Arthur Head (also known as Arthur's Head) in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

, Western Australia, is a former large limestone headland on the southern side of the mouth of the Swan River, now also the entry to

Fremantle Harbour Fremantle Harbour is Western Australia's largest and busiest general cargo port and an important historical site. The inner harbour handles a large volume of sea containers, vehicle imports and livestock exports, cruise shipping and naval visits ...

. This location has also been referred to as ''Gaol Hill''. Historian Bob Reece identifies the geographical prominence of the location in his entry in the

Historical Encyclopedia of Western Australia The ''Historical Encyclopedia of Western Australia'' (HEWA) from the Centre for Western Australian History at the University of Western Australia was published in June 2009. Although work on it started in 2003, the idea within the university for ...

: Also the strategic quality of the head is noted as: It has been significantly altered since European settlement in the 1830s, and is the site of a large number of demolished structures. Archaeologist Michael Pearson in his 1984 report identified the following: * 1851 Lighthouse (first) * 1876 Lighthouse (second): in diameter, high; constructed by convicts in 1876–1879; decommissioned in 1902. * 1834 Courthouse (first) * 1840 Courthouse (second) * 1852 Police station complex * Lighthouse keeper quarters * Harbourmaster quarters The structures remaining on the head are the Round House, the second-oldest building in Western Australia after the

Wiebbe Hayes Stone Fort The Wiebbe Hayes Stone Fort on West Wallabi Island (also known as Wiebbe Hayes Island) is the oldest surviving European building in Australia and was built in 1629 by survivors of the shipwreck and massacre. West Wallabi Island is from the c ...

West Wallabi Island West Wallabi Island is an island in the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of mainland Australia. History West Wallabi Island was important in the story of the '' Batavia'' shipwreck and massacre. F ...

, and the pilots' cottages, all of which are heritage listed. Passing through Arthur Head is the Whalers Tunnel that enabled ease of access to

Bathers Beach, Fremantle Bathers Beach, also known as Whalers Beach, is a section of coastline that has a written history since the European settlement of what is now called Fremantle, Western Australia. In the 1890s it was bounded to the south by the Long and Short j ...

and the Long Jetty. A significant part of the Arthur Head area was utilised during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; the slipway constructed then for submarine repairs was known as the ''Arthurs Head Slipway''. PWD 8474

References

{{subject bar , auto=y , portal1=Western Australia , portal2=Modern history Fremantle Harbour Heritage places in Fremantle State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Fremantle