Although the place remains the same, Fremantle Prison - the people and their relationship with the Prison have been very different. Historically, these people include:

• Convicts
• Fenians
• Aboriginal people

In more recent history:

• Criminals - Multicultural mix including both Aboriginal and Caucasian
• Some notorious such as the Bernies, some innocent such as Beamish and Button
• There are also prison guards, administrators and people involved in the justice system
• Other people mentioned included victims of crime, prisoner families, social justice system and people involved in the every day running of the prison. (Its fingers stretch out across the state)

At this time we have the following people visiting the Prison site:

• Tourists (international and Australia)
• People that work in Fremantle Prison
• Professional people that have specific knowledge of the Prison
• Fremantle community
• And ourselves

The way each of these groups of people experience the Prison forms their relationship with it. The experience (although holistic) is multidimensional and layered with meanings. Some of the components that contribute to their sense of place include:

• Sensory (sight, smell, sound, touch)
• Emotional - (How does the space make you feel) Emotional meanings are dominant in our environmental experience
• Spiritual layer (Sense of something greater than yourself)
• Self identity - Understanding your role in the story

Understanding the sense of a place and what effect it has on people is an important design tool.

• Uncovering deeply held meanings and values enrich the creative process.
• Responding to the meaning of a place reinforces its unique character and
• reinforces the local identity
• Gives the design a 'human quality'
• Establish expectations of the users (many people describe Fremantle Prison as Dead - does this mean that a Quality of Life in a place as expressed through activity people and nature is preferred)
• Identify a sense of place for the future

There was a description of the Prison when people were living there — no matter how horrible it was — it was a community with every day activity. There were some people there who did not find Prison life to be intolerable.

There was some discussion about the buildings being derelict — and further discussion about whether 'derelict' buildings heightened visitors' sense of mystery/misery. The empty, dead and derelict character of the Prison is actually artificial — however it is a very effective tool to engage visitors/ tourists with.

In making a 'prison precinct' — if a variety of uses were found for each of the different areas, they would be integrated, gates open etc.

Conservation is very important across the site and should not be isolated to 'key areas'.

A summary of the discussion follows:

• Sensory triggers are very important in interpretation - eg sound, smell, touch, sight
• The idea of creating false horror should not be considered in the future
• Important to get more people into the site
• It will be important to achieve an integration in what is done in the future and the history of the place
• People can draw their own conclusions from the site — it will mean different things to different people
• There are layers of history
• The future forms part of the site's history
• It will be important to integrate the Prison site back into the City through events and suchlike.

 

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© Fremantle Prison 2002