Trip to Freo
Well as you know we like to catch trains and this time we were going to that ripper seaside village of Freo, and we left Jacko at home this time as he's now
getting to that grand old age of 17 where video games and sleeping-in starts to takes over.
Here are the boys at the World famous (well in Freo it is) John Curtin statue outside the Fremantle Town Hall, and what a fella was our John boy. For anyone who doesn't know, this fella was Australia's fourteenth Prime Minster and represented Fremantle in Parliament. He was the Leader of the Labor Party from 1935 to 1945, when two months into his leadership the Pacific War broke out when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Curtins addressed the nation on the radio, saying, "Men and women of Australia...we are at war with Japan. This is the gravest hour of our history. We Australians have imperishable traditions. We shall maintain them. We shall vindicate them. We shall hold this country and keep it as a citadel for the British-speaking race and as a place where civilisation will persist".
Sadly on the 5th of July 1945 just with the end of the war in sight, Curtins died of heart disease at The Lodge at the age of 60.
On our walks we like to have a gander at old Pubs... well when I say 'we' I actually mean yours truly, but wherever I go my pup's come with me and while walking past the old 'Rosie O'Grady's Hotel', I was shocked to see it's been shut and replaced with the Federal Hotel. It's a dam bugger to see old pubs shut down but at-least this one was replaced with another so that's not to bad. Rosie's was the first Pub me and the 'minster-for-war' stayed at when we traveled back from Caiguna way back in 1999, so it does hold some fun memories for the two of us but that's life and at-least it's not been shut down for good.
And we also look out for shops with our kiddies names on them, and we found one! Sarah's Lolly shop... well chop my legs off and call me shorty! You couldn't get a shop more closer to her heart then a bloody Lolly shop, and not only did we
find one but two! As we saw 'Nicks Place' which is a Greek Kebab shop...You Beauty, don't we all love a beaut Kebab after drinking a fair few amber fluids, so this place might come in handy in a few years when the kiddies get older.
And this is another place that might come in handy in a few more years time, as the idea of sitting inside sinking a few cold ones had crossed my mind once of twice!
Okay you might not be able to see this fella so good as the kiddies climbed all over him, but hes one of the fisherman statues that are around the 'Fishing Boat Harbour' just outside of Joe's fish shack.
And while your at Freo's Harbour you have to say G'day to an old Rock Legend... 'Bon Scott' the first lead singer of the legendary ACDC! I visit the statue each time were in Freo, so the kiddies don't forget a little piece of our cultural heritage!
And talking about old legends we bumped into my brother Phil! As Phil is lucky enough to live in Freo we had the chance to catch up with him in his home town, and have a wonder around the foreshore here we are at 'The Round House' on Arthur Head. Which was the first permanent building built in the Swan River Colony.... Fairdinkum it was built back in 1830 and is the oldest building still standing in Western Australia. It was a convict-built prison with eight cells and a jailer's residence, but over the years it has had many changes. Phil filled us in on some of it's history and walked us around to the other side (the Front), and show us this real amazing line drawing the 'Optical illusion artwork'...
How cool is that! Fairdinkum if you have the chance to walk down and have a gander at this line, then you have to give it a go.
As you can see from the street it looks like scraps of yellow paint all over different buildings, but if you walk up to the Round house you can see the full effect. Six large yellow ellipses that appear flat against the three-dimensional landscape rise up over the street... Pretty cool hay but it was that time of day, so we said our goodbyes and headed back to the train station for our ride back to Guildford.
