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Fremantle Herald Official, Fremantle (2025)

25/09/2025

The new season of Sunday Music at Fremantle Arts Centre is one of the most exciting and eclectic yet.

The line-up features a host of local and international acts including Mozambique singer/guitarist Mahamudo Selimane, Californian alt-folk outfit Swimming Bell, Pond frontman Nicholas Allbrook, and hypnotic synth band Little Guilt.

It all kicks off in style with a performance from 82-year-old Kankawa Nagarra, AKA Olive Knight – a powerhouse of Aussie blues, country and gospel.

The aboriginal elder hails from the Wangkatjungka community in the Kimberley.

Performing with Nagarra is ICONYX, a young emerging singer/songwriter from the East Kimberley who is blind.

Her powerful and passionate vocals has already earned her three WAM Awards nominations.

ICONYX’s music is deeply influenced by her family roots of Kukatja, Pintupi mob, and she has a connection to the late Gurrumul and Archie Roach.

The opening gig includes a ceramics market on the top lawn, with more than 45 artisans displaying their wares as part of Wedge: The Australian Ceramics Triennale.

Reflecting the international scope of Sunday Music, LA alt-folkers Swimming Bell will hit the stage on October 19.

Featuring breezy, laid-back tunes, Swimming Bell is the brainchild of Katie Schottland, a Philadelphia-born singer-songwriter.

Read full story at https://tinyurl.com/mrxtk44u.

24/09/2025

Whale researchers say the rise of ‘Insta pilots’ buzzing WA’s coastline is driving them to distraction — and possibly the whales too.

Low-flying recreational drones are increasingly disrupting whale studies, with scientists warning the buzzing machines could be stressing animals in ways we don’t yet fully understand.

“Humpbacks are everywhere this year…down in the south-west region as well as up Exmouth or anywhere between, they’re everywhere,” researcher Katy Fannei said.

“Southern right whales are also appearing in high numbers…despite their endangered status.”

But when recreational pilots ignore the 60-metre limit, researchers are forced to down tools.

Wildlife cinematographer Blair Ranford said he’d seen “five to eight drones at a time above a whale… as low as two or three metres”.

“Once there’s a drone in such close proximity, we have to abort the research flight,” he said.

“It’s basically all the people just chasing the Instagram.

Authorities are stepping up education campaigns, but enforcement remains tricky.

Researchers are calling for stronger rules and more no-fly zones to keep whales safe.

Read the full story — including the risks drones pose to mothers and calves — in our exclusive ONLINE EXTRA at fremantleherald.com.

23/09/2025

Australian philanthropist and outspoken animal rights campaigner Philip Wollen has been named Fremantle-based Stop Live Exports’ first-ever patron.

Mr Wollen, a former Citibank vice-president and 2007 Victorian Australian of the Year, has spent decades funding animal, child and environmental projects in more than 50 countries.

“The suffering inherent in the live export is needless and avoidable,” Mr Wollen said.

“Stop Live Exports has shown courage, integrity and persistence for many years and I’m honoured to support their work, so that together we can consign this abominable trade to history.”

He didn’t mince words: “Let’s make no mistake about it, live animal export is not an industry, it’s an atrocity and it needs to end immediately.”

Stop Live Exports president and former WA politician Lisa Baker said his backing would help ramp up the group’s campaign.

“Philip’s decision to stand with us is a powerful endorsement of our mission,” she said.

“His support will help us expand our investigations, increase our advocacy and grow our compassionate national movement to ultimately end the suffering of animals embroiled in the horrors of the live export trade.”

Read full story at https://tinyurl.com/2njeuu7v.

22/09/2025

South Terrace's newest Irish pub Mons O’Shea has barely opened its doors and already it’s in need of a few Hail Marys — with the family of the late priest it’s named after crying foul.

Monsignor O’Shea, who was born in Ireland in 1925 and passed away in 2012, was director of Fremantle’s Stella Maris Seafarers’ Centre, and founded the Holy Trinity Church on Rottnest in 1975.

