Arthur Head (also known as Arthur's Head) in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, Western Australia, is a former large limestone headland on the southern side of the mouth of the Swan River, now also the entry to Fremantle Harbour. Historian Bob Reece identifies the geographical prominence of the location in his entry in the

Historical Encyclopedia of Western Australia The ''Historical Encyclopedia of Western Australia'' (HEWA) from the Centre for Western Australian History at the University of Western Australia was published in June 2009. Although work on it started in 2003, the idea within the university for ...

: Also the strategic quality of the head is noted as:

In May 1829 the strategic location of Arthur Head led it being chosen by Captain Charles Fremantle RN as the site for his fortified beach camp.

It has been significantly altered since European settlement in the 1830s, and is the site of a large number of demolished structures. Archaeologist Michael Pearson in his 1984 report identified the following: * 1851 Lighthouse (first) * 1876 Lighthouse (second): in diameter, high; constructed by convicts in 1876–1879; decommissioned in 1902. * 1834 Courthouse (first) * 1840 Courthouse (second) * 1852 Police station complex * Lighthouse keeper quarters * Harbourmaster quarters The structures remaining on the head are the Round House, the oldest remaining building in Western Australia, and the pilots' cottages, all of which are heritage listed. Passing through Arthur Head is the Whalers Tunnel that enabled ease of access to

Bathers Beach, Fremantle Bathers Beach, also known as Whalers Beach, is a section of coastline that has a written history since the European settlement of what is now called Fremantle, Western Australia. In the 1930s and 1940s it was called City Beach. The water offsh ...

and the

Long Jetty Long Jetty is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located on a peninsula between Tuggerah Lake and the Pacific Ocean south of The Entrance. It is part of the local government area. The only street in The En ...

. A significant part of the Arthur Head area was utilised during World War II; the slipway constructed then for submarine repairs was known as the Arthurs Head Slipway. PWD 8474

Notes

{{clear Fremantle Harbour Heritage places in Fremantle State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Fremantle