On sunday my family and I went to fremantle, and as always I have a few pictures of myself from the day! We were in a park at the time.
Whilst in Fremanle we went to the Fremantle Prison. I have been there once before with school on a photography excursion but this time we had a tour guide and it was a lot more interesting. Above there is a few pictures I took from inside the prison.
I want to explain the photos starting from the left and working across to the right.
1. The view of one of the corridoors, looks so lonely...can you even imagine there was 1000+ prisoners inside the walls at one stage?
2. The execution room. The noose in the middle and a chair. The prisoner never got to actually see that room, for the safety of the executioner. They would have to sit on that chair with the noose around their neck and the trap door beneath them closed. Then the last sound they would hear is the lever to open the trap door and their necks snap. (they used a slipknot).
3. The outside limestone walls and the razor wire that at one stage surrounded the entire prison.
4. Another view of the corridoors.
5. One of the prisoners rooms. Tiny isn't it?
6. suicide net. Once one of the prisoners commited suicide by jumping from the top level to the ground floor the suicide nets were soon put in place. (not actually net, its wire).
7. Stairs going up. The sign says 'division 2'. There was four divisions in the entire prison, to rank the prisoners in order of the crimes they commited. One being the worst.
8. An aboriginal painting by one of the prisoners. (the man was a serial rapist and had a life sentence...brilliant artist though!)
9. The doors that were installed after the fremantle riot, where some of the prisoners lite the top level of the prison, which lead to the closing down of the prison. the reason the riot got out of hand is because from outside in the courtyards all the prisoners were able to run inside together. So the rotating doors were installed...one at a time please?
SOME PRISON FACTS?
1. The prison only closed in 1991. Until then Fremantle was the only prison in Perth.
2.The convicts built the prison themselves. It took them 7 years to complete.
3. There was originally only 1000 convicts.
4. The female and male prisoners only ever saw each other one sundays at Church.
5.When the prison was first up and running, with their wages from either working inside the prison or getting money put into their prison accounts from outside, the prisoners were able to buy TV's...only problem was that inside their cells, there was no electricity...nice ornament eh?
6. Only 40 something convicts were ever executed there.
I can not wait to go on the torchlight tour with dad. I think it will be amazing. When you think about it, with so much pain and suffering within the one space...there has to be someone or something still hanging around. Or at least I believe so.
In pure daylight you can almost feel the spirits, or take yourself back to the days where they were all there, and imagine what it was like, I can only imagine how much stronger those feelings are at night.
I believe the prison is haunted... It has to be.
Today is Mama's birthday, so Happy Birthday mummy =)
Hope your day is wonderful. I love you.
Oh and by the way, I haven't smoked a ciggarette in almost four days. I'm on the patches and it is Aarons valentines pressie from me. Gosh it is so hard. Panic attacks, sweats, shakes, breakdowns...and the list goes on, but it's worth it...or at least thats what I am trying to tell myself. I would kill for just one drag though. But I wont give in. Promise.
Well that is all
xoxo