Monsignor O’Shea’s niece Mairéad McCarthy says his family was “shocked” to learn that the pub, which opened just last month, was named after the “beloved” priest who famously did not consume alcohol.

“In the promotional literature produced by the owner of the public house, my uncle is caricatured as a jolly beer-drinking priest who cycled about Fremantle,” Ms McCarthy said.

“He was in reality a teetotaller and did not cycle about Fremantle.

“His family in Ireland are distressed to learn of this development, which is wholly inappropriate.”

The Chook trawled through the Mons O’Shea’s social media only to find one such ‘caricature’, but it appears the lack of consultation before naming the pub has caused distress.

“[We are] deeply offended at the use of his name, a misrepresentation of what he was, and the good work that he did… it in no way reflects well or honourably on the work that he did for seafarers,” she said.

“I know that my uncle would be very disappointed to be represented in this cheap, opportunistic fashion… it ridicules the man, and he was not someone deserving of ridicule.

Mons O’Shea owner Simon Carthy says he made a “genuine effort” to contact any of Monsignor O’Shea’s family before he decided to brand the venue, but to no avail.

“We explored genealogical records through ancestry.com and researched local archives online, but unfortunately, these searches did not yield any leads… at the time, it appeared that there were no known living family members.”

Read full story at https://tinyurl.com/4fz2wmk8.

20/09/2025

The Munchies Skate Park will be no more with the City of Fremantle’s lease with the Public Transport Authority coming to an end next week.

The council says the PTA “intends to increase the number of parking bays” alongside Beach Street to “better serve” public transport users.

“The PTA’s decision to take back the carpark will impact the skate park… as part of the lease terms, all of these fixtures must be removed, to restore the site to its original condition prior to occupation,” a statement from the City said.

“While the City welcomes the PTA’s efforts to help commuters with the closure of the Fremantle Traffic Bridge, [which is] something the City has been advocating for, it is disappointed that it will have flow-on effects for the community.

“Goodwill services providers will continue to operate from their current location for the foreseeable future.”

A Fremantle soup kitchen has been operating on the car park for several years.

The Munchies skatepark was built in 1999 and has long been “an important community asset” and a “hub for grassroots skateboarding”, according to WA Skating Association secretary Rowan White.

“While we understand the demand for more park and ride facilities, particularly with the impending closure of the old traffic bridge, the few parking bays provided by the space occupied by the skatepark would have a negligible impact on congestion during the Fremantle Traffic Bridge’s closure,” Dr White said.

Read full story at https://tinyurl.com/2jmk2za3.

19/09/2025

Fremantle mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge says she is “waiting to see” whether she’ll attend a mayoral candidate debate following settling of a defamation case with the Fremantle Society this week.

In May, mayor Fitzhardinge posted a video in which she “called out” Society president John Dowson for an email addressed to her about the consultation process about the City of Fremantle’s bicentenary commemoration in 2029, saying she was calling out “racism”.

In the email, Mr Dowson referenced an item at a council meeting in May concerning Manjaree Arthur Head and called it “divisive and disgraceful” and “shockingly biased” because a council working group’s only community member was Indigenous.

At the time, Mr Dowson said his email was “grossly misrepresented” in Ms Fitzhardinge’s video.

In a statement to the Herald, the Fremantle Society says it’s “pleased to advise” the claim “has now settled”.

“The Fremantle Society and its president John Dowson claim that the video improperly accused them of being racist in relation to an email in which the Fremantle Society was seeking the Fremantle Council to take a balanced approach to the 2029 Bicentenary, one that brings people together instead of dividing them,” the statement read.

“The Fremantle Society and its President are very satisfied with the outcome.”

Ms Fitzhardinge posted her own statement on her social media on Friday last week, including an apology and acknowledgement that her claims were incorrect.

“I noted in my post that including Aboriginal people in the conversation about the 200th anniversary of colonisation, should not prompt concern, and that contrary to that, Aboriginal people should be front and centre in thinking about the 200th anniversary,” Ms Fitzhardinge said.

