion, the name of Cantonment-road was changed to Queen Victoria-street. Letters are extant written from the Cantonment, Fremantle, but apparently nobody at present alive knows of the exact situation of the Cantonment. As the streets were surveyed before 1833 right out to the present junction of the Canning-road, it would seem to have been somewhere in that locality.

CARNAC—This street is on an elevation from which Carnac can be seen, and not the other islands. This may account for the name. Carnac Island (or Berthollet of the French) was named after Lieut. John Ruett Carnac of H.M. Frigate Success.

CARRINGTON—Possibly after Earl Carrington, a one-time Governor of New South Wales.

CENTRAL—This is the central street in what was known as Chester Park, but which is now Hilton Park. When the land was subdivided and put up for sale, a competition was held for a suitable name for the district, and this name was decided on as being most appropriate. The location would originally appear to have been granted to one McDermott. About 30 years later it came into the possession of Richard Davis, who after his arrival from England in 1853 had carried on the Half-way House at Point Walter. With the advent of steam, the boats were not using the canal, and it became silted up and the toll-house fell into disuse. He therefore removed to Bicton, and later to the Chester Park property, which he in turn sold to Chester. At the time of the subdivision it was owned by Simpson.

CHESTER—This street is not in Chester Park, but in the district originally called Chesterfield bounded by Douro-road, but it is named after the same family, who were very early settlers. At one time one of the sons carried on a butchering business in the town.

CHUDLEIGH—A town in Devonshire, the birthplace of ex-Councillor R. B. Carter, draper, of Fremantle.

CHURCH—The old cemetery in Alma-street used to be bounded on the west and south by Church-street, so called because the cemetery was vested in the Church of England for the public benefit. The Wesley Church also owned land therein, adjoining the Scots Church grant in Little Howard-street. Within the last few years, however, the north to south portion of the street has been altered to Brennan, in honour of Joseph Brennan, who was a Councillor for many years. The short section running downhill to Attfield-street still retains its original name.

CLARK—John McHenry Clark, a well-known draper of Fremantle, who lately retired to Kojonup, where he died. He was Mayor in 1899.

CLIFF—This street was built beside the face of Arthur Head cliff, which was afterwards much broken down by convict labour. One conjecture is that Arthur Head was probably named after Arthur Trimmer, a friend and fellow traveller with Sir Jas. Stirling. The Governor granted himself five acres on the head, but the Home Authorities promptly cancelled the grant and returned the land to the Crown. In the old maps a stone jetty appears at the river end of Cliff-street. Within living memory the only jetty that existed at that spot was the usual wooden structure with protecting railings, a tank being erected at the shore approach. On this tank a man was employed all day pumping water from the river (apparently windmills were non-existent). This salt water was afterwards distributed by carts on the streets. In the early days of the Colony, Phillimore-street which runs from Cliff to Market-streets was well below the high water mark of the river, but land was afterwards reclaimed by convict labour and the old railway station was built where the present Customs House stands, at the Cliff-street corner. It would, therefore, seem that this old stone jetty was existent in pre-convict days, and was a jetty in the literal meaning of the word, stones being thrown into the water, and a roadway made on the top. Nowadays, no doubt, we would call it a mole. This jetty was the point from which goods were shipped by way of the canal to Perth. Overseas vessels would land their cargoes by lighter at the sea jetties, and the Perth merchandise would be carted across to the river, where it would be put aboard boats built something like naval cutters, which were sailed or rowed when necessity demanded. To obviate a long, circuitous route round Freshwater Bay, a passage was cut through the spit at Point Walter, and a tollhouse erected on the beach on the Fremantle side of the point. General goods were, of course, carried, but it would appear that the carriage of casks of beer is all that some of the early residents seem to remember. The method of transport was decidedly primitive. The boats were sunk to the gunwales, and the full casks were rolled into place. They would no doubt float until baling was completed, when the boats would be deemed to be well and truly loaded. If the crews were compelled to row these boats, they must surely have been galley slaves. In Cliff-street between the property of Lionel Samson & Son and Marine Terrace was the grant of one Richard Maxworthy. He was a retired naval pensioner, having fought under Nelson at Trafalgar. Although he lost an arm in the service, he built a house on this land from salvage from the Lotus, on which he and his family arrived in October 1829, and also from wreckage of other vessels such as the Marquis of Anglesea (from which the two points—Marquis and Anglesea—on Arthur Head take their names). This house was afterwards blown down in a gale. In the early days there was a chain of pools connecting the promontory with the mainland, and in very rough weather it is said that the waves of the sea and river used to wash down Cliff-street. Maxworthy then moved to Leake-street, where he built an organ. He was a churchwarden of St. John's Church at the time of his departure for New South Wales in the 'fifties. About 1845, at the age of 16, his daughter married a man named Entwistle. In 1830, when a boy, this man had been sleeping with his father in the upper bunk of a hut at Melville, when natives killed the father, overlooking the boy. He had only been married a short length of time when one Sunday morning he went down with others aboard an American boat, as was the custom for the townsfolk to do in those days. This boat set sail without warning, and the Fremantle men were never heard of in the town again.

