Downtown

“Otherwise known as the first stage of musician John Butler and the birthplace of West Australian alfresco dining—which kicked off on the South Terrace Cappuccino Strip in 1977—Downtown is about as quintessentially Fremantle as it gets.” 

Bordering the heritage-laden West End, East End, Fishing Boat Harbour, Wray Avenue, and South Fremantle neighbourhoods with the city’s Convict Quarter nestled in its heart, history converges on all sides Downtown.

Opened in 1881, it’s through Fremantle Bus & Train Station’s classic Federation-era arches that visitors, workers, and students alike get their first glimpse of the Downtown streetscape, and the city’s importance as a major port during the 19th century gold rush.

Once on Market Street, the quaint shopfronts, restored warehouses, and upstairs offices that line the laneways and streets host a hive of modern-day activity, but dig a little deeper and daring tales of convict escapes, shipwrecks, and gold rush era riches come to the surface.

Keep walking and you’ll hit Fremantle’s famous South Terrace Cappuccino Strip, where Nunzio Gumina applied for (and got) the city’s very first al fresco dining license in 1977 for Old Papa’s café (now Grill’d).

Opposite the old Fremantle Technical College you’ll find the iconic Fremantle Markets. Dating back to 1897 and still housed in one of only two surviving municipal market buildings in WA, the market boasts more than 150 stalls and is considered a must for locals and tourists alike.

Head down Essex street and you’ll find the former Port Mill, now Whisper Wine Bar, built in 1862 to mill flour for the Swan River colony, while a right at the end of the street to walk along Marine Terrace will take you to the Esplanade Hotel’s Ball & Chain bar, one of the township’s first established pubs after the completion of Fremantle Prison meant it was no longer needed to house convicts. Step inside for a beer and see how you measure up against the mugshot wall.