A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE
SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE
BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET AND
HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN
AUSTRALIA
A report prepared for Main Roads Western Australia
Mrs Jacqueline Harris
Consulting Archaeologist
26 Camelia Street
NORTH PERTH WA 6006
[email protected]
Report submitted November 2012 to:
Ms Elizabeth Chandler
Infrastructure Delivery Directorate
Main Roads Western Australia
PO Box 6202
EAST PERTH WA 6892
The Registrar
Department of Indigenous Affairs
PO Box 3153
151 Royal Street
EAST PERTH WA 6892
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank the following organisations and individuals who helped with
the management of the desktop heritage survey.



Ms Elizabeth Chandler – Main Roads Western Australia (Infrastructure Delivery
Directorate)
Mr Brad Goode – Brad Goode & Associates Pty Ltd (Anthropologist)
Mrs Leah Mackie – Brad Goode & Associates Pty Ltd (Assistant)
DISCLAIMER
All of the information contained in this report is believed to be correct and accurate at the time it
was recorded. The author does not take responsibility or accept any liability for errors or
omissions contained in the report based upon information supplied by others.
COPYRIGHT
This report and the information contained herein, is subject to Copyright and may not be copied
in whole or part without the written consent of the copyright holders, being Brad Goode and
Associates Pty Ltd, and Main Roads Western Australia.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
The Proponent – Main Roads Western Australia
The Consultant – Brad Goode & Associates Pty Ltd
AHA – Western Australian Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972
DIA – Department of Indigenous Affairs
ACMC – Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee
SWALSC – South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council
GKB – Gnaala Karla Booja
SWB – South West Boojarah
CHMP – Cultural Heritage Management Plan
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Main Roads Western Australia wish to identify all previously recorded Aboriginal Heritage
sites located within an area located between the west of Swanbourne Street to Hird Place along
High Street in the Cities of Fremantle and Melville. This is to ensure Main Roads Western
Australia fulfil their objectives with regards to the upgrade of High Street and meet their
obligations with regards to the West Australian Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972.
The Project Area extends in the west from Swanbourne Street to Hird Place in the east along
High Street and from Stevens, Montreal and Blinco Streets in the south to Marmion Street,
Stirling Highway and Holland Street in the north within the cities of Fremantle and Melville.
The length of the project area is 2.450m east west x 1.400m north south, an area of 166ha.
A search of the DIA Sites Register was conducted on 30 October 2012, in order to determine if
there were any Aboriginal Heritage sites located within the study area. The search revealed one
ethnographic heritage place, DIA 3726 Fremantle, was located within the study area. DIA 3726
Fremantle was reported to be a campsite. The area was referred to by Makin (1970) in his PhD
thesis “where camps were located on disused land ‘at the back o’ the cemetery.’” The ACMC
have determined that there is insufficient information to establish the accurate location and
significance of the site under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 and it is therefore placed as a
non-site in the site file.
A review of relevant reports has revealed that pre-European artefacts have been found in a
highly developed/disturbed part of Fremantle so the potential for further artefacts to be
unearthed during excavation and earthworks remains (Burke 2006). Fremantle was formerly
known as Walyalup and was a major meeting and dwelling place for traditional Aboriginal
people and also a place for undertaking trade and the performance of ceremonies. Fremantle
was a place the Swan River could be crossed and so was an important link to a Bidi (track) that
ran from Perth to the south of the river and beyond (de Gand 2000).
Aboriginal people prehistorically lived in camps around the Fremantle area and in fringe camps
historically. While it was considered that the two golf clubs, Fremantle Cemetery and
Booyeembara Park might have been unoccupied places utilised by Aboriginal people
historically, the extensive amount of modification to the limestone hills and surrounds since
1906 would serve to obliterate all evidence of occupation. Further, the suburban roads, housing
and associated infrastructure constructed within the project area have extensively disturbed the
surface and subsurface of the area.
One heritage place, DIA 3726 Fremantle was previously registered within the project area. The
heritage place has been categorised as stored data because of the lack of substantiation and
location details. Therefore there are no archaeological or ethnographic barriers present to effect
the proposed development.
In accordance with the Cultural Heritage Due Diligence Guidelines issued by Department of
Indigenous Affairs it is recommended that the proposed development activities may proceed
without further heritage considerations.
However it is recommended that Aboriginal consultation with relevant spokespersons occur in
regard to proposed development road works, in particular, any alterations to Booyeembara Park,
in order to continue in good faith acknowledging the inhabitants of the land.
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ 1 GLOSSARY OF TERMS ........................................................................................................... 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 2 CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................. 3 ISSUE ........................................................................................................................................... 4 REPORT OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................ 4 BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................... 4 STUDY AREA......................................................................................................................................... 5 ETHNOGRAPHIC & HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ........................................................ 6 TRADITIONAL NYUNGAR CULTURE ............................................................................................... 6 ARCHIVAL RESEARCH .......................................................................................................... 9 SITES REGISTER SEARCH................................................................................................................... 9 REVIEW OF RELEVANT SITE FILES .................................................................................................. 9 REVIEW OF RELEVANT ETHNOGRAPHIC REPORTS .................................................................. 10 RESULTS OF ARCHIVAL RESEARCH .............................................................................. 15 NATIVE TITLE CLAIMS OVERLAPPING THE FREMANTLE AREA ........................ 16 CULTURAL HERITAGE DUE DILIGENCE GUIDELINES............................................. 17 SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................... 18 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 19 APPENDIX 1: SITES REGISTER SEARCH ........................................................................ 22 APPENDIX 2: MAP OF THE PROJECT AREA .................................................................. 23 APPENDIX 3: OBLIGATIONS RELATING TO SITES UNDER THE ABORIGINAL
HERITAGE ACT 1972 .............................................................................................................. 24 LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1: LOCATION OF THE SURVEY AREA. .................................................................. 5 LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1: SUMMARY OF ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SITES AND PLACES WITHIN THE
PROJECT AREA. ......................................................................................................................... 9 3
A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
REPORT
A Desktop Aboriginal Heritage Survey of High Street Upgrade
between Swanbourne Street and Hird Place, Fremantle,
Western Australia
ISSUE
Main Roads Western Australia wish to identify all previously recorded Aboriginal Heritage
sites located within an area located between the west of Swanbourne Street to Hird Place along
High Street in the Cities of Fremantle and Melville. This is to ensure Main Roads Western
Australia fulfil their objectives with regards to the upgrade of High Street and meet their
obligations with regards to the West Australian Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972.
REPORT OBJECTIVES
To provide Main Roads Western Australia with an overview of significant Aboriginal Heritage
sites that are located within the project area boundaries.
