PRE AND POST CONFERENCE TOURS

We are planning these optional pre and post conference tours for Thursday 9 and Sunday 12 November.
Some may be repeated both days subject to interest.

Discount Tours at Fremantle Prison
The Fremantle Chamber of Commerce has provided all conference delegates with vouchers offering a discount on the standard daytime tours (excluding tunnels tour):
Doing Time - Explore Fremantle Prison from its convict origins in the 1850’s until its closure as a maximum-security gaol in 1991.
Great Escape - Join our experienced guides to see where many daring and dangerous escapes were attempted by convicts and prisoners alike.

Fremantle Pub Tour
This historic and humorous walking tour of the city’s pubs and environs will examine the changing fortunes of the West End’s hostelries and illuminate the characters, villains and scandals of the city’s drinking holes against the backdrop of the Colonial and Federation buildings that spawned them.
The tour will end at one of the local establishments with the opportunity to continue socialising and to partake of refreshments (not included).
Date: Saturday 11 November 2006
Depart: Fremantle Town Hall
Time: 4.00pm - 7.00pm
Min: 5 Max: 10
Cost: $16.50 - includes the services of a guide, born and bred in the city.

Rottnest: Guardian of The Gate
Well known as a holiday resort with a history linked with the discovery and European settlement of Australia, Rottnest has also played a key role in the operations of the port at Fremantle and in the coastal defence of Australia.
Pilot services for the port were initially stationed at Rottnest and the first lighthouse was erected in the centre of the island in the mid nineteenth century. In the build up to World War II Rottnest’s strategic location for forward coastal defence led to the construction of military installations across the island including the Oliver Hill Battery with its two 9.2 inch diameter guns, a signal station, battery observation posts and the Kingstown Army Barracks.
Travelling by ferry to the island, this full day tour will provide an introduction to the main settlement and elements of its colonial infrastructure and Aboriginal Prison with an overview of conservation and interpretation issues in the settlement arguably the oldest intact colonial streetscape in Australia. A highlight of the day will be a train ride aboard the ‘Captain Hussey’, the self-propelled rail car named after Brigadier Frank Hussey who was involved with the construction of the railway to the Oliver Hill battery; an opportunity to examine the ongoing conservation work at the guns, and a tour of the underground tunnel system that forms part of Rottnest’s significant military heritage.
Date: Thursday 9 and Sunday 12 November
Depart/return: Victoria Quay, Fremantle
Time: 9.30am-4.30pm (arr. Victoria Quay 5pm)
Min: 20 Max: 40
Cost: $99 - includes return ferry fare; lunch; museum entrance and tour and transport costs across the island.

Midland Railway Workshops Tour
The Railway Workshops originally operated in Fremantle but moved to Midland in 1904 amongst much controversy and on the recommendation of the Western Australian Engineer-in-Chief, C Y O’Connor, the brilliant mastermind of the Fremantle harbour development. The workshops were the most substantial industrial complex established by the Western Australian government in the Federation period and until their closure in 1994 provided employment for many thousands of Western Australians, incubating the industrial skills that drove Western Australia’s development.
Participants will embark at Fremantle Railway Station and follow the same train line to Midland that many of the employees at the complex took each day. On reaching Midland, tour the substantial complex of industrial brick buildings with its extant machinery and remnants of industrial archaeology. Guides will be on hand to provide vivid insights into the fascinating social and industrial history of the place. After enjoying a home made morning tea in a restored railway carriage courtesy of Rail Heritage WA visit the interpretive centre and hear of the urban renewal project around the workshop’s historic core intended to revitalise central Midland.
The return train trip will allow participants to tour the historic river port of Guildford at their leisure or disembark at any point along the route via Perth to Fremantle.
Safety warning: This former industrial complex is a working site and flat, closed shoes must be worn.
Date: Thursday 9 and Sunday 12 November
Depart/return: Fremantle Train Station
Time: 9.00am-1.00pm (Train trip from Midland to Fremantle takes approx 1hr. Delegates can remain in Guildford and catch a train at their leisure)
Cost: $22 - includes train, morning tea, entry and tour guide.

Fremantle Indigenous Heritage Tour
In the body of Aboriginal beliefs, the fabulous creature that is the Wagyl or winged Rainbow Serpent inhabited the reaches of the Swan River and is attributed with the formation of the river bed when it slid through the sand with its huge body. Situated on the mouth of the Swan River, the port of Fremantle is part of the Dreaming trail in the area of Wagyl it is also an important site of Early European contact with indigenous people and is associated with the incarceration of Aboriginal prisoners on Rottnest Island.
Take a one hour walk in Fremantle with an Aboriginal (Nyoongar) guide, hear about the importance of Fremantle to the Nyoongar people and listen to the dreaming stories for the area. This walk provides a unique opportunity to learn about Fremantle’s Nyoongar heritage, their impressions of the arrival of the Europeans and how it affected their culture.
The tour leaves from the Fremantle Maritime Museum near the waterfront and winds its way through the city to the Round House before returning to the museum.
Date: Thursday 9 November and Sunday 12 November
Depart/return: WA Maritime Museum
Time: 1.00pm - 2.00pm
Min: 6
Cost: $16.50

Fremantle Heritage Walking Tour
Take a walk thorough the historic West End of Fremantle with local historian and author David Hutchinson and explore the history of the early port city. The walk will start at Arthur Head, the limestone headland at the end of High Street, and will follow the development of the port from the days of sail to steam. Early development of the port was focused to the south of Arthur Head around the Long Jetty at Bathers Beach and its associated Georgian and Victorian era warehouses and bonded stores. Following the construction of Fremantle Harbour in the late nineteenth century the focus of maritime development moved to the mouth of the Swan River to the north of Arthur Head. This area is rich in Federation era warehouses, shipping company offices and hotels.
Date: Thursday 9 November and Sunday 12 November
Depart/return: Round House, Arthur Head, Fremantle
Time: 10.00am-11.30am
Min: 4 Max: 20
Cost: $16.50

