Friday, August 22, 2025
This morning we took the 35-minute train commute to Fremantle.
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| Kent waits to order breakfast at Squiffies |
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So many baked goods from which to choose:
a ginger date loaf |
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| An Australian classic pastry is the Vanilla Slice |
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| We boarded a Sealink ferry to Rottnest Island |
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Passed the Sail Training Ship (STS) Leeuwin II, which
had its masts collapse when a container ship collided
with it last year; still under repair |
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Arrived at Rottnest Island with Koora-
Yeye-Boordawan-Kalyakoorl/Past-Present-
Future-Forever (2021, by Sharyn Egan and
Jahne Rees) depicts a Noongar warrior
and breaching whale |
In 1696, Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh called the island "t Eylandt 't Rottenest/Rats' Nest Island" because of the creatures seen onshore. From 1838 to 1931, Rottnest Island was used as a prison and forced labour camp for over 3,600 Aboriginal people, who were subjected to extremely harsh conditions on the island. Other uses include as a military site, and as internment camps housing enemy aliens.
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| Holding Cell (c 1871) for in-transit prisoners |
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Pilot Boathouse (1846) for the boat used by the pilots
responsible for guiding ships into Fremantle Harbour |
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Pilot Crew Quarters (1846); the housing is now
used as tourist rental units |
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Does this look like a rat?
... it is a Setonix brachyurus/Quokka and they are hoppers |
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| Pilot Crew Kitchen (1867) |
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| Coxswain's Cottage (1871) |
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Jill and Joey/Mother and Child quokkas; these animals
survive on Rottnest Island where there are no natural predators |
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| Rottnest Island street scene (KSS) |
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| Pilots' Quarters (1847) |
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| Quokkas were everywhere |
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| Second Superintendent's House (1848) |
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| Military Barracks (1844) |
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Heritage Common with boys, a quokka, and two
Haematopus longirostris/Australian Pied Oystercatchers |
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| Quokka chewing on a leaf (KSS) |
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Lomas Cottage (1871) was built for a prisoner who may
have had connections to royalty as he was well-treated;
however, the cottage is named for an 1880s warder |
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Always Was, Always Will Be
(2020, by James Egan) (KSS) |
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| The Orchard with mulberry, olive, fig, and lemon trees |
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| Entrance to the Quod/Prison (1863-1865) |
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| Quokkas are just too cute! |
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| School and Chapel (1856-1857) (KSS) |
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Noongar Boodja/Man (2021,
by Nicole Mickle) (KSS) |
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| Dutark/Whiting (2025, by Shaun Chambers) |
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A Key Change for Lucy (2022,
by Greg James) (KSS)
|
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| The General Store (1863-1864) |
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Salt Store (btwn 1830-1880) for storing and
bagging salt taken from Pearce Lakes |
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Holy Trinity Church (1975, by Neil Gabriel
in Spanish Colonial style) |
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Governor's Residence (1858-1864, by Richard Jewell
in Victorian Gothic style) is now part of Hotel Rottnest |
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| Beach in front of Hotel Rottnest |
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| Eolophus roseicapilla/Galah (KSS) |
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| Settlement Railway Station (c 1905) |
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Oliver Hill Railway (est 1935 to service two military
9.2-inch coastal artillery guns, decommissioned in 1960s,
rebuilt 1993 as a tourist railway) |
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| We followed a 6.5 km/4-mile rail line to Oliver Hill Battery |
Next: Rottnest Island II.
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