The Fremantle Passenger Terminal was built on Victoria Quay,

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 ...

in 1960–62, The construction replaced the former cargo sheds located at the site of construction. It was opened in time for arrival of competitors for the Empire Games in 1962. The terminal is the largest in Australia and is the only passenger terminal in Australia capable of berthing two

cruise liners Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "sho ...

simultaneously.

Significance

In 2000 the building was permanently listed on the

State Register of Heritage Places The State Register of Heritage Places is the heritage register of historic sites in Western Australia deemed significant at the state level by the Heritage Council of Western Australia. History In the 1970s, following its establishment of the ...

, was classified by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

in 2001, and was also registered on the former

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

. Its 50th anniversary was celebrated in 2010.

History

Since its construction,

Fremantle Harbour Fremantle Harbour is Western Australia's largest and busiest general cargo port and an important historical site. The inner harbour handles a large volume of sea containers, vehicle imports and livestock exports, cruise shipping and naval vi ...

has been the major port of call for vessels of all types, including ocean liners bringing migrants and tourists to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. In the 1950s the Fremantle Port Authority recognised the need to improve the facilities for processing arrivals as the post World War II immigration policy was seeing large number of migrants arriving in Fremantle. The arrivals were being processed in sheds and offices on Victoria Quay, so it was decided to build dedicated facilities. The planning, which commenced in 1957, considered the future needs of the port, so designed a facility capable of processing two ocean liners simultaneously. Hobbs, Winning and Leighton was the architectural firm that designed the building in the post war international style, with AT Brine & Sons and the Fremantle Harbour Trust commencing construction in 1958. The first stage F shed was opened by Premier

David Brand Sir David Brand KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1945 to 1975, and also the 19th and longest-serving Prem ...

in December 1960. The SS ''Oriana'' on its maiden voyage was the first vessel to berth at the new terminal. Between the opening of the first stage and the opening of the second stage G shed in May 1962 over 250,000 passengers passed through the terminal. In the 2000s, as ocean pleasure cruises became more popular it was briefly designated as the ''Fremantle Cruise Terminal''. After receiving criticism from

Carnival Cruise Line Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue color scheme. This ...

at the outdated state of the terminal in early 2017, the building received an upgrade and refurbishment which was completed in January 2019.

Events

At various stages the terminal has been utilised for events.

References

External links

"Freo... way to go for cruising"
– article by Niall McIlroy in ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'' about boarding a cruise ship at Fremantle Passenger Terminal {{Australian cruise terminals Buildings and structures in Fremantle Fremantle Harbour Passenger ship terminals State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Fremantle 1960 establishments in Australia