Cantonment Hill, Fremantle
Cantonment Hill is a small rise overlooking the port city of Fremantle, Western Australia. Since the early 1900s the hill and the surrounding 4 hectares (9.9 acres) precinct has been mainly used for military purposes with extensive buildings now present. It has been under the control of the Department of Defence.
The area was originally known as Dwerda Weeardinup, or 'place of the Dingo Spirit' to local indigenous Noongar inhabitants.
The site includes the last remaining stand of pre-European settlement Rottnest Island Pine (Callitris preissii) on the mainland.[1]
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[edit] History
In 1892 it was gifted by the Crown to the City of Fremantle in perpetuity "for the purposes of a public garden".[1]
The Artllery Barracks in Burt Street were built on the site between 1910 and 1913 for Royal Australian Garrison Artillery, who manned the coastal defence batteries at Fort Arthur Head and Fort Forrest (North Fremantle).[2] During World War I the site was used as a rehabilitation hospital for injured soldiers returning from the Western Front and later as an internment camp and as a quarantine station.
During World War II further development at the site was undertaken, including construction of a tunnel network to an underground control room, and a large warehouse on the north-eastern side. This latter bears Navy insignia and the motto non sibi sed patriæ.
By the early 1950s, the property ceased to be used as military barracks but remained under Defence control. The artillery barracks buildings were used from 1948 onwards as a training venue for the Army Reserve and in 1995 the Army Museum of Western Australia moved to the site, where they currently remain. The barracks are the oldest continuously occupied defence site in Western Australia.
The Port of Fremantle constructed the existing signal station (pictured) in 1956.[3]
[edit] Return to public ownership
In 1989 the Department of Defence mooted plans to dispose of the property.[4] Options considered have been the sale of the property to Notre Dame University and a transfer to the Government of Western Australia by way of a Centenary of Federation of Australia gift from the Federal Government. Progress in negotiations was stalled however, as the parties have requested the Commonwealth to provide funding to reinstate the site to a usable condition—then Premier Geoff Gallop announced in September 2003 that the Government had formally declined the offer.
Since 1997, a community based Cantonment Hill Residents Action Group has lobbied for its return to the City according to the original gift and its restoration and retention as public property with full public access.
On the 21st of January, 2010, the Prime Minister announced that Cantonment Hill, including Tuckfield Oval, would be sold back to the people of Fremantle.[5] The Council will reportedly pay $76,000 for the land, and has plans to rehabilitate the vegetation and build walking paths and picnic facilities. The signal station will also be turned into a café and "Aboriginal interpretive centre". The handover is to be completed by March.[6][dated info]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Speech by Melissa Parke, Member for Fremantle (4 Dec 2008). "Cantonment Hill". openaustralia.org. http://www.openaustralia.org/debates/?id=2008-12-04.186.1. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
- ^ "Artillery Barracks". Army Museum of Western Australia. http://www.armymuseumwa.com.au/Artillery_Barracks_history.html. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ "Information Sheet - Fremantle Artillery Barracks Feasibility Study Project". City of Fremantle. http://www.fremantle.wa.gov.au/projects/resource/info_artillery_barracks.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- ^ "Proposal to Sell". Army museum of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 2008-07-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20080719042107/http://www.armymuseumwa.com.au/Barracks_sum.html#Proposal%20to%20sell. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd; Minister for Finance, Lindsay Tanner; Member for Fremantle, Melissa Parke (2010-01-21). "Cantonment Hill returned to the people of Fremantle". Australian Government. http://www.pm.gov.au/node/6426. Retrieved 2010-01-28.[dead link]
- ^ D'Anger, Jenny (2010-01-23). "Cantonment Hill victory for Freo". Fremantle Herald.
[edit] External links
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Coordinates: 32°2′37″S 115°45′19″E / 32.04361°S 115.75528°E
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