COLLIE—Dr. Alex. Collie, R.N., Surgeon of H.M.S. Sulphur, who. with Lieut. Preston explored the Collie and Preston Rivers. The Sulphur was careened at Garden Island, and Sulphur-town, near Careening Bay, is a reminder of this. Dr. Collie was afterwards Government Resident at Albany and Colonial Surgeon. He died in the Colony in 1835.

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CORAL—With Gold and Silver-streets this street was surveyed on the sub-division of a large block of land, the property of the late Sir Henry Briggs, President of the Legislative Council, who died in 1919. The names are apparently merely fancy, as the land was called Briggs’s Paddock, and was pure white sand covered with rushes. It certainly did not possess any mineral wealth.

CROKE—Capt. Croke, R.N., was Harbour Master in the '70’s. Croke Lane used to be called Dalgety-street (in fact, the sign has never been removed). The warehouse of Dalgety & Co. was at one time in that street, but owing to confusion with Dalgety-street in East Fremantle (a subdivision of the “Woodside” Estate of Wm. Dalgety Moore) the name was altered to Croke Lane.

CUREDALE—The land on which this street and the Grosvenor Hospital were built originally belonged to the Curedale family, but was lost by foreclosure to the Davies family. Geo. Davies the founder being born in 1776 and dying in 1853. Davies-street adjoins Curedale-street.

CONGDON—D. K. Congdon was one time Mayor of Fremantle. Congdon-street has now been altered to Chudleigh.

COODE—Sir John Coode reported on Fremantle Harbour.

DALE—Joseph Dale, Councillor 1910-1912.

DALEY—Bart. T. Daley, Councillor 1915-1925.

DAVIES—See Curedale-street.

DOURO—This road joined the termination of Wellington Terrace (now Marine Terrace). The Duke of Wellington was also Marquis of Douro after the battle of the passage of the Douro River in the Peninsular War.

EAST—East-street was the original eastern boundary of the town-site.

EDMUND—Sir Edmund R. Fremantle, a nephew of Sir Chas. Fremantle, the founder of the town, with whom he served as Flag Lieutenant from 1858 till 1861. Edmund-street follows Swanbourne-street, which is the name of the family seat of the Fremantles. Sir Edmund died in 1929 in his 93rd year. The portion of Edmund-street southward from South-street used to be called Marmion-street, but this name was discontinued when another street of the same name was made off East-street about the time of Responsible Government.

EDWARD—Edward-street joins Parry-street. Sir Wm. Edward Parry. See Parry-street.

ELDER—Elder Place was altered from Bay-street, the warehouse of Elder, Smith & Co. being in the street. Bay was derived from the fact that the street encircled Shoal Bay on the north of Willis’s or Ferry Point.