To provide Main Roads Western Australia with an overview of existing Aboriginal Heritage
research that has been previously conducted within the project area boundaries.
To investigate and make recommendations for the management of identified Aboriginal heritage
issues that may affect the Project Area.
BACKGROUND
In July 2007 The Department for Planning and Infrastructure (DPI) contacted Mr B Goode –
Consulting Anthropologist and requested a desktop Aboriginal Heritage survey. The DPI
prepared a modified road concept to accommodate predicted higher volumes of freight and
general traffic and defined a modified road reservation for High Street between Stirling
Highway and Carrington Street in the City of Fremantle.
A report on Aboriginal Heritage in the study area was required to support the road reservation
requirements and subsequent Perth Metropolitan Region Scheme amendment. High Street
between Stirling Highway and Carrington Street Fremantle has been identified as the preferred
option in the Metropolitan Freight Network Review in 2002. This would require the upgrading
of High Street between Stirling Highway and Carrington St with the intersection of High Street
and Stirling Highway reconfigured so that Stirling Highway/High Street becomes the ‘through’
route. Following the identification of this option at the Metropolitan Freight Network Review in
2002 a Local Impacts Committee was set up by the Minister to study and recommend
improvements on roads in the south west metropolitan corridor. The committee found a need to
address high noise levels and access problems on High Street as a priority. As part of the major
east-west transport route between the Kewdale freight terminal and the Fremantle inner harbour,
High Street carries a high volume of heavy vehicles and is currently four lanes undivided with
uncontrolled driveway access to several residential properties.
The Western Australia Planning Commission’s Sustainable Transport Committee (15/2 2006)
endorsed the High Street study structure and recommended that the High Street precinct study
proceed as a high priority.
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
STUDY AREA
The Project Area extends in the west from Swanbourne Street to Hird Place in the east along
High Street and from Stevens, Montreal and Blinco Streets in the south to Marmion Street,
Stirling Highway and Holland Street in the north within the cities of Fremantle and Melville.
The length of the project area is 2.450m east/west x 1.400m north/south, an area of 166ha.
The Project Area comprises the following:
1) Roadworks – inclusive of the road infrastructure and 20m either side of the road kerb
lines:
 Stirling Highway (between George Street and High Street);
 Leach Highway (between Stirling Highway and Absolon Street);
 High Street (between East Street and Stirling Highway);
 Marmion Street (between Stirling Highway and Carrington Street);
 Holland Street (between East and Carrington Streets);
 Blinco Street (between East and Montreal Streets);
 Montreal Street (between Blinco and Stevens Streets);
 Stevens Street (between Montreal and Carrington Streets); and
 Carrington Street (between Marmion and Stevens Streets).
2) Recreational Areas – inclusive to the road boundaries:
 Booyembara Park;
 Fremantle Cemetery;
 Fremantle Environmental Recycling Network area;
 Royal Fremantle Golf Course; and
 Fremantle Golf Course.
Figure 1: Location of the survey area.
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
ETHNOGRAPHIC & HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
TRADITIONAL NYUNGAR CULTURE
The Bibbulmun Nyungar people share a common language with 13 local dialect variations and
inhabit the area to the west of a line drawn roughly from Jurien Bay in the north to Esperance in
the south east. Tindale noted that the Swan River area was inhabited by the “Whadjuk”. This
group inhabited the lands of the north and eastern tributary inland to Mt Helena at
Kalamunda/Armadale to the Victoria Plains south of Toodyay, west to York and south along the
coast to Pinjarra (Tindale 1974: 260). Traditional initiation practices varied from those of their
inland neighbours. The Bibbulmun Nyungars practiced nasal septum piercing and cicatrisation
(scarring) of the upper body rather than circumcision as an initiation rite (Bates, 1985; Tindale,
1974). These initiation practices have been described by Berndt and Berndt as being of the ‘Old
Australian Tradition’ (Berndt and Berndt, 1979: 81).
The Bibbulmun Nyungar people recognized two primary moieties, the Manichmat or ‘fair
people of the white cockatoo’ and the Wordungmat or ‘dark people of the crow’. These formed
the basis for marriage between a further four class subdivisions, the Tondarup, Didarruk and
Ballaruk, and Nagarnook. Bates describes the only lawful marriage to be “the cross-cousin
marriage of paternal aunts’ children to the maternal uncle’s children”, and states that the four
clan groups and relationships, under different names, are “identical in every tribe in Western
Australia, east, north, south and south west” (Bates, 1966: 24-25).
In Aboriginal societies, most relationships are articulated in kin terms. All activities
are carried out in the company of persons who are bound to one another in
conventionally defined ways. They not only know what to expect from others, and
how they will respond to certain situations, but are reasonably sure that participation
and co-operation will be forthcoming if the occasion demands. Over and above the
network of obligations and responsibilities linking persons together in, more or less, a
mutually satisfying system, there is an atmosphere of familiarity and intimacy possible
only in a group which disallows the concept of stranger for anyone within its midst,
and even well outside it’s own social limits (Berndt, 1992).
While Bates saw the Bibbulmun people as being different to other Aboriginal peoples and as
representing a distinctive group and even a ‘nation’, more recent anthropologists have
emphasized the sameness of all Australian Aboriginal groups and are critical of Bates’ notion of
language based ownership of land.
But although there is so much variation in these rituals, the majority contain some
common themes; in simplest terms, removal from the main camp and total or partial
enforced segregation; performance of some rite to emphasize the fact of transition;
revelation of secrets of a religious nature; and finally, return to the main camp as a
social adult (Berndt, 1992: 180).
A review of Bates’ writings describes much of her work as a ‘racist muddle’, that she was
‘contemptuous of the growing number of part–Aborigines, who symbolized the cardinal sin of
racial miscegenation,’ and that ‘she preached the old doctrine of racial segregation’ (Reece,
1984). The review is critical of her ideology and indicates inadequacies in her methodology.
However as Bates’ work represents the most comprehensive and earliest attempt to record
Aboriginal culture it is almost invariably referred to. Bates refers to the Perth Bibbulmun as
Yabbaru – this term means north. According to Bates it was common amongst the Bibbulmun
Nation to name each local group with a term referring to points of the compass. Bates states that
all Bibbulmun shared a common language with minor dialectical variations. Within this one
nation there was however two forms of descent, the groups on the coast from Jurien Bay to
Augusta followed a system of patrilineal descent whereas the groups south of the Blackwood
River followed a pattern of matrilineal descent. The Perth groups followed a patrilineal descent
system (Bates 1985: 46).
