Queen Victoria Street is the main road entering the city centre of

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 from the direction of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. The road was originally named Cantonment Road, but was subsequently renamed Victoria Road, and a few years later Queen Victoria Street, after

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

of the United Kingdom, to avoid confusion with similarly named roads in the area. Due to its proximity to

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 vis ...

it has at times had very heavy traffic.

Route description

The road's northern terminus, as well as that of State Route 12, is at a traffic light controlled with Stirling Highway in . The next major intersection, south, is with Tydeman Road, which leads to Fremantle Port to the west, and to the residential area of North Fremantle to the east. After another , the road reaches the Fremantle Traffic Bridge which crosses the Swan River. On the south side of the river, the road meets

Canning Highway Canning Highway is an arterial road in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner Perth suburb of Victoria Park in the north-east, to the port city of Fremantle in the south-west. The road is mostly a four-lane divided carriageway, with a ge ...

, and turns south-west towards the centre of Fremantle. After travelling south-west, State Route 12 leaves Queen Victoria Street, heading down James Street towards . The remaining of Queen Victoria Street does not have a route allocation, and the road ends at its intersection with Parry Street. Adelaide Street continues south-west from that intersection, to

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

Crossing the Swan River

In the 1830s ferries operated on the Swan River, including from North Fremantle and from Preston Point, further up the river. The North Fremantle ferry only transported people and luggage, whilst the Preston Point ferry also transported livestock. There also existed a capstan, but only the base remains, which is known as the ''Ferry Capstan Base''. There is no clear evidence of the construction date or usage, however there are accounts of it pulling a dredger and barges up the river, via a rope connected to a winch in the capstan. The accounts vary as to how it was powered, either by convicts or animals pushing an iron bar to rotate the capstan, which was centred on a vertical axle. There have been four different bridges at this location since the 1860s, the first of which was a timber bridge was constructed between 1863 and 1867, using convict labour. The second bridge was constructed between 1896 and 1898 downstream of the existing bridge. Whilst wider and stronger, it was only intended to be a temporary structure while the old bridge was removed and replaced. However, no construction or demolition works occurred until 10 years later, with the old bridge left for pedestrians. The third bridge was a renovation of the original bridge, which had its deck replaced, new support piles added, and existing piles modified. The previous bridge was demolished after this bridge, which also catered for trams, was opened in 1909. The current structure, which opened on 15 December 1939, was also only intended to be used for a few years, but has remained in service since then, with major strengthening and repair works carried out in 1978 and 1982.

Street features

The street was the main street of the former

Town of North Fremantle The Town of North Fremantle was a local government area in metropolitan Perth across the Swan River from Fremantle. History On 13 September 1895, the Municipality of North Fremantle was declared. On 1 July 1961, it became a Town following e ...

(1895–1961). The North Fremantle war memorial and the former North Fremantle Town Hall are located on the street. Two bars are also located on the north side of the river along Queen Victoria Street: Mojo's Bar and the Swan Hotel, which has been on the street for over 100 years. In 2011, Queen Victoria Street underwent road works to improve traffic accommodation and the amenity of the area.

Major intersections

* Stirling Highway (State Route 5) – to

* Tydeman Road – to

Sunset Coast Sunset Coast is the name given by Tourism Western Australia to the coastal section of the northern metropolitan area of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, and is one of the six component tourism precincts of the Perth region. While not ...

Tourist Drive 204 *

(State Route 6) – to

East Fremantle East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

, Bicton and

Applecross Applecross ( gd, A' Chomraich) is a peninsula north-west of Kyle of Lochalsh in the council area of Highland, Scotland. The name Applecross is at least 1,300 years old and is ''not'' used locally to refer to the 19th century village (which is ...

* Beach Street – to

Fremantle railway station Fremantle railway station is the terminus of Transperth's Fremantle line in Western Australia. History The original Fremantle station opened in Cliff Street on 1 March 1881 as the terminus of the Eastern Railway to Guildford via Perth. As ...

* James Street (State Route 12 south-east) – via Ord Street and

Hampton Road Hampton Road is the main road entering the City of Fremantle from the south. It is named after John Stephen Hampton, the Governor of Western Australia from 1862 to 1868. It continues into Ord Street at the north east corner of Fremantle Priso ...

to South Fremantle, Hamilton Hill and Spearwood * Parry Street (north-west and south-east) / Adelaide Street (south-west) – to Fremantle city centre

References

;Route description * * {{WA road routes , route=State Route 12 , shield={{AUshield, S, 12 , roads={{WA road routes/R, 12 Streets in Fremantle Articles containing video clips