ELLEN—Ellen Mangles, of Woodbridge, Surrey, England, wife of Sir Jas. Stirling, the Governor.

ESSEX—With Norfolk and Suffolk-streets, this may perhaps have been named after the English county.

FAIRBAIRN—Robt. Fairbairn entered the Government service in 1859 and was made R.M. at Fremantle in 1886. The street was also called the Tramway, as a line used to run via Henderson-street to Marine Terrace and the Commissariat.

FIFTH AVENUE—This name is to some extent a misnomer, as it is not the fifth of any avenues or streets. At the time of the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York to the State in 1901, the owner of this land, one Simpson, decided to call it the Duke of York Estate, and it was later put on the market as such. The streets which were cut through were called York, Central Avenue and Fifth Avenue. The Duke of York became afterwards Geo. V.

FINNERTY—Major (later Colonel) Finnerty of the West Australian Pensioner Forces. He was in charge in 1876 when the Georgette endeavoured to obtain from the captain of the American vessel Catalpa the return of the escaped Fenian convicts.

FRANCISCO—Alex. Francisco was associated with Lionel Samson and Son. He later conducted a spirit merchant's business on his own account, and held the position of postmaster.

FORREST—Sir John Forrest, first Premier under Responsible Government.

FOTHERGILL—Originally John-street. E. H. Fothergill was Mayor of Fremantle in 1910.

GALLIPOLI—Occupation of the Gallipoli Peninsula by the British forces in 1915, Commemorating the landing of the Anzacs on April 25, 1915.

GALLOP—The Gallop family settled at Dalkeith, near Claremont, but were also old residents of Fremantle, the late Jas. Gallop building the King's Theatre.

GIBSON—F. E. Gibson was Mayor of Fremantle in 1920, 1922, 1927, 1931.

GREY—Henry Geo. Grey, Viscount Howick (1802-1894) afterwards Third Earl Grey, called also Lord Grey, Secretary of State for the Colonies 1846-1852 during the administration of Lord John Russell. Until the 'nineties Hay-street east of the Town Hall, Perth, was called Howick-street.

GOLD—See Coral-street.

HAMPTON—The Governor from 1862 till 1868 was John Stephen Hampton. He had previously been Comptroller of Convicts in Tasmania. His son, G. E. Hampton, was Acting Comptroller-General of the Fremantle Convict Establishment, and possibly Hampton-road is intended to perpetuate his name. Hampton-street lost its identity when the name was changed to Alexander-road, Laurence Alexander the Fremantle representative of Falk & Co., being Mayor in 1902. The postal authorities considering the name was being confused with Alexandra-road in East Fremantle, it became Wray-avenue. Wm. Wray, who had property in the street and was at one time with the Education Department as Truant Inspector, was Mayor in 1915-1918.

HARBOUR TRUST—This road leads alongside Harbour Trust property.

HEALY—This street leads to the property, “Winterfold," of John Healy, who died in 1898.

HENDERSON—Captain Henderson, R.E., arrived in the Scindian on June 1, 1850, in charge of the first batch of convicts. He built the Convict Establishment, which bears the inscription V.R. 1855, and also the warders' quarters in the street which bears his name.

HENRY—Second Lieut. John Henry, of H.M.S. Challenger, who explored the Canning River, Mt. Henry also bears his name.

HENVILLE—Sampson Henville, Councillor, 1908-1910.

HIGH—This street was named by Surveyor-General Roe, being the main street of the town, as was customary in English towns. It was not till the completion of the Town Hall in 1887 that the roadway was made eastward of William-street by convict labour. Previous to that the street was practically only a beaten track leading to Briggs's Boys' School (now Girton C. of E. College) erected in 1885. The boarders of this school used to stay in a house rented by the management at the corner of High and Queen-streets, now adjoining the Victoria Hall. It is still standing, and is one of the oldest occupied houses in Fremantle. Monument Hill in those days, although rocky, was a dense thicket of parrot-bush, but it was quickly cleared by the dwellers in Canvastown, which was established In the early days of the gold rush to the Colony, about 1894. and was situated to the east of the hill. These hessian houses had their day and ceased to be when the authorities were able to cope satisfactorily with the influx of population.