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The Nyungar people traditionally obeyed a recognized system of rights and obligations,
transmitted through birth and marriage, which gave individuals rights to the use of and
economic benefits of the land over which they also acted as custodians. These areas were
significant because they were associated with mythic figures relating to the Aboriginal concept
of Dreaming (Silberbauer, 1994; Stanner, 1965). The Dreaming refers to a period of creation
when mythical figures transformed the landscape creating hills, lakes, rivers and animals
(Machin, 1996). The Waugal is one example of a Dream-time figure which has transformed the
landscape as well as infusing it with a living spirit. The Waugal is a creative spirit associated
with water and which takes the physical shape of a snake. Bates (1985) recorded stories about
Waugal mythology around 1900. Apparently, wherever the Waugal went, it created a river; the
Waugal was the creator of all the major rivers in the south west. Wherever the Waugal had
stopped or was living was considered to be sacred – winnaitch (Bates, 1985). A ‘winnaitch’ area
is a place to avoid. Before using or entering a winnaitch area, Nyungars must perform special
rituals. The Waugal is associated with many of the major rivers in the Darling Range as well as
many of the smaller springs, swamps, pools and lakes located on the Swan Coastal Plain
(O’Connor et al, 1989).
Within the Bibbulmun Nyungars, each socio-linguistic group, sometimes referred to as the
‘tribe’, consisted of a number of smaller groups. Each of these smaller groups was made up of
around 12 to 30 persons, related men, their wives and children and at times visiting relatives
from other groups. These subgroups could be described as a family, a band or a horde. For
every subgroup there was a tract of land with which they most closely identified themselves. An
individual or a group’s land was called their Kalla or fireplace (Moore, 1884). This referred to
an area of land which was used by the group and over which the members of the group
exercised the greatest rights to its resources. It was also the area for which the group would act
as custodians of. Other groups would also have some rights of access and use gained through
marriage.
Ownership rights to land were held by groups of people linked through common
descent; there was definite ownership of land in both social and personal ways. As
well as belonging to a local descent group by birth, each individual simultaneously
belonged to an economic or food gathering group (Le Souef, 1993: 30).
According to Makin (1970) and Brown (1983) early writers such as Symmons (1840), Lyon
(1833) and Armstrong (1836) recorded that the Swan River Aborigines maintained a system of
land ownership that divided up the country around the Swan River based upon clan groups
which had a patrilineal line of descent. From this they were able to produce maps delineating
this ownership which, despite some variances, gave an overall understanding of these divisions.
Lyons describes the tribal districts in terms of an area name and a single Aboriginal leader
(Yellowganga, Manday and Midjegoorang). Armstrong recognized that land appears to be
appointed to different families and is not held in common by the tribe (Brown 1983).
According to Makin (1970) from Fremantle (Wol-yal-lu) up the river to Butlers Bay (Bi-ri-gap)
and then to Mt Eliza (Ea-na-katta) was the land of Yal-gang-ga, his sons, wives and children.
From Mt Eliza past the flats (Min-da-rop), near the narrows bridge, to the Peninsula (Wu-nut) to
Peter Browns farm at Bassendean was the land of ‘Monday’ (Munday). From the Bassendean
ferry jetty to the head of the Swan River was the land of Ngu-nyt. The Canning tribes occupied
the left (south) bank of the Swan River and the adjacent Canning River. The land from
Fremantle to Preston Point and Point Walter around to Butlers Bay, the entrance to the Canning
River, was Djons, Gorbal, Yurjil and Ningara. From the entrance of the Canning River past Mill
Point to near Guildford was Bi-non, Yurgan. From Guildford to the head of the Swan River was
Mol-li-dabbin, Mol-li-mig-rot and Wib-on and other branches of the family. (Makin 1970; 7375).
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
For the Rockingham area, specifically from a line drawn due east from Mangles Bay, extending
northwards to the foreshores of the Swan and Canning Rivers was the ‘territory’ of the Beeliar
Aboriginal group. This group included the Aboriginal influential Midgegooroo and his son,
Yagan. The wetlands in this region were most intensively occupied, given the availability of
fresh water and food resources (water fowl, turtles, kangaroos etc). Wells were dug close to
swamps in order to filter water and some swamp vegetation was consumed. Spears were made
from ‘spear wood’ and comprised an important trade item. Pads connected the wetlands and
rivers and extended through this territory from the present-day Perth area south to Rockingham,
Mandurah and the Murray River (Ralph, Locke and Smith 1990: 8).
With regards to the Rockingham area various researches such as Machin (1989) and McDonald
(2002, 2004) have recorded myths that relate to the creation of Cockburn Sound and the
offshore islands Rottnest, Garden Island, Carnac Island and the area of the coast around
Mangles Bay, what is now Rotary Park and the adjacent wetlands. These myths were recorded
by the above research as told by Mr K. Colbung (deceased), the primary informant of this
creation story. These myths have led to the following sites being placed on the Aboriginal site
register, DIA 3471 – Rotary Park and DIA 3776 Indian Ocean.
These stories had also formerly been recorded in the early 19th century by Moore (1884) and
Armstrong (1836) who reported different versions of the same myth. Moore (1884, cited in
Brown 1983) records that a great fire was responsible for the creation of the offshore islands:
The natives have a tradition that Rottnest, Carnac and Garden Island once formed part
of the mainland, and that the intervening ground was thickly covered with trees; which
took fire in some unaccountable way, and burned with such intensity that the ground
split asunder with great noise, and the sea rushed in between cutting off the islands
from the mainland (Moore 1884: 6-8 cited in Brown 1983: 16).
Armstrong (1836: 790) version of the story was recorded as:
They state, as a fact handed down to them from their ancestors, that Garden Island
was formerly united to the main, and that the separation was caused, in some
preternatural manner, by the Waugal (Armstrong 1836: 790).
These versions of the story also substantially differ from that recorded by the above researchers
by Mr K. Colbung whose central figure was a crocodile, not a Waugal. McDonald (2002)
explains that if the crocodile in Mr Colbung’s version is read as a Waugal then there is a clear
consistency with Mr Colbung’s version of the myth and as recorded by Armstrong. McDonald
(2002) has suggested that the inconsistency of the above narratives can be considered
anthropologically as a natural part of all myth systems and as noted by Maranda (1972: 8)
myths often consist of a reorganising of the traditional components in the face of new
circumstances and times. McDonald (2002) argues that this is what is happening with the above
myth as told by Mr Colbung. McDonald (2002) argues that this is a legitimate part of
contemporary Aboriginal people reinterpreting traditional mythological stories by incorporating
contemporary and modern beliefs into the versions now being told (McDonald 2002: 8).
