Fremantle Prison officially opened in 1856 and closed in 1991. During its time as a prison 43 men and 1 woman were executed at its gallows by hanging. A further several died within its walls due to accidents or other reasons.
The last person to be hanged at the prison was Edgar Eric Cook, the Perth serial killer, in 1964.
The entire complex was built by convict labor, among many other buildings (eg. Fremantle Asylum and parts of the Fremantle Hospital).
All together 9501 convicts made it to Western Australia alive between 1850 (the first shipment of 75 men aboard the Indiaman scandian) and 1868 (the last convict ship carrying 280 men was the Hougoumont on the 9th January). Among its countless "guests" was the infamous Moondyne Joe who started off as a petty criminal then his numerous escapes saw him spending most of his life behind bars. It is an interesting fact that he died of old age in the Fremantle Asylum
In the early days prison cells were tiny, overcrowding, no sanitation, violence was a common occurrence until the early 1920s when they started to separate hard core criminals and habitual offenders from those of petty crime.
Between 1940 and 1946 the Australian Army set up camp in the prison using it as a detention centre for military personnel.
In 1988 a riot broke out at Fremantle prison causing extensive fire and water damage to sections of the building.
In 1991 the prison was officially closed and inmates transferred to the new Casuarina maximum security complex.
Today Fremantle Prison is open to visitors for guided tours day and night.
As with most places activity is at its strongest at night time. There are several reported encounters from visitors and guards alike, especially around solitary cells at death row, the gallows and the corridors.
At the time of us visiting the prison a guard recalled the event of the "flying pan lid" where an item was thrown across a cell one night by "invisible hands". The general feeling of hopelessness, dread and someone following you stays with you while in the complex.
We detected apparitions, cold spots, sounds and smells and that's just the day time.