HILL—This street forms the southern boundary of Obelisk Hill, as it is designated in the early maps, although it was more familiarly known as Monument Hill. The surveying obelisk (similar to that on Buckland Hill) from which it took its name, was removed to allow for the erection of the Soldiers’ Memorial. These obelisks are said to have been erected as guides to shipping.

HOLDSWORTH—This was originally Doonan-street. Joseph Doonan was at one time Comptroller of the Prison, and J. Doonan & Sons were also storekeepers in Adelaide-street. Lionel Holdsworth, who had been a shipowner in Liverpool, owned a considerable amount of property in the vicinity, and the alteration of the name was made after his death in 1901. His sister-in-law, Miss Mary Oliver, who died at Teneriffe in 1904 on the way home to England, aged 89 years, was a picturesque figure in the town for many years, driving about in a low carriage with a coachman and two white ponies.

HOLLAND—Lord Holland, Secretary of State for the Colonies in the ’nineties.

HOPE—Dr. Jas. W. Hope was appointed Surgeon of the Fremantle Prison in 1886 at a salary of £100 per annum; and R.M.O. for the town in January, 1895, the salary being £300 and £80 drug allowance for Fremantle and £9 for Rottnest. He was further appointed Acting Superintendent of the Lunatic Asylum in November, 1897, with a salary of £250.

HOWARD—The streets in this locality run as follows from the centre of the town—Norfolk, Suffolk, Arundel, Howard, Russell, Grey, Lord (now Price). Lords Grey, Russel and Howard were all politicians during the administration of 1846-1852, Lord John Russell being Prime Minister. Edwd. Geo. Fitzalan Howard (1818-1883), on the death of his grandfather in 1842, became known as Lord Edward Howard. When Russell came into power in July, 1846, he was Vice-Chamberlain to the Queen and a P.C. till March, 1852. He was a Liberal and Roman Catholic, and an ardent worker for the Catholic Education Fund, for which he obtained £10,000 from his son-in-law the Marquis of Bute and £10,000 from the Duke of Norfolk, his nephew, giving at the same time £5,000 himself. His father Henry Charles (1791-1856), the 13th Duke of Norfolk, was also Master of the Horse during Russell’s term of office. It might be thought strange that if the streets were to perpetuate the names of particular Lords, the distinguishing name “Lord” did not come first in order of streets from High-street, as centre of the town. It must, however, be pointed out that these streets were not surveyed until the ’fifties, while the adjoining streets Norfolk and Suffolk had been in existence since 1833. It would therefore seem as if the early town planners had in mind the appropriateness of Arundel and Howard following on Norfolk and Suffolk, as the dukedoms of both these places have been held by the Howard family, whereas Arundel is one of their country seats.

HULBERT—Hulbert, Accountant, of the Smelting Works, lived here at one time, and the street took his name.

ISLAND—This street is in the sand drift between Rockingham-road and the sea, and forms the boundary on the south between the municipality and the road board district.

JAMES—Sir James Stirling, first Governor of the Colony. But for the intervention of the Park, Stirling-street, as originally surveyed, would join James-street.

JENKIN—Rev. J. G. Jenkin, of the South Fremantle Methodist Church, who was afterwards transferred to Adelaide. It was originally called By-the-sea-road, although it led to and not by the sea.

JOSEPHSON—Josephson. of McCleery & Josephson, who was said to be a Jew of high birth exiled from Russia for political reasons, built a row of three-storeyed houses in this street. In the very early days he kept a shop where the National Hotel now stands, but latterly his place of business was in Cliff-street.

KEEGAN—C. Keegan, Councillor, 1907-1912.

KNUTSFORD—This street is near Holland-street. Knutsford, the Cheshire town immortalised in “Cranford" was the birthplace of Lord Holland.