Read full story at https://tinyurl.com/zuwyhbjx.

18/09/2025

Freo's homelessness will be top of mind for long-time High Street business owner Melanie Clark, who recently announced her candidacy for council.

Ms Clark, who owns and runs homeware store Remedy on High Street, soft-launched her campaign for the vacant North Ward seat left by Doug Thompson.

She believes Freo’s “major” homelessness issue could be tackled by encouraging medium density, affordable housing in the CBD and including NGOs like Rotary International in potential solutions.

“I’d like to look at the possibility of the Rotary Club’s program for kids coming out of foster or home care, because they are one of the prime groups for being homeless,” Ms Clark said.

“If we can get government- or privately-owned land to start housing people and create community wrap-around, it means you’ve got less people sleeping on the street, the kids can get educated and live a decent life, and potentially own their own tiny home.

“Fremantle punches way above its weight when it comes to assisting the most vulnerable people in our community, but there is no reason why we can’t do these things – especially if it’s not costing us any money – to help that happen in our city.”

Ms Clark says she comes “from a corporate background” in human resources but has owned Remedy for 23 years, saying she knows “what affects the business community” in Freo in over two decades of operation.

Read full story at https://tinyurl.com/yeypyccw.

17/09/2025

Could your home become a star of the silver screen?

In recent years, more and more films and TV shows are being shot in Greater Fremantle including Reckless, Run, How to Please a Woman, I Met A Girl, The Twelve: Cape Rock Killer, The Travellers, Whale Shark Jack and Proclivitas.

A by-product of 'Hollymantle' has been the number of residential houses used as sets.

Last year, Randall and Emma Tapp’s 1970s home in Hamilton Hill featured in the production of Stan’s Invisible Boys series.

It all started when a location scout ambled up their driveway.

“It was just random. There was a knock on the door,” said Randall. “It was a bit left field, but once we received an official letter, we realised it was real.”

After the family moved to an Airbnb for a week, the set designers go to work – transforming the couple’s bedroom into the lair of football fanatic ‘Hammer’.

They painted it burgundy and used Randall’s old footy trophies on the bedhead.

“They used everything – our bed, my old footy trophies, all our furniture. They changed our bedroom around a little bit and painted a wall – and by the time we got back home, it was as if it hadn’t happened. Everything was back in place,” Randall says.

Read about more Freo homes featured in films and TV shows in our exclusive Online Extra! – https://tinyurl.com/8x89xbm3.

16/09/2025

Hamilton Hill’s Jayden Bootsma is running 600km from Perth to Albany to raise money for the Kids Cancer Support Group.

Bootsma started his epic run early Friday morning at Perth Children’s Hospital and is scheduled to cover 65km a day and arrive in Albany nine days later.

He was inspired to do the super-human feat after his brave cousin Zara tragically lost her battle with leukaemia aged 13.

“She was a true country girl with a heart of gold,” Bootsma says.

“My memories of Zara will always come back to her fun loving and positive outlook on life.

“Even throughout her struggles, she was always putting a smile on the faces of everyone around her.”

Bootsma says he’s been training for six months for the mammoth run, juggling work and family commitments and his love of playing footie.

“The most interesting part for me is going to be seeing the southern part of WA by foot in areas you would normally only drive through,” he says.

“The most challenging part will definitely be the mental side of the run – staying positive across the whole journey and keeping the vibes high.”

So far, Bootsma had raised nearly $14,000 of his $50,000 target.

To donate go to https://tinyurl.com/yc22fcds. To find out more about Kids Cancer Support Group see kcsg.org.au.

Read full story at https://tinyurl.com/ycyhw2ak.

15/09/2025

Independent Kate Hulett, who almost put Labor incumbents to the sword at this year’s state and federal elections for Fremantle, announced she will be running again for Josh Wilson’s federal seat in 2028.

Ms Hulett, who generated a 26 per cent swing from state member Simone McGurk and 16 per cent from Josh Wilson, this week told the Chook she “plans to focus” on “beating Labor” at the 2028 federal election.

