Victoria Quay, Fremantle

Parent Place or Precinct

22531 INNER HARBOUR

Child Places

• 00853 CY O'Connor Memorial
• 20055 Fremantle Harbour Trust New Administration Building
• 03483 E Shed
• 19954 Fremantle Lighthouse, South Mole, Arthur Head
• 01028 Wharf Buildings
• 05603 Babcock Wilcox Luffing Crane (3-ton)
• 00853 CY O'Connor Memorial
• 20647 SOUTH MOLE LIGHTHOUSE
• 20647 SOUTH MOLE LIGHTHOUSE
• 20647 SOUTH MOLE LIGHTHOUSE

Statement of Significance

Victoria Quay, Fremantle has national significance as the first landfall and entry point for tens of thousands of migrants to Australia, as well as travelling Australians and members of the armed services; Victoria Quay, Fremantle is representative of the development pattern of Australian harbours and has national significance as a mostly intact, industrial landscape that remains connected to a working port; Victoria Quay, Fremantle, valued by special interest groups, the local community and wider public for its port and river related activities and cultural facilities, contributes to the identity of Fremantle and in particular the city’s West End; The establishment of the Harbour and associated facilities at Fremantle led to Fremantle's emergence over Albany as the State's premier port and facilitated economic growth through improved trade and communications for industry, commerce and agriculture; Both individually and collectively, the buildings and structures on Victoria Quay, Fremantle display complex and striking aesthetic characteristics, and form groups of related buildings within the larger industrial precinct. The buildings and structures reflect the various phases of Western Australia's development from the late 1800s; Victoria Quay, Fremantle provides important evidence of Federal Government immigration policies, and of the role of immigration in developing Australia’s economy and increasing the population throughout the twentieth century; the place is associated with the changing character of Australian immigration from 1906, which contributed to the development of Australia’s multicultural society; the innovative wharf structure exhibits a high degree of engineering accomplishment and technical proficiency; Victoria Quay, Fremantle has associations with a number of individuals and groups, including its designer, C. Y. O'Connor, its construction workforce, State and Federal politician Lord John Forrest, sculptor P. G. Porcelli, Immigration Officer A. O. Neville, and the Public Works Department; Victoria Quay, Fremantle is associated with the maritime workers who have been employed at the place and demonstrates changing attitudes to industrial relations. It was also the site of the 'Bloody Sunday' battle between police forces and waterside workers over working conditions in May 1919; Victoria Quay, Fremantle played a major role in Australia's defence operations during World War II, with Australian, American, British and Dutch wartime service groups operating from the Quay. Many structures from this period remain; Victoria Quay, Fremantle is a major archaeological resource as the development of Victoria Quay, Fremantle necessitated reclamation works, rapid construction and subsequent recycling and replacement of buildings as the operational needs of the port developed; Victoria Quay, Fremantle is valued by the general community as the main port, once the only port, connecting the mainland with Wadjemup/Rottnest Island; and, Victoria Quay, Fremantle is a significant element in the wider precincts of the West End of Fremantle, Fremantle Harbour and the mouth of the Swan River. Victoria Quay, Fremantle is linked to these areas through visual, functional and historic associations.

Physical Description

Victoria Quay, Fremantle, (1829+) is a landmark industrial urban landscape comprising a wharf structure (1897) with berths, transit and work sheds, jetties and slipways, and associated South Mole (1894) and Inner Harbour, and the WA Maritime Museum (2002).

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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