LEAKE—Geo. Leake, uncle of Geo. Walpole and Sir Luke Leake, was a storekeeper in the town in the early days. He was the first R.M. at Fremantle.

LEFROY—The whole of the Lefroy-road forms the northern boundary of the Lefroy Estate, which extended as far south as Lloyd-street. Hy. Maxwell Lefroy was Comptroller of the Fremantle Prison in the 'sixties.

LILLEY—Jas. Lilley was manager of the Adelaide S.S. Co. He established the first coastal service, which was afterwards purchased by this company.

LITTLE HOWARD—Continuation of Howard-street, q.v.

LOUISA—The property on which this street was built belonged to Capt. Owston and afterwards came into the possession of his step-son, Mr. Fred. Jones, who was with the Council for many years. On the subdivision family names were given to the streets.

LOUKES—Fred. S. Loukes, who was a councillor in 1905-1908, and died in 1919, lived here.

MALCOLM—Sir Malcolm Fraser, Comm, of Lands in old Government and later first Agent-General for Western Australia in London.

MANDURAH—Mandurah-road was the main entrance to the town from the south, being a continuation of South Terrace. Mandurah-road would be the natural route to Mandurah in the early days, and it undoubtedly was, but owing to the shifting sand dunes it was necessary to make a deviation at Douro-road and travel further inland. Less than 40 years ago there was a house and orchard east of Robb's Jetty, and now the site even is quite obliterated by the sand, which threatened to cover wholly the old Rockingham-road.

MANNING—The Manning Estate owned considerable property in Fremantle. C. A. Manning was a West Indian merchant who settled in the town, dying in 1869. He built Manning's Folly, lately demolished in Pakenham-street, to be a home for Indian officers on furlough.

MARDIE—This was originally a private street before it was taken over by the Council. The owner was called Mardie Simpson

MARINE—Marine Terrace from Anglesea Point (beside which was built the small jetty, now the Fish Market Jetty) to Essex-street, derives its name from its situation on the water front. Before the railway to Robb's Jetty (afterwards extended to Armadale) was laid down, the roadway, which was much higher than sea level, followed the line of the beach, and was protected by a high stone sea wall with a copine, which extended almost to Essex-street. From there a row of piles resisted the encroachments of the sea on the road, which from that street to South-street was named Fitzgerald Terrace. Capt. Fitzgerald, R.N., being Governor 1848-1853. The continuation to Douro-road is shown on the survey of 1844 as being in the suburban area, South-street representing the southern boundary of the town. It was named Wellington Terrace after the Great Duke. These last two names have since disappeared, and the whole south esplanade is now Marine Terrace. It was along this road that the camels were driven after disembarkation at the long jetty (now practically demolished, its jarrah piles having been used for cabinet-making purposes). A quarantine station for camels arriving by sea was established on 18th November, 1896, and before being sent to the goldfields the keepers used to camp

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with their animals on the site of what is now South Bead). It used to be considered the correct thing for all the children of the neighbourhood to repair thereto daily after school, and incense the Afghans by calling out "ooshta," which was the signal for the camels to kneel, whatever they might be doing at the moment.

MARKET—In J. S. Roe’s earliest survey this street is shown with Market Place at the present railway station end. No market apparently eventuated.

MARMION—Wm. Edward Marmion, born in Fremantle in 1845, died 1896, Minister for Crown Lands on the proclamation of Responsible Government.

MAXWELL—This street was in the Lefroy Estate, owned by Henry Maxwell Lefroy.

MINILYA—This is the southern continuation of Robinson-street, park lands intervening. The adjoining streets were also altered lately by the present Health Inspector, Mr. T. Smith, to Wongan, Nannine, Yalgoo, Wiluna, to avoid confusion, and with a view to perpetuating purely Western Australian names.

McCLEERY—The firm of McCleery & Josephson was in existence in the ’nineties as general merchants in premises which are still standing next door to the old Bank of New South Wales building in Cliff-street. John McCleery, who was the son of a Belfast surgeon and died in 1911, owned land near the street named after him in Beaconsfield.

