What ANZAC Day means to Fremantle
In the quiet, peaceful moments before dawn on 25 April each year, Australians come together to remember. Whether in spirit, in person or online, people gather to commemorate those who have served and fallen in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.
The first Anzac Day was held to honour the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in Gallipoli during World War I, including 849 Fremantle-based servicemen. More than 100 years later, this tradition continues to hold special significance for our port city.
A meaningful place for ANZACs
In late 1914, the ships HMAT Ascanius and Medic moored in Fremantle Port as they waited to join the first ANZAC convoy.
Fremantle was home to the 10th Light Horse Brigade. They were a unit of West Australian soldiers who had come from across the towns of the South West. After training in Northam they journeyed to Fremantle, camping along South Beach, before departing for Egypt.
3000 people and 280 horses boarded the ships. For many soldiers and sailors, Fremantle was their final Australian home, and the final place in Australia they would see.
Image credit: Fremantle Library History Centre
How to pay your respects this year
There are plenty of ways to pay your respects in Fremantle this Anzac Day:
- Dawn service
- Poppy installation at Walyalup Koort with artist Michael Alvares
- North Fremantle Community Service
- Anzac march
See how you can commemorate Anzac Day this year.
Other ways to honour our fallen
You’ll find numerous symbols of remembrance across the city, which honour the men and women who served. You might like to visit some of these Fremantle monuments:
- Statue of Air Commodore Sir Hugh “Hughie” Edwards | Find this bronze in Kings Square.
- Memorial Rose Garden | This garden on Preston Point Road, East Fremantle, includes a polished granite memorial, plaque and flagpole… and a time capsule buried in the foundation!
- Beaconsfield Primary School Remembrance Mural | A public artwork on Hale Street which honours graduates from the school who enlisted a century earlier.
- Army Museum of Western Australia | Explore the WWI gallery and see a significant collection of medals, including three Victoria Crosses awarded to Western Australians, at this Burt Street museum (Open Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays).
- Wadjemup / Rottnest Island | Just a short ferry ride away, reflect and mark this important day of remembrance with services on the foreshore of Thomson Bay: Dusk Service (Monday 24 April, 5.45pm) and Anzac Day Dawn Service (Tuesday 25 April, 6am).
Image credit: Duncan Barnes
