The Round House was the first permanent building built in the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just ''Swan River'', was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, an ...

. Constructed in late 1830 and opened in 1831, it is the second oldest surviving European building in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, after the Wiebbe Hayes Stone Fort on West Wallabi Island. It is located at Arthur 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 ...

, and recent heritage assessments and appraisals of the precinct of the Round House incorporate Arthur Head. This location also seems to have been referred to as ''Gaol Hill''.

Design and construction

It was designed by Henry Willey Reveley; construction commenced in 1830 and was completed on 18 January 1831. Intended as a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

, it had eight cells and a jailer's residence, all of which opened onto a central courtyard. The design was based on the

Panopticon The panopticon is a design of institutional building with an inbuilt system of control, originated by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. The concept is to allow all prisoners of an institution to be ...

, a kind of prison designed by philosopher

Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 4 February Dual dating, 1747/8 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.

5 February 1748 Old Style and New Style dates, N.S. 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

– 6 June 1832) was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer regarded as the founder of mo ...

. The Round House was built by Richard Lewis in partnership with W Manning and Duffield for £1,840. Work commenced in August 1830 and was complete in January 1831 for the cost of £1603/10/0, equivalent to in ; this lower cost was due to the builders being able to source the limestone locally. In 1833, a well was dug in the central compound. Reveley calculated that the depth of the well needed to be . The Fremantle Whaling Company in 1837 requested that a tunnel be dug through Arthur Head to

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

. As part of the agreement, they constructed a breakwater to protect shipping up to . The company paid for both the construction of the tunnel and the breakwater, with Reverley overseeing both. The tunnel was long and linked the Bathers Beach Whaling Station to High Street. It was constructed in five months and completed in January 1838. This rapid progress was possible because prisoners from the Round House were used and the rock, although load bearing and sound, was capable of being mined with a pickaxe. Today the tunnel is only long, as the cliffs were cut back some time after 1880.

Usage

The Round House was used for colonial and

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

prisoners until 1886, when control of the Convict Establishment prison (now

Fremantle Prison Fremantle Prison, sometimes referred to as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, is a former Australian prison and World Heritage Site in Fremantle, Western Australia. The site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottages, ...

) was transferred to the colony. After that, the Round House was used as a police lockup until 1900, when it became the living quarters for the chief constable and his family. The levelling of the entirety of Arthur's Head to use as material for the construction of the South Mole was suggested as early as 1894, with the removal of the Round House specifically from as early as 1903; again in 1929 unsuccessful suggestions were made to remove the Round House. In 1936, it was vested in the Fremantle Harbour Trust for preservation. A number of suggestions were put forth, including turning it into a museum, but these plans were interrupted by World War II. In 1966, the Port Authority opened the building to the public for two hours per day. Later, this attraction was run by the Western Australian Historical Society. The building was transferred to the

City of Fremantle The City of Fremantle is a local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the south of Perth, Western Australia. The City covers an area of , and lies about southwest of the Perth central business district. History ...

in 1982 and has been open daily since then.

Prisoners

* Yagan

Executions

The first person of European descent to be executed in colonial Western Australia was 15-year-old child

John Gavin John Gavin (born Juan Vincent Apablasa; April 8, 1931 – February 9, 2018) was an American actor and diplomat who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1971–1973), and the United States Ambassador to Mexico (1981–1986). Among the fil ...

. Gavin confessed to the murder of George Pollard and was held in the Round House until he was hanged on 6 April 1844 "on a gallows erected north of the Round House entrance." His body was buried south of the Round House.

Preservation

The Round House had a plaque placed by the

Royal Western Australian Historical Society Royal Western Australian Historical Society has for many decades been the main association for Western Australians to collectively work for adequate understanding and protection of the cultural heritage of Perth and Western Australia. History T ...

as part of the commemoration of historical sites in the

Western Australia centenary In 1929, Western Australia (WA) celebrated the centenary of the founding of Perth and the establishment of the Swan River Colony, the first permanent European settlement in WA. A variety of events were run in Perth, regional areas throughout the ...

year of 1929. However, in the 1940s and 1950s it was used as storage site, raising concerns about its condition as a result.

Tourist site

The Fremantle City Council took over responsibility for the Round House in 1982, and it was opened to the public shortly afterwards. It is operated by the Fremantle Volunteer Heritage Guides; entry is by donation. Special events at the location which require facilities incur costs.

Notes

References

External links

*
State Heritage Office entry for Round House and Arthur Head Reserve
{{WesternAustralianPrisons State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Fremantle Landmarks in Perth, Western Australia Tourist attractions in Perth, Western Australia Defunct prisons in Western Australia Prison museums in Australia Museums in Western Australia Centenary of Western Australia High Street, Fremantle 1830 establishments in Australia Heritage places in Fremantle Round buildings in Australia