McLAREN—F. J. McLaren was Mayor of Fremantle, 1912-1914. The name of this street was changed from Silas-street. Wm. Silas Pearse, son of Wm. Pearse, one of the first settlers in North Fremantle.

MONTGOMERY—W. Montgomery, of Montgomery & Co., drapers, was Mayor of Fremantle, 1919.

MORAN—C. J. Moran was Minister for Lands, 1906.

MOUAT—J. A. Mouat, Senr. Lieut. H.M.S. Challenger.

NAIRN—Major Wm. Nairn, original grantee of the land now known as Grass Valley, east of Northam. He belonged to the 46th Regiment.

NEWMAN—Edward Newman, of the firm of Carter & Co., whose premises were at tne corner of William-street, next to Detmold’s, was killed in 1872, this street being named in his honour. In 1870 he was member for Fremantle in the first elective Parliament.

NORFOLK—See Essex.

ONSLOW—Sir Alex. Onslow was appointed Chief Justice in 1883. He retired in 1901, returning to England.

ORD—Major-General Sir Harry St. George Ord, Governor 1877-1880. Ord-street originally ended at Hill-street, but either the name was euphonious or the surroundings so felicitous that the Council in its wisdom decided to annex that portion of Hampton-road from Hill-street to John-street, with a fine distant prospect of the gaol, and re-name it Ord-street. Governor Ord turned the first sod of the Fremantle to Guildford Railway in 1880.

PAGET—Dr. Owen Paget was Medical Officer for Health, 1912-1915.

PAKENHAM—H. Pakenham was Third Lieut. on H.M.S. Challenger

PARRY—Rear-Admiral Wm. Edward Parry, who was with Franklin in 1818 on his Arctic voyages, and afterwards Governor of Greenwich Hospital. Edward-street joins Parry-street and William-street is also in close proximity, but that was named after the reigning monarch.

PHILLIMORE—Possibly after Sir John Phillimore of the Royal Navy 1781-1840), who served during the Peninsular War. Streets were frequently named after officers with whom the Governor may have served at various times.

PILBARRA—The goldfield in the North-West.

POINT—Point-street led to Ferry Point, colloquially known as Willis's Point, from a south-easterly direction, a track leading down Market-street from the South-West. The present railway station is built on the base of the point, which is shown on the early maps as a comparatively broad piece of land, composed of undulating white sand and covered with bushes and a growth of rushes on the Shoal Bay beach, which was on the easterly side of the point. At the Market-street end there was a water-hole and swamp, and slightly further north a salt lagoon, dry in summer. The original ferry crossed the river from the point to Lukin’s Jetty, the approach from the North Fremantle shore being by way of Water-street, which led to Lukin-street. The North Wharf has since been built on the site. The land of Wm. Pearse was just to the west of the jetty, his son Silas being born there. The old homestead, called “the old house at home" was there for many years, although latterly unoccupied.

PRICE—This street was originally Lord-street, representing the title held by the persons after whom the adjoining streets were named (Grey, Russell, etc.). Shortly before the war the name was changed to Price in honour of Jas. Price, Minister for Works, 1910.

QUARRY—In the early days a stone quarry extended across the lower end of the Park between Ellen and Quarry-streets. Traces of this are still to be seen in the cliff at the Parry-street junction. There was also another freestone quarry on the eastern side of the North Fremantle traffic bridge. This was worked in the '60’s by prisoners in chains, dressed in clothing with alternate black and yellow stripes. They were called the chain gang, and were marched from the prison by way of a small gateway in the Hill-street wall (it is still to be seen) under a soldier guard, along the well-beaten track across the park, and then along the old Cantonment-road to the quarry