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
ARCHIVAL RESEARCH
Archival research involved an examination of the Department of Indigenous Affairs (DIA) Sites
Register, a review of any relevant site files, and a review of any unpublished ethnographic
reports that relate to the Fremantle area.
SITES REGISTER SEARCH
A search of the DIA Sites Register was conducted on 30 October 2012, in order to determine if
there were any Aboriginal Heritage sites located within the study area. The search revealed one
ethnographic heritage place, DIA 3726 Fremantle, was located within the study area.
A search of the Shire of Fremantle revealed 14 recorded sites and heritage places: seven
mythological/ceremonial with two of these associated with artefacts, three camping places, one
artefact/scatter, one burial site, one historical/painting site and one historical place.
Of the total number of sites 12 are of an ethnographic nature and only two are exclusively
archaeological in nature. Only four sites (three mythological and one campsite) have been
registered with eight places recorded as stored data, one lodged and one in the interim category.
In a heavily built-up urban environment having undergone extensive disturbance it is likely any
artefact sites subsequently have been destroyed. The relatively high number of ethnographic
sites is indicative of a comprehensive ethno-historical record along with continuous heritage
interest in the region.
Table 1: Summary of Aboriginal heritage sites and places within the project area.
Site ID
Name
Status
Access
Restriction
Location
(GDA94 Zone 50)*
mE
mN
Site Type
Registered Aboriginal Sites
3726
Fremantle
S
O
N
385639
6453649
Camp
* Please note: Coordinates are indicative locations that represent the centre of sites as shown on maps produced by the DIA – they
may not necessarily represent the true centre of all sites.
LEGEND
R – Registered Site, I - Insufficient Information, S - Stored Data, L - Lodged awaiting assessment, IA - Information Assessed, O –
Access Open, C - Closed Access, N – File Not Restricted.
REVIEW OF RELEVANT SITE FILES
DIA 3726 – Fremantle (S02170)
DIA 3726 was reported to be a campsite. It was recorded by Steve Brown in 1983 during an
ethnographic desktop survey of proposed highways and road developments in Perth
metropolitan area. The area was referred to by Makin (1970) in his PhD thesis “where camps
were located on disused land ‘at the back o’ the cemetery.’”
The ACMC have determined that there is insufficient information to establish the accurate
location and significance of the site under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 and it is therefore
placed as a non-site in the site file under resolution decision ID 4352, No 1106, Meeting ID
1687 on 7/8/01.
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
REVIEW OF RELEVANT ETHNOGRAPHIC REPORTS
Reports were referred to that have been catalogued at DIA archives or Battye Library. Any
consultancy reports commissioned and prepared for by SWALC are not available for viewing
by bona fide researchers.
Makin, C.F. 1970, Socio-Economic anthropological survey of people of Aboriginal descent in
the metropolitan region of Perth, Western Australia, PhD thesis, UWA. Nedlands.
The researcher endeavours to explore people of Aboriginal descent living in Perth and
Fremantle. He examines why they have occupied a minority status soon after European contact
in 1829. The thesis maps out these people, socially culturally and spatially. Firstly historical
references are explored eg. official decisions, enforcement of sanctions, continuing restrictive
legislations. However the focus is on the present situation on numbers of people, where they
live, spatial mobility, health issues and legal problems. But the central topic is the Aboriginal
family and adjustment to urban life following increasing migration to the city emphasizing
problems of change and stability. The anthropologist assumes that the present socio-cultural life
of any people follows from a series of antecedents which have developed by social processes eg
if the recent history of Aboriginal people has affected their adaptation to an urban situation.
Despite the lack of anthropological evidence from WA and having to rely on generalised
accounts from interested observers and government documents, Makin attempts to show how
the growth of legislative and administrative policies have affected Aboriginal welfare. Present
policy limiting the rate of social and cultural change can be traced to a negative and paternalistic
form to a more positive and liberalising one. Three distinct periods were identified as
significant: initial settlement of Colonial period 1829-1890; Dole and Control 1890-1948; and
Positive Welfare from 1948.
Brown, S. 1983, A survey for Aboriginal sites – Ethnographic investigations relating to some
proposed highway and road developments in the Perth metropolitan area, Prepared for
Main Roads Department.
Researching for this report Brown located many ethnographic sites listed in unpublished and
published documents held at Battye Library. Some of these sites are currently known to
Aboriginal people. The lists of these sites are sealed within the Brown report and not for
general viewing and thus cannot be described further.
Brown also lists some contemporary (post European settlement) Aboriginal ethnographic sites
that may be of significance or historical interest. These were camps on the fringes of towns and
surburbs where Aborigines were forced to or chose to stay. These camps may have been
located on traditional camping sites or other areas of vacant land. Specific reserves were also
set up exclusively for Aboriginal people. The only site within the Fremantle vicinity referred to
is the fringe camp on disused land at back of cemetery in the 30s and 40s referred by Makin
(1970).
Strawbridge, L. 1988, Aboriginal Sites in the Perth metropolitan area: a management scheme,
Prepared for Department of Aboriginal Sites, Western Australian Museum.
The report assesses known Aboriginal sites in the metropolitan area in terms of their potential
contribution to the pattern of Aboriginal occupation and usage and combines this with an
assessment of future development plans of the State and local government authorities.
Some excerpts of the large report that pertain directly to the present study area are addressed.
Any development has the potential to disrupt Aboriginal sites. The density of sites in the
metropolitan area is high as is noted at European contact where Swan coastal plain was a
productive environment with food resources and fresh water abundant. As a result
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
prehistorically the coastal plain supported a relatively large population. Abundant water and a
long period of occupation contributed to a large number of archaeological and ethnographic
sites in the coastal plain.
In regard to ethnographic sites Strawbridge refers to O’Connor (p26) wherein he states that
latter day fringe camps were often located in prehistoric camping areas, thus assuring
transmission of traditional knowledge. Camps were frequent along the banks of Swan River as
well as the chains of lakes that run parallel to the coast but several kilometres inland.
The City of Fremantle is very built up with medium to high density residential development.
The port has experienced large-scale modifications and development of the shoreline. Some
areas set aside for industrial use remain the only uncleared land. There are redevelopment
activities and modification of existing road networks. In regard to the City of Melville this has
experienced high density residential development as well without the industrial component. Any
available open space has been modified from landscaping. Lakes have been built around and the
environs modified for parkland.
Gibbs, M. 1988, Report on an Ethnohistorical investigation into the A Aboriginal Heritage of
the Fremantle Area, A report prepared for the Fremantle City Council.