Ms Hulett says the announcement was triggered by “so many people” who had asked her to run for the Mayor of Fremantle at the upcoming local government election, taking a swipe at the current Council administration in her comments.

“I have realised that the issues that most concern our community are the responsibility of our state and federal governments,” Ms Hulett said.

“I am really concerned about the entrenchment and dominance of Labor at every level of government… our current mayor in Fremantle and others on council, including candidates running for election, are affiliated with the Labor party.

“I don’t think that is healthy, and I know we’re not getting the best outcomes.”

Ms Hulett also reckons she’ll be “exploring approaches” to “target other Labor seats” nationwide and in WA to “replicate the impact” of her two 2025 campaigns and appeared to issue a warning to the state and federal governments.

“We achieved something remarkable in Fremantle…other communities across WA and Australia are hoping for, and can achieve, similar results against Labor by drawing on the experience, insights, and inspiration of our campaign.

“We told Labor that if they didn’t learn their lesson, we would have to keep teaching them about what matters to communities across our country… with the North West Shelf approval coming right after the election, Labor has shown us that they haven’t learned a thing.”

Read full story at https://tinyurl.com/up7s5hcc.

13/09/2025

SAILOR DOWN: Sailing for Oranges opened its doors onto Fremantle’s Cappuccino Strip for the last time on Sunday with two prominent business figures planning a pod-style hotel to take its place.

Business partners who share multiple ventures like the Garde Hotel and Emily Taylor, Timothy Buckton and Patrick Prindiville, stand to increase their dominance of the Fremantle accommodation and dining scene with the proposed hotel.

“We have approval from the Fremantle council but there is still a long way to go,” Mr Buckton said.

“In a perfect world we will demolish in November, and then in an ideal world we would be looking to start construction in March or April.”

If permits and licences are approved, demolition will not only include the building housing Sailing for Oranges, but also Fremantle Comedy Lounge.

The current proposal for the hotel features a speakeasy bar, restaurant and sauna facilities, with up to 180 pod-style rooms and around 37 ‘typical’ hotel rooms.

Mr Buckton said they were aiming to fill the gap between backpackers and the ritzy end of town, with design plans aimed at attracting young professionals.

Read full story at https://tinyurl.com/2tbda6eb.

12/09/2025

The legendary Bar Orient in Fremantle’s West End will be closing its doors next year after the building’s owners decided not to renew its lease.

The Tattarang Group, owned by Andrew and Nicola Forrest, bought the Orient building about four years ago.

Bar Orient licensee Tony Taylor says he’d hoped to continue trading in the 123-year-old building but the Forrests had other plans.

“I went through a kind of interview process, and made it to the top five, but they decided that they want to go down a different avenue completely,” Mr Taylor said.

“When they bought it, I was really hoping [they’d] bring it back to an old-school hotel, getting the balcony open again, and redoing the facade, because the bones are here.

“It just needs some TLC, but they decided they want to go on a different avenue, and want the bar closed so they can get a free reign which is a shame… reading between the lines, I know their plans for what they want to do here are very elaborate, so whether the council will approve it or not, I don’t know.”

Built by the Irish in 1902 and opened in 1903, the bar, which was originally a bustling hotel, played host to multiple celebrities including a pre-AC/DC Bon Scott with The Valentines.

“Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband, stayed here in 1982 while he was an admiral in the Navy and he drank in the Chesterfield Bar… that was the old gentleman’s lounge back in the day and you had to wear a tie,” Mr Taylor said.

“There was an Irish lady who ran it at the time and she wouldn’t let him in because he didn’t have a tie on, and then she realised who she was and let him in.”

The Herald has been informed that a development application is yet to submitted by the Tattarang group which is still planning what the future of the old pub’s future will look like.

The pub “isn’t everyone’s cup of tea”, according to Mr Taylor, but its beer, pool tables, and proximity to the port means there’s a “whole history” which will end when it closes.

Read full story at https://tinyurl.com/3fz8hdrc.

Fremantle Herald Official

25/09/2025

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