QUEEN; KING—Queen-street and the Queen's Square perpetuate the memory of Queen Adelaide, as they do not appear until the survey of 1833, although King’s Square was in existence earlier, in the time of Geo. IV. King’s Square has since disappeared, the land being alienated, and forming part of the triangle on which is built St. John’s Church and the Town Hall. The old church was built directly across High-street, and the town had to buy the land so that the street might be continued eastward, as evidently was the intention at the time of the original survey. The King honoured may have been Geo. IV., who did not die till June 26, 1830, and his death could not have been known in the Colony before September of that year. King-street, however, would seem to have been in honour of William IV, as the streets in the 1833 survey appear in the following order: King, William, Queen, Adelaide. Before 1844, when “a survey of Fremantle as marked on the ground” was taken, Queen and William-streets were both continued through the present Oval or earlier Barracks’ Green to the top of Church Hill (now called the Gaol Hill). King-street then ran from Queen-street and joined South Terrace somewhere near the present Alma-street junction, at a more acute angle, however, than is at present the case. When the town was re-surveyed in 1844, all the land between the Public Cemetery of four acres (since converted into the Alma-street children's playground) and the present Henderson-street was used exclusively for Crown purposes, and the Comptroller's residence, the Knowle (later the Old Men's Depot and now part of the Public Hospital) was built on the ground through which King-street used to pass.

QUEEN VICTORIA—This was originally known as Cantonment-road, but owing to confusion with the street of the same name, it was termed Victoria-road, which it retained for some years, and then, as there was also a Victoria-road in East Fremantle, to make assurance doubly sure, another change took place to Queen Victoria-street. After its many vicissitudes there is even a chance that it may yet get back to its early status of a road.

REUBEN—Reuben Johnson was an owner of property in Reubbn-street.

ROBINSON—Sir Wm. Fred. Cleaver Robinson was three times Governor of the Colony, 1876-1877, 1880-1883, 1890-1895. It was during his period of office that Responsible Government was proclaimed. Perth also has Robinson-avenue and Cleaver-street.

ROCKINGHAM—Rockingham-road led by way of the sea to Rockingham, named after the ship of that name which carried Peel’s ill-fated party, and which was wrecked on the beach in 1830. The present Main Roads Board route to Rockingham is a deviation from that route to some extent.

RUSSELL—Lord John Russell, son of the Duke of Bedford, who was Prime Minister when Queen Victoria was petitioned in 1849 to make the Colony a penal establishment. All the surrounding streets between Suffolk and South-streets were surveyed after the arrival of the convicts, when it became necessary to extend the townsite, pensioners having been given grants. Ticket-of-leave men also took up land, and thus the town grew.

SAMSON—Lionel Samson, who founded the firm of Lionel Samson & Son, was the buyer of one of the first lots in the town. His son, Wm. F. Samson, was Mayor in 1892-1893, and another son, Michael, held the position of Landing Surveyor and was also Mayor in 1906-1907.

SCOTT—Capt. Daniel Scott was the first Harbour Master.

SEA-VIEW—Although not near the sea, this name is self explanatory.

SHEPHERD—G. W. Shepherd was Town Treasurer and a Councillor, 1918-1931.

SHORT—Short-street does not appear as such till the survey of 1844. Bishop Short came over to consecrate St. John’s Church in 1848, and it doubtless has been named in his honour. It is certainly not the shortest street in the town, being the same length as Leake, which runs parallel.

SHUFFREY—Geo. Shuffrey, a prominent citizen of the town from 1890 till his death in 1920, lived in this street, which faces the women’s home, originally built for a Lunatic Asylum.

SINCLAIR—This was at first Trinity-street, .but was altered to perpetuate the name of Geo. Sinclair, of the Harbour and Lights Department, who lived there at one time.

