Happy New Year to all. I spent Christmas festivities catching up with relatives in Perth that i hadn't seen in about 20years. Christmas Day started with a swim in the Indian ocean, followed by champagne on the beach and finished off with a traditional Irish Christmas dinner in 30C heat- fantastic!! In total I spent two weeks in Perth and on the West coast.
Perth does not have the same throughput of tourists as the East Coast does but i think it's well worth a visit. Top among my favourites is Fremantle prison. No longer in use, tourists replace the prisoners as they they are guided through the prison corridors and are regaled with stories of the many interesting inmates this gaol once held. A British forger was once imprisoned here for forging bank notes. On his release he was short of cash and began forging money again. Except for a very astute bank clerk he would have gotten away with it. On all notes, the queen' s head faces to the left but on his forged notes, the queen's head was facing in the wrong direction! He was returned to Fremantle for a further stint in gaol. Because he was such a talented artist the gaol supervisor asked him to decorate his cell wall in art- the Italian style art is still on view in his former cell and is really impressive. Another cell held an aboriginal prisoner who was also asked to decorate his wall with aboriginal art- the serpent depicted in this art is a fine example of aboriginal art. My favourite story relating to the gaol has an Irish association. Irishman John Boyle O'Reilly was shipped to Fremantle prison in 1868 because of his involvement in the Fenian movement back home. Early into his sentence he managed to escape and board an American ship bound for the States. He worked with other Irish sympathisers in America to raise funds to rescue several other Irish inmates still in Fremantle. These prisoners escaped from the gaol and boarded the 'Catalpa' but were pursued by Australian police. When the Catalpa reached international waters, it raised the American flag and warned the Australians that if they pursued them any further, they would be declaring war on America. With that the Australians swiftly retreated and the Catalpa sailed for America. Just outside Australind, a small town south of Perth, there is a plaque in memory of this Fenian.
Another must see in Perth, is the Perth Mint. Here all the Sydney 2000 Olympic medals were produced. Everyday the Mint hold a Gold pour demonstration- it's amazing to watch as the gold is heated to molten temperatures and then transformed into a solid gold bar.
Perth does not have the same throughput of tourists as the East Coast does but i think it's well worth a visit. Top among my favourites is Fremantle prison. No longer in use, tourists replace the prisoners as they they are guided through the prison corridors and are regaled with stories of the many interesting inmates this gaol once held. A British forger was once imprisoned here for forging bank notes. On his release he was short of cash and began forging money again. Except for a very astute bank clerk he would have gotten away with it. On all notes, the queen' s head faces to the left but on his forged notes, the queen's head was facing in the wrong direction! He was returned to Fremantle for a further stint in gaol. Because he was such a talented artist the gaol supervisor asked him to decorate his cell wall in art- the Italian style art is still on view in his former cell and is really impressive. Another cell held an aboriginal prisoner who was also asked to decorate his wall with aboriginal art- the serpent depicted in this art is a fine example of aboriginal art. My favourite story relating to the gaol has an Irish association. Irishman John Boyle O'Reilly was shipped to Fremantle prison in 1868 because of his involvement in the Fenian movement back home. Early into his sentence he managed to escape and board an American ship bound for the States. He worked with other Irish sympathisers in America to raise funds to rescue several other Irish inmates still in Fremantle. These prisoners escaped from the gaol and boarded the 'Catalpa' but were pursued by Australian police. When the Catalpa reached international waters, it raised the American flag and warned the Australians that if they pursued them any further, they would be declaring war on America. With that the Australians swiftly retreated and the Catalpa sailed for America. Just outside Australind, a small town south of Perth, there is a plaque in memory of this Fenian.
Another must see in Perth, is the Perth Mint. Here all the Sydney 2000 Olympic medals were produced. Everyday the Mint hold a Gold pour demonstration- it's amazing to watch as the gold is heated to molten temperatures and then transformed into a solid gold bar.
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