A man of statu(r)e: C Y O’Connor
The man of statu(r)e tour will highlight two of brilliant engineer C Y O’Connor’s major projects: the Fremantle Harbour and the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. The tour will travel from the ocean to the hills via the river. It will provide an insight into one of Western Australia’s (and possibly Australia’s) largest industrial heritage projects and give participants a feel for Perth itself.
The tour will start at the Pietro Porcelli statue of O’Connor at the entry to Fremantle Harbour. A brief tour of the quay will include remnants of the bar that O’Connor had removed to open the Swan River for shipping. This became a very controversial solution because of the impact on the indigenous dreaming story associated with the river.
The tour then moves to Mundaring Weir and No 1 Pump Station. As well as providing an opportunity to view No 1 Pump Station, background to the redevelopment of this award winning interpretation project and the National Trust’s Golden Pipeline Heritage Trail will be presented. In particular, issues relevant to the interpretation and conservation of industrial heritage sites will be explored. The Golden Pipeline follows the course of the water supply scheme completed in 1903 and still operating today. There are 25 sites on the 650 km journey to Kalgoorlie in WA’s eastern goldfields, which can be undertaken as a self-guided tour (see page 11).
A walk across the weir wall on the way to lunch at the Mundaring Weir Hotel will pass the second O’Connor statue, also by Pietro Porcelli.
The day ends at South Beach where O’Connor shot himself 10 months before the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme was completed. A poignant sculpture of O’Connor on his horse by Fremantle sculptor Tony Jones has been installed above the high water mark at the spot where O’Connor took his life.
The bus will return to Fremantle Harbour.
Date: Thursday 9 November and Sunday 12 November
Depart/return: Fremantle Harbour
Time: 9.00am-4.30pm (delegates can be dropped at the Perth airport by 3.00pm on the Sunday tour)
Min: 12 Max: 20
Cost: $55 - includes bus, morning tea and lunch, entry to No 1 Pump Station and tour guide.

Fremantle Inner Harbour - Boat Tour
Living heritage at the working port - Fremantle’s Inner Harbour has been a focus for Western Australian trade and shipping for more than 100 years.
The harbour was designed and built by Engineer-in-Chief CY O’Connor and opened on May 27 1897. It was recognised as State icon during Western Australia’s 175th Anniversary celebrations in 2004. The excellence of O’Connor’s design is reflected in the current wharf configuration which has changed little in more than a century, today efficiently accommodating modern shipping and cargo handling technology.
The Port of Fremantle, incorporating the Inner Harbour at Fremantle and the Outer Harbour at Kwinana, handles more than $18.3 billion in trade annually as the principal general cargo port for Western Australia. The Inner Harbour at Fremantle handles most of WA’s container trade and the Outer Harbour at Kwinana is one of Australia’s major bulk cargo ports.
Fremantle Ports, a State Government trading enterprise, is strategic port manager with a major role in trade facilitation. Ship scheduling, port communications, port planning and security are some of the services it provides. Maintaining port infrastructure such as shipping channels, cargo wharves, moles and seawalls, and road and rail infrastructure within the port area are among its other responsibilities.
The boat tour of the inner harbour will provide a close up look at the port operations and facilities with commentary on the wide range of activities that take place in the port area.
Date: Thursday 9 November only
Depart/return: Corkhill landing (near A Shed) on Victoria Quay
Time: 5.00pm (tour will take approximately 45 minutes).
Max: 50 persons
Cost: $33

Leighton Battery Heritage Site
WW2 Tunnels - The Leighton Battery on Buckland Hill in Mosman Park was an Examination Battery which formed part of the coast defences of Fremantle Fortress. Constructed in 1943 after the bombing of Darwin and Broome, it is unique in Australia as a wholly underground complex linking observation, ammunition supply, barrack spaces and guns.
The site remained an operational coast artillery unit until 1963 when it was abandoned. Conservation and interpretation by the Royal Australian Artillery Historical Society began in 1988 and is ongoing. Today the 300 metres of tunnels and command posts contain dioramas, soundscapes, exhibitions and displays of ammunition, ordnance and wartime living conditions.
Date: Sunday 12 November only
Depart/return: Fremantle Train Station (Boat Torque pick up shelter)
Time: 9.00am-12.00pm
Min: 20 Max: 40
Cost: $22

2 Day Margaret River Wine Experience
The Margaret River Wine Region offers a superb blend of indulgent experiences and stunning nature. This tour will suit wine enthusiasts, offering an afternoon of wine tasting whilst still enjoying the diversity of other attractions in the region. Enjoy tastings of locally produced cheese, wine and chocolate, explore caves, see eagles fly and visit Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse and the Busselton Jetty.
Date: Sunday 12 to Monday 13 November
Depart/return: Perth
Time: 7.00am Sunday to 9.30pm Monday
Cost: $445.00 per person twin share; $525.00 per person single room
Tour cost includes 1night standard motel accommodation and meals as specified. Transfers and touring are included as described.
Please note: Bookings for this tour must be made through the organisers of the 10th Cities and Ports International Conference in Sydney. For more information please contact the conference secretariat:
Phone: (02) 9254 5000    Fax: (02) 9251 3552    Email: enquiries@citiesandports2006.com

Pre or Post Touring
Western Australia is home to an extensive variety of landscapes and activities and a varied climate from north to south whatever the time of year. From the hot, red northern areas to the cool, green south, there is the option of joining a tour, from a one-day excursion to two weeks, for everyone.