SKINNER—Captain Skinner, of the West Australian Military Forces. This street originally ran from Cantonment-road to the southernmost boundary of the cemetery, but latterly the portion from Cantonment-road to Tuckfield-street was converted into Burt-street. This cemetery, which in February. 1931, was handed over to the City Council to convert into a reserve, was consecrated in 1852, being the second burial ground in the town. The Centenary History of Fremantle states that the oldest tombstone there is that of Lieut. Edward Colvin Oakes, of the 28th Bengal Infantry, who died on October 7, 1852. A tombstone, however, in a perfect state of preservation, in the very next grave records the death of Alice, second daughter of Captain Henry Wray, Royal Eng., who died on October 13, 1851, aged 15 months. This may merely be a cenotaph, as the child died at sea, and in any case interments in 1851 would have been made in what in later years was known as the Alma-street Cemetery,

SOLOMON—Elias Solomon, who was a merchant in the town, built a house in this street, where he lived. He was a Town Councillor and M.L.A. of the Colony, and also first member for Fremantle in the F'ederal House of Representatives. He was Mayor in 1889-1891.

SMITH—Thos. Smith, tailor of the town, Mayor. 1903.

SOUTH—South-street formed the southern boundary of the original town site, beyond which was the suburban area. South-lane was originally portion of Carnac-street (q. v.). South Mole is self explanatory. South Terrace takes its name from its direction. Practically all the land on the east of South Terrace, from Henderson-street to Little Howard-street, was Crown property, forming the western boundary of the convict area. When Presbyterianism was established in Fremantle in 1886, the Church was given a grant at the corner of Norfolk-street. together with 18 acres of glebe land at Bibra Lake, and a manse grant at the Alma-street corner. A warder’s cottage was demolished to allow for the building of the Scots’ Church in 1890, and the windows from the cottage were placed in a Mission Hall, used as a Government School, at Bibra Lake. This hall was afterwards blown down in a cyclone. The teacher of this school, a Mr. Warthwyke, was a finished musician, and he went to infinite pains to train the few children to sing. When the Rev. R. Hanlin was going on a trip to Scotland in 1892, they invited him out there, and he said it was then he first heard sung “God be with you till we meet again,” it being new to Australia at the time. He had a great affection for the school, and one year decided to holiday with his family in the district. To obtain milk for the children he used to set out every morning on horseback to the other side of the lake, with a bottle slung at his side, after the fashion of John Gilpin. The dairyman thought this was too arduous, so suggested he should take the cow across, as long as he took the calf with her. This was done, and the milking proved a source of joy to all the onlookers, as the calf much resented the milkmaid's interference, and there was a tussle every morning as to who would be served first.

STEPHEN—John Stephen Hampton, Governor. (See Hampton road.)

STOKES—Name of the original owners, who conducted a dairy here.

SUFFOLK—See Essex.

SWANBOURNE—Name of the family home of the Fremantle family. One of the members was raised to the peerage as Lord Cottesloe.

TAYLOR—Richard Taylor was for a long period an officer of the Council.

THOMAS—Captain John Thomas was the owner of the land and one of the pioneers of 1829.

TUCKFIELD—R. Tuckfield Goldsworthy, Colonial Secretary under Governor Broome in the ’80’s. Goldsworthy-road, Claremont is named after him

VICTORIA—The first wharf in the river, named the South Quay was opened on December 23, 1896. The name was afterwards altered to Victoria Quay to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen in 1897. Victoria Quay-road was opened at a much later date, and runs alongside the quay,

WATKINS—Archdeacon D. Glyn Watkins, of St. John’s Church, 1875-1905. This street formed portion of the Church Lands 'Estate.

WILKINSON—Cr. Wilkinson, Councillor and Town Treasurer, 1916-1923.

WILLIAM—King William IV.

WOOD—Barrington Wood was first Mayor of Fremantle. 1883-1885

WRAY—W. E. Wray, of the Fremantle Tramways Board was Mayor, 1915-1918.

WRIGHT—This is the name of one of the early pioneers of 1829.

YILGARN—Named after the goldfield.

YORK—This street formed part of the Duke of York Estate. (See Central and Fifth-avenues.)

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 25 July, 2020 and hosted at freotopia.org/earlydays/1/caldwell.html (it was last updated on 19 June, 2022). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.