A large amount of information on Aboriginal life in Fremantle was lost forever in the turbulent
years following European settlement where thousands of Aborigines were forced out of the area,
died or were killed. As a consequence much of our information on the subject is derived from
records and accounts of explorers and settlers especially around the contact period 1829-1950.
Gibbs firstly examines Aboriginal occupation and the economy of Swan Coastal Plain, in
particular the Swan River. He then focuses on pre-European Aboriginal occupation of the
Fremantle Area. A sketch by Dale (c1830) from Cantonment Hill shows central Fremantle as
slightly wooded with grassy areas and scattered grass trees. The Swan River is wider with a
rocky bar at its mouth, sandy banks and a sandbar at Ferry Point. Other maps show a chain of
long thin swamps running east-west through Fremantle.
Fremantle was at the crossroads of several major Aboriginal pathways. These pathways
followed easiest lines of movement between camping and resource areas and passed through
their own territories and their neighbours along well-defined tracks. The location was affected
by natural features such as hills, lakes and rivers as well as hostile neighbours. While some
tracks vary over time, mountain passes and river fords remained constant. Early colonial roads
followed these lines of tracks for practical reasons and to pass water sources. The major
intersection of the network at Fremantle at the strategic river ford was used for meeting places
for different groups to trade, camp and conduct ceremonies.
Gibb examines the post-contact history of Fremantle where many of the first contacts between
European and Aborigines were made. For the first few years settlers were welcomed and aided
by the Nyungars but swiftly this attitude changed when Aboriginal people continued their
traditional rights to take food from their lands such as flour, potatoes and livestock and light
fires in pursuit of kangaroos and to clear the bush. Following several incidents, involving
Yagan and his people and the raiding of stores, with some causing death, such unrest prompted
the leader to move camp from Fremantle to Bullcreek.
After this period of unrest the tensions settled as their lands and resources were forcibly taken
from them with the various large groups settling around the towns and fringe camps. Some
members were employed as trackers and postmen. With the opening of the prison Roundhouse
in 1832 where many Aborigines were incarcerated or held in transit for Carnac and Rottnest
Islands, relatives would congregate around the premises at night to talk to the prisoner. After
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
1837, operations of the Fremantle Whaling Company attracted Aboriginal people in hordes to
feast on the whale scraps after oil had been extracted.
By 1857 census only 65 Aboriginal people were recorded as living in Fremantle, having being
decimated by disease and murders or living in fringe camps about towns. While their economic
activities had dwindled some hunting and gathering carried on to supplement government
rations. Other Aboriginal groups including Nyungas passed through the area on an ephemeral
basis camping wherever was permitted in an opportunistic manner. Between 1912 and 1920
only 15 Aboriginal people inhabited Fremantle district and from 1927 to 1947 laws were passed
to restrict residency of those Aboriginals not gainfully employed within the area. Those
objecting were forcibly removed to reserves. At this time an unspecified number lived in
disused land at the back of the cemetery and at the smelters (Makin 1970, 84).
In the late 40s a number of families moved back into the area. The forced movement of people
resulted in a lack of strong traditional ties and knowledge of the Fremantle area excepting a few
major topographic sites.
Burke, S. June 2006, A report on an Indigenous Artefact Recovered from Archaeological
Excavations on Sites in High Street West Fremantle, A report prepared for the City of
Fremantle.
The City of Fremantle commissioned an archaeological excavation in High Street west,
Fremantle. The archaeological excavations were conducted over seven days in November 2005
with other historical data compiled between June 2005 and January 2006. As a result of the
archaeological excavations at three sites, one Aboriginal artefact was unearthed. The report
describes and interprets the artefact found. One piece of white quartz, a material geologically
exotic for the Fremantle area was found at the west end of High Street. The artefact location
suggest deposition during the post European period however its closeness to a footings trench
for an 1870’s police station implies the artefact could have been bought closer to the surface
during the construction of the police station. The artefact is believed to be a bipolar core. The
report also briefly mentions mythology regarding the formation of the Swan River bar at the
mouth of the river.
McDonald, Hales and Associates, August 1997, Aboriginal Heritage Study of the Jervoise
Bay Infrastructure Planning Precinct, A report prepared for Halpern Glick Maunsell.
The report identified two new archaeological sites located on the shores of Lake Coogee. It also
discusses the potential for burials to occur in coastal dunes. A discussion of archaeological
models is also contained in the report. Anderson 1972 has undertaken a synthesis of
archaeological research on the Swan Coastal Plain to create a broad regional model. “Groups
occupying the Swan Coastal Plain gathered around coastal areas, estuaries, wetlands and
drainage points to exploit water based resources in summer and autumn. This activity resulted in
the large site characteristic of the Swan Coastal Plain”. In the ethnographic background of the
report it is pointed out that between 1927 – 1947 laws restricted Aboriginal people who were
‘not in lawful employment’ from living in towns and many Nyungar people were ‘relocated’ to
reserves. Only a few Aboriginal families whose men were employed on the wharves or other
industries were able to remain in Fremantle. Aboriginal people lived in fringe camps on the
outskirts of town. “....in the Fremantle district...camps were located on disused land ‘at the back
of the cemetery’ and at ‘The Smelters’ a sort of skid row shack area that existed south of the
town site in the 1930’s and 1940’s (Makin 1970)”. The report also discusses present day
reconstruction and reinterpretation of Nyungar culture in response to political and economic
interests and government policies. This cultural revitalisation is consistent with the wider
Nyungar interpretation of country, reading, feeling country and association with country
including caring for country.
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Historical associations (Trigger 1983) are not merely a matter of sentiment.
Aboriginal connections with the land and specific sites were originally spiritual. This
translates into a perception of links, which involve the total life cycle which infuses
the sites with a dense and culturally palpable meaning. This connection is amplified
through economic and social connections with land. In recent history, this will include
patterns of work, the pursuit of work, and the cultivation of family ties over very large
distances. The spiritual perspective provides a map of the land that has timeless
(Dreaming) intersecting with the mundane so that proper remembrance through
stories, ceremony and simple respect for the land, in some cases, unfolds the timeless
out of the time bound...that is specific physical sites.
There is no doubt that the strength of these attachments varies between individuals
and families according to their life experiences, values and a range of other factors,
including political-economic agenda. Nevertheless, these relationships with the land,
with sites, are crucial and on-going elements of Nyungar society (p 24).
As the proposed road realignment and modification is planned for an area close to the cemetery
on Carrington Street it is worth bearing in mind the likelihood of there being camps and other
places of ethnographic significance existing in this area. The existence of the Fremantle Golf
Club alongside High Street at this location also suggests an area of land that may well have been
otherwise unoccupied or unused until recent times and as such could have been a place used by
Aboriginal ‘fringe dwellers’ as a camping/living place.
