Fremantle Prison is a former
Australian prison and
World Heritage Site in
Fremantle, Western Australia. The six-hectare (15-acre) site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottages, and tunnels. Constructed between 1851 and 1859 using
convict labour, the prison was initially used for
convicts transported from Britain, but was transferred to the colonial government in 1886 for use for locally-sentenced prisoners. Decades of prisoner discontent, culminating in
a 1988 riot that saw guards taken hostage and a fire cause $1.8 million worth of damage, led to the prison being closed in 1991. Since then, Fremantle Prison has been conserved as a heritage and tourism site, and various restoration works have been undertaken.
Photograph: Iwelam