Charlie's WorldFremantle
I love Fremantle. It’s the closest thing to a town with charm here.
For all the beauty and space and cleanliness of Western Australia, its all a bit new, which means that most places near here are modern and somewhat lacking in character. Ok, totally lacking in character.
Perth is the same, most of it is pretty new, and the bits that are older have been somewhat overwhelmed by the modern stuff. Shame really, I’ve seen some pictures of the city in the 50’s and it had all the charm of Fremantle.
Freo though, is dripping with character, full of cafes and trendy restaurants which is probably why its expensive and popular. It also has the oldest building still standing in Western Australia – the Roundhouse, which was built in 1850, just to give you an idea how new this place actually is.
A lot of the buildings in middle of Fremantle date from the turn of the century 1900 – 1910 ish and, thanks to some quirk of planning fate, has been largely spared the urban demolition of the 60’s and 70’s which has rendered so many other cities in slab like concrete.
So I met up with a couple of friends for a photo wander after work, just because. Enjoy.
Oh, and apparently, I shoot in portrait mode most of the time, so this post is a little long 😉
Charlie's World 
Nice photos. Reminds me how attractive it was and we shall be back to see it at the end of the year. As you said, no modern concrete slabs. It has maintained an aura of charm.
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Hey mumma – yeah, I like Freo – there are some concrete bits (around the car parks and a few of the bigger stores) but it’s managed to preserve a lot of the good bits – theres a lot of restoration going on too, so its going to be like that for a while.
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I love that bookstore you shot from the outside. It rocks. Freo is definitely one of (if not “the”) the most interesting bits of Perth metro around. Shame so much of this character was erased from the other parts of the city.
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New Edition – my absolute favourite – I could (and have) spent a fortune in there!! Perth’s character is still there, but it’s so squeezed by the modern city. A lot of the older building façades are still preserved, but you have to look up at them – all evidence has been erased from head height.
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I’ve never heard of this place and I can’t understand why I haven’t because it is a beautiful place. I love the photos you took.. and the punch of color. Excellent. I have to put this place on my list.
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Fremantle is effectively the port for Perth, but it’s a fair way away from Perth though and as such, is still very much it’s own place. The best thing about it are the indoor markets and the cafe strip which has the best places to hang out and people watch.. Definitely a place to hang around for a few days on your way up or down the coast..
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