McDonald, E. December 2003, Ethnographic Survey of the Aboriginal Heritage Values of the
Proposed South Beach Village Development, South Fremantle, A report prepared for
South Beach Village Joint Venture Partners.
The survey concludes that the Robb Jetty camp (Site ID 3707) and the camping place known as
the Smelters identified by Machin in 1970 are one and the same site. In the ethno-historical
background Aboriginal people including prisoners released from Rottnest Island originating
from remote areas and with no means of returning to their own country lived in camps to the
south of Fremantle and were sporadically employed as shepherds and at other work. The report
also deals with several myths concerning physical features of the landscape, Woodman Point,
and ‘The limestone ridge that runs parallel to and some 200 – 400 metres from the coastline’.
This may include the limestone ridge that runs roughly along the route of Hampton Road to
around East Street where it intersects the Swan River, placing this feature near to but not within
the area of proposed road modification. Also of interest is reference to a series of campsites
recorded by Daisy Bates that form part of the moolyeet (initiate) trail connecting sites in Perth
with the Porongurup Ranges. “Other camps on the trail were located at Koorga (variously
located by Bates as ‘back of Beaconsfield’ and ‘piggery, burying ground, Fremantle’”.
McDonald, Hales & Associates August 2003, Desktop Survey of the proposed Beach Street
Streets Ahead Project, Fremantle, A report prepared for the City of Fremantle.
The report concerns a footpath between Beach Street and Canning Highway and reviews the
various reports covering the area. A cautionary note is raised regarding adjacent sites.
“Cantonment Hill (Site Id 319) ...border the study area...as mythological sites (...listed as
ceremonial) there is the possibility that their boundaries are not as clear cut and as they are close
to the study area precautions should be taken so that these sites are not disturbed” (p 21). This is
indication that both mundane (camping, historical) and mythological sites with possibly unclear
boundaries exist in the immediate environs of the proposed road modification.
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
De Gand, D. & Jackson, G. 2000, Report on an Ethnographic and Archaeological Heritage
Assessment of the Proposed Project Area (Stages 1,2 & 3) in the Fremantle Inner
Harbour for the Fremantle Port Authority, A report prepared for the Fremantle Port
Authority.
Although the report is concerned specifically with the Fremantle inner harbour the ethnographic
and ethno-historical background contains relevant information such as the name of the area and
pre-contact use of the area. The Fremantle area was referred to as Walyalup – a specific part of
the coastal limestone cliffs (Booyeembarra) around the mouth of the Swan estuary. The
Fremantle area had several major dwelling and meeting places and was a place of exchange and
ceremony (as a mourning place at the mouth of the Swan River); and for Fremantle ceremonies
as in Bates’ initiates trail. However this information is a statement from Tout-Smith’s (1998)
historical illustrative booklet which does not give any references or substantiation. Fremantle is
located on the path of an ancient ‘Bidi’ (track/footpath) from Perth to North Fremantle where it
crossed the Swan River ‘probably at Ferry Point, a large sandbar, which once extended into the
estuary just behind the Fremantle railway station’ (p 21). Other interpretations of the ethnohistorical record suggest that Fremantle was ‘probably not major centres of traditional
Aboriginal life, but were at least regularly frequented’ (p 20). Interestingly the authors state that
a Noongar camp located between the current High and Marmion Streets was bisected by the
establishment of the tramway (p23). This statement comes from a list of chronological markers
in Tout-Smith’s booklet (p52) :1905- Noongar camp bisected by tramway between High and
Marmion Street. As there is no reference given or map of which section of High and Marmion
the camp was located it is not possible to further investigate these details.
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
RESULTS OF ARCHIVAL RESEARCH
The review of relevant reports has established that pre-European Aboriginal artefacts exist,
albeit low numbers, even in areas that have undergone extensive disturbance and therefore the
potential for further artefacts to be unearthed during excavation and earthworks remains (Burke
2006).
Ethno-historical research indicates that Fremantle was formerly known as Walyalup and that it
was a major meeting and dwelling place for traditional Aboriginal people and was known as a
place for undertaking trade and ceremonies. Fremantle contained a ford where the Swan River
could be crossed and so was an important link on a Bidi (track) that ran from Perth to the south
of the river and beyond (de Gand 2000, see also Bates in McDonald 2003).
During the historical period Aboriginal people lived in camps around the Fremantle area and
appear to have been concentrated to the south around Robbs Jetty (The Smelters). The area
around Fremantle Cemetery is also identified as a location Aboriginal people lived in during the
historical period (McDonald 1997, 2003).
Several physical features in the Fremantle area are identified as having mythological
significance including the Limestone Ridge that runs parallel and 200 – 400 metres from the
coastline towards the west end of the survey area (McDonald 2003). Bates alludes to an
initiates’ camp near the ‘burying ground’ in Fremantle (McDonald 2003). The author sounds a
note of caution regarding mythological sites with boundaries that are unclear and may be more
extensive than what has been previously mapped (McDonald 2003).
One heritage place, Fremantle DIA 3726, overlaps the eastern edge of the project area by 250m
long x 60m wide along Leech Highway. This heritage place has been designated stored data as
the ACMC have deemed that it does not fit the criteria of a significant place to Aboriginal
people to be included on the register as a site or the ACMC considered that the details and
location are insufficient for the place to be accurately registered.
DIA has mapped Fremantle DIA 3726 in a 3km square area because of the uncertainty of its
location. The single reference is from Makin (1970) where he refers to the camp as “back o’ the
cemetery”. The Fremantle cemetery was established in the 1890s and the “back o” cemetery is
an unclear subjective term that may vary over time with constant changes to the layout of the
cemetery precinct. Further the informant of Makin has not been provided. Ethnohistorical
research has established that this was a campsite within the post contact era and ranging roughly
from 1920s to 1940s. This was a time when Aboriginal camps were set up as fringe camps as
their presence in the township itself was not encouraged unless they were employed in a gainful
manner. As an historical camping ground within an unspecified area it is unlikely to be
impacted by the proposed road developments along Leech Highway. It is further considered
that this section of the road and road reserve has been sufficiently disturbed from road
construction and infrastructure over time.
The remainder of the project area does not contain a previously registered heritage site or
heritage place. McDonald (1997) state the likelihood of camps and other places of ethnographic
significance existing close to the cemetery on Carrington Street. They add that the Fremantle
Golf Club alongside High Street suggests an area of land that may well have been otherwise
unoccupied until recent times and as such could have been a place used by Aboriginal fringe
dwellers as a camping/living place.
