East Fremantle, Western Australia

Prior to European settlement, the Noongar people obtained food and drinking water from the river edges and open grassy areas. Shortly after the establishment of the Swan River Colony, a track linking Perth to Fremantle was documented through the area.

Initially, the area was dominated by agricultural activity, but after the 1890s gold rush, it became increasingly residential and suburban in character. The first area to develop was Plympton, in the southwest of the suburb, where workers' cottages were established largely between 1890-1910. Next were Woodside and Richmond in the south and north, which today contain many brick and tile homes dating from 1900-1940. The Preston Point area developed in the 1950s.^[3]

[edit] Geography

East Fremantle is bounded by the Swan River to the north and west, East Street to the southwest, Marmion Street to the south and Petra Street to the east.^[4]

At the ABS 2001 census, East Fremantle had a mostly middle-income white population of 6,093 people living in 2,938 dwellings, over half of which were detached houses on separate lots. The ABS identified education, property & business services, health & community services and retail as being the most common occupations of residents.

[edit] Facilities

East Fremantle is a residential suburb, relying on neighbourhood shopping centres in the area for daily needs, and Fremantle for other commercial services. The suburb contains a community centre, two small private hospitals and two primary schools. Each year in December, the suburb hosts the East Fremantle Festival in George Street, located in the historic district of Plympton.

The suburb contains the home ground of the East Fremantle Football Club.

[edit] Transport

East Fremantle contains the crossroads between Canning Highway and Stirling Highway. The suburb is served by a range of buses from Fremantle train station, by which residents can link to the CircleRoute and to the Perth CBD. All services are operated by the Public Transport Authority.

[edit] Politics

East Fremantle is an established suburb with two quite different booths - the southern half (East Fremantle PS), nearer Fremantle, strongly supports the Australian Labor Party and the Greens (~20%) at both federal and state elections; while the northern half (Richmond PS), alongside the Swan River, supports the more conservative Liberal Party at both levels of government.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ 2001 Census, Australian Bureau of Statistics
^ REIWA Suburb Profile
^ Town of East Fremantle (17 August 2004). History and Heritage. Retrieved on November 11, 2006.
^ 2006 StreetSmart directory, Department of Lands and Surveys, Perth.