Description of the attraction
The Round House is the oldest surviving building in Western Australia. Located at Cape Arthur Head in Fremantle. Recent research into the vicinity of the Round House for historical value has allowed Cape Arthur Head itself to be listed as a cultural heritage of the state of Western Australia.
The Round House was built in 1830 by local engineer Henry Willie Revely and was the first major building in the Swan River Colony. The building was built like a prison - with 8 cells and a room for a warden; all the rooms opened onto the courtyard. The Panopticon was chosen as a model - a type of circular prison with a room for a caretaker in the center, invented by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham.
Until 1886, the Round House was used for its intended purpose for prisoners from among the colonists and local aborigines. After the prison was taken over by the Penitentiary for Criminals (today known as Fremantle Prison), a small punishment cell was housed in the Round House. Only in 1900 the building turned into a residential building - the chief of police with his wife and ten children settled here.
At the end of the 19th century, an underground tunnel was built under the Round House, which made it possible to quickly get from the city to the beach and back. This was done by the whalers: when from the observation point at Cape Arthur Head they noticed a sea giant sailing by, the whalers through the tunnel could quickly find themselves on the shore at their boats and go in pursuit of prey.
In 1929, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the city, the Royal Historical Society of Western Australia placed a plaque on the wall of the Round House in recognition of the historical value of the site.
In 1982, the Round House came into the possession of the Fremantle City Council and was opened to the public shortly thereafter. Today, wedding corteges for photo shoots against the backdrop of colonial architecture like to come to the Round House.