The Royal Fremantle Golf Club occupies, an A Class Reserve No.6638 of 196 acres which was
gazetted in 1899. It was then leased to the Currie Brothers for cattle grazing and used by the
Polo Club. In 1906 Fremantle Municipal Council developed the first nine holes. Eighteen holes
were completed in 1909 (www.royalfremantlegc.com.au). The land on the seaward side of The
15
A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Royal Fremantle Golf Club was developed as Fremantle Golf Club in 1924 (Sunday Times, 7
September 1924). Turning “the rock strewn area into a golf course” was “an enormous,
laborious task”. The land was surrounded by piles of stone that eventually became grasscovered fairways with tees and greens.
At the southwest corner of the golf block of land is Booyeembara Park (Aboriginal word
meaning limestone hills). The park encompassing an area of 16 ha, was created in 2006. The
area was initially used as a quarry followed by a rubbish tip. Restoration of the area began with
landfill which was surfaced with 600 millimetres of crushed limestone or council green waste
and specialised soils. “The planning and design process initiated a repair of relationships with
the
local
Indigenous
people
through
ceremony,
art
and
employment.”
(www.fremantle.wa.gov.au/sustainability/Green_plan).
The description above describes the extensive disturbance that has occurred to the surface and
subsurface of the golfing and park precinct since 1906. It is highly unlikely that any heritage
material in situ would remain after such development. It is also highly unlikely that any
Aboriginal skeletal material would have been interred in such rocky high ground. McDonald’s
(1997) hypothesis that usage of the grounds by fringe dwellers has not been supported as yet by
any substantive evidence. Nevertheless historic camping grounds per se generally do not fit the
criteria as a significant heritage site within the current DIA paradigms.
NATIVE TITLE CLAIMS OVERLAPPING THE FREMANTLE
AREA
Currently, there is one registered and one unregistered Native Title applications that overlays
the project area, lodged with the Register of Native Title Claims and the Schedule of
Applications held by the Commonwealth Native Title Tribunal. The Schedule of Applications
includes registered applications, unregistered applications, and applications still undergoing the
registration test.

Single Noongar Claim (Area 1) WC03/6
Applicants: Anthony Bennell, Alan Blurton, Alan Bolton, Martha Borinelli, Robert Bropho,
Glen Colbung, Donald Collard, Clarrie Collard-Ugle, Albert Corunna, Shawn Councillor,
Dallas Coyne, Dianne Coyne, Margaret Colbung, Edith De Giambattista, Rita Dempster,
Aden Eades, Trevor Eades, Doolann-Leisha Eattes, Essard Flowers, Greg Garlett, John
Garlett, Ted Hart, George Hayden, Reg Hayden, John Hayden, Val Headland, Eric
Hayward, Jack Hill, Oswald Humphries, Robert Isaacs, Allan Jones, James Khan, Justin
Kickett, Eric Krakouer, Barry McGuire, Wally McGuire, Winnie McHenry, Peter Michael,
Theodore Michael, Samuel Miller, Diane Mippy, Fred Mogridge, Harry Narkle, Doug
Nelson, Joe Northover, Clive Parfitt, John Pell, Kathleen Penny, Carol Pettersen, Fred
Pickett, Rosemary Pickett, Phillip Prosser, Bill Reidy, Robert Riley, Lomas Roberts, Mal
Ryder, Ruby Ryder, Charlie Shaw, Iris Slater, Barbara Stamner-Corbett, Harry Thorne,
Angus Wallam, Charmaine Walley, Joseph Walley, Richard Walley, Trevor Walley,
William Warrell, William Webb, Beryl Weston, Bertram Williams, Gerald Williams,
Richard Wilkes, Mervyn Winmar, Andrew Woodley, Humphrey Woods, Dianne Yappo,
Reg Yarran, Saul Yarran, Myrtle Yarran, Ken Colbung.
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
CULTURAL HERITAGE DUE DILIGENCE GUIDELINES
The purpose of Guidelines is to assist land users to work out whether they can proceed with
their project without the need for heritage avoidance strategies or, if such strategies are
indicated, what those strategies should be. If there is no likelihood of damage or destruction to
an Aboriginal heritage site, it is not compulsory for a land user to have any consent under the
Heritage Act. However if there is such a possibility, then land users ought to assess the degree
of likelihood and consider the need for consultation with Aboriginal groups, or heritage
surveys, or even applying to the ACMC for the Minister's consent.
The guidelines state the likelihood of the existence of an Aboriginal site can range from positive
knowledge that there is no Aboriginal site on the land in question, to positive knowledge that
there is an Aboriginal site. In this case in the majority of the project area along roads and road
reserves it is highly unlikely that a heritage site remains in situ after some 150 years of
extensive disturbance from road works and infrastructure and numerous Aboriginal
consultancies.
Risk Assessment for the land user has been addressed in the following points.
a) the degree of likelihood of an Aboriginal site existing on the relevant land;
b) the degree of likelihood of the proposed land use damaging or destroying any
Aboriginal site which may exist, or is known to exist, on the land; and
c) whether or not precautionary strategies will be sufficient to avoid Aboriginal sites, or
avoid damaging Aboriginal sites, or whether it is necessary to apply to the ACMC for
the Minister's consent under section18 of the Heritage Act.
Under the Guidelines Category 1- Activities involving no ground disturbance that are
unlikely to disturb an Aboriginal site, proposed development of the land may fall under
clause (d) activities on land previously cleared and used for either intensive or extensive
development. “In these circumstances, it is reasonable for the activity to proceed without further
cultural heritage assessment”. (Please note there is no category for activities involving ground
disturbance that are unlikely to disturb an Aboriginal site.)
In reference to the Level of Land or Water Activity Impact Guide of the Heritage Risk
Assessment Matrix, the proposed development appears to fit into 3rd Category – Moderate
defined as medium impact: ground disturbing or dependent upon the amount of ground
works 4th Category- Significant defined as medium to high impact ground disturbing;
extensive land use.
However it also fits the given example of Land or Water Activity – “activities on land
previously cleared and used for either intensive or extensive development” which is marked
as insignificant under Category 1.
According to the Likelihood of Aboriginal Heritage Impact Guide research signifies the
proposed works fit Category 2- Unlikely- “unlikely to impact upon an Aboriginal Heritage
site. No known sites in the locality or vicinity of the land use activity”.
Using either of these different results in the Heritage Assessment Matrix it nevertheless appears
to fit into the one and same yellow Moderate band of moderate/unlikely or significant
/unlikely.
In the assessment and action required Yellow Moderate is defined as “Reference to AHIS and
if an Aboriginal site is identified consultation with DIA is recommended”. As the author
understands this consultation with DIA occurred prior to this assessment where no further action
was required.
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
As no Aboriginal site has been located in the project area despite several consultancies covering
the area, it is reasonable to assume that no Aboriginal heritage site is present. As such it is
considered that proposed development activities could proceed under these guidelines. If
disturbance is envisaged at Booyeembara Park where a consultative process was initiated in
2006 to repair relationships with the local Indigenous people through ceremony, art and
employment when the park was redeveloped, then in a similar spirit of good faith it may be
considered appropriate that consultation with local Aboriginal people be conducted to continue
the spirit.
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A review of the Aboriginal Heritage Sites Register on 30 October 2012 reveals that there is one
stored data heritage place within the proposed project area that will not affect the proposed road
modifications. A search of the Fremantle district reveals that there are 14 registered Aboriginal
Heritage Sites and Heritage Places. Of the 14, 12 are of an ethnographic nature and only two of
the sites are of an exclusively archaeological nature. In an urban area which has undergone
extensive disturbance it is likely artefact sites have been either lost or destroyed. The relatively
high number of ethnographic sites is indicative of a substantive ethno-historical record and
continuous heritage interest in the area although some of the knowledge of pre-contact
ethnographic sites may have been lost following the impact of initial settlement.
A review of relevant reports has revealed that pre-European artefacts have been found in a
highly developed/disturbed part of Fremantle so the potential for further artefacts to be
unearthed during excavation and earthworks remains (Burke 2006). Fremantle was formerly
known as Walyalup and was a major meeting and dwelling place for traditional Aboriginal
people and also a place for undertaking trade and the performance of ceremonies. Fremantle
was a place the Swan River could be crossed and so was an important link to a Bidi (track) that
ran from Perth to the south of the river and beyond (de Gand 2000).
Aboriginal people prehistorically lived in camps around the Fremantle area and in fringe camps
historically. While it was considered that the two golf clubs, Fremantle Cemetery and
Booyeembara Park might have been unoccupied places utilised by Aboriginal people
historically, the extensive amount of modification to the limestone hills and surrounds since
1906 would serve to obliterate all evidence of occupation. Further, the suburban roads, housing
and associated infrastructure constructed within the project area have extensively disturbed the
surface and subsurface of the area.
One heritage place, DIA 3726 Fremantle was previously registered within the project area. The
heritage place has been categorised as stored data because of the lack of substantiation and
location details. Therefore there are no archaeological or ethnographic barriers present to effect
the proposed development.
In accordance with the Cultural Heritage Due Diligence Guidelines issued by Department of
Indigenous Affairs it is recommended that the proposed development activities may proceed
without further heritage considerations.
However it is recommended that Aboriginal consultation with relevant spokespersons occur in
regard to proposed development road works, in particular, any alterations to Booyeembara Park,
in order to continue in good faith acknowledging the inhabitants of the land.
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
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A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
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Deviation, Report prepared for Ecologia Environmental Consultants.
O’Connor, R. 1997, Report on an Ethnographic Survey of a Proposed Housing Development
Near Lake Richmond in Rockingham, Report prepared for Bowman Bishaw Gorham on
behalf of Allied Land Company Pty Ltd.
O’Connor, R. 2003. Report on an Ethnographic Survey of a Proposed Water Pipeline Route in
Forestdale. Report prepared for the Water Corporation.
O’Connor, R. and Hart, T. 2003, Report of an Ethnographic Survey of the Proposed South West
Metropolitan Railway Alignment, Report prepared for the New Metro Rail.
20
A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
O’Connor, R., Quartermaine, G. and Bodney, C. 1989, Report on an Investigation into the
Aboriginal Significance of Wetlands and Rivers in the Perth – Bunbury Region,
Western Australian Water Resources Council.
Ralph, Locke & Smith 1990, Report of an Aboriginal Sites Survey of IP14 – East Rockingham
Industrial Park, Report Prepared for Dames and Moore and the Department of
Resources Development.
Randolph, P. 2004, Lake Richmond “Fish Traps”? Report prepared for the Department of
Indigenous Affairs.
Reece, B. 1984, ‘Prisoners in Their Own Country: Aborigines in Western Australian Historical
Writing,’ In: Reece, B. and Stannage, T. (Eds.). European – Aboriginal Relations in
Western Australian History, Department of History, University of Western Australia,
Nedlands.
Silberbauer, G. B. 1994, ‘A Sense of Place,’ In: Burch, E.S.J and Ellena, L.J. Eds. Key Issues
in Hunter-Gatherer Research, Oxford: Berg
Stanner, W. 1965, ‘Aboriginal Territorial Organisation: Estate, Range, Domain and Regime,’
Oceania, 33(1).
Strawbridge, L. 1988, Aboriginal Sites in the Perth metropolitan area: a management scheme,
Prepared for Department of Aboriginal Sites, Western Australian Museum.
Strawbridge, L. 2001, Strategic Drainage Management Plan for Palm Beach and Rotary Park
Enhancement, Report prepared for Bowman Bishaw Gorham.
Tindale, N. B., 1974, Aboriginal Tribes in Australia, University of California Press, Berkley,
U.S.A.
Tout-Smith, D. 1998, The Foundations of Fremantle: Exploring the early history of Western
Australia’s port city, W.A. Museum, Perth.
21
A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
APPENDIX 1: SITES REGISTER SEARCH
22
Aboriginal Heritage Inquiry System
Aboriginal Sites Database
Search Criteria
1 sites in a search polygon. The polygon is formed by these points (in order):
MGA Zone 50
Northing
Easting
6454033
383252
6454037
383319
6453838
383361
6453682
383376
6453717
384813
6453351
384819
6453364
385362
6453298
385360
6453283
384823
6452549
384844
6452530
383477
6453124
383462
6453134
382739
6453418
382735
6453428
383291
6454033
383252
© Government of Western Australia
Report created 22 Nov 2012 13:43:45. Identifier: 989176.
Page 1
Aboriginal Heritage Inquiry System
Aboriginal Sites Database
Disclaimer
Aboriginal sites exist that are not recorded on the Register of Aboriginal Sites, and some registered sites may no longer exist. Consultation with Aboriginal communities is on-going to identify additional sites. The AHA
protects all Aboriginal sites in Western Australia whether or not they are registered.
Copyright
Copyright in the information contained herein is and shall remain the property of the State of Western Australia. All rights reserved. This includes, but is not limited to, information from the Register of Aboriginal Sites
established and maintained under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (AHA).
Legend
Restriction
Access
Coordinate Accuracy
Accuracy is shown as a code in brackets following the site coordinates.
N
No restriction
C
Closed
M
Male access only
O
Open
F
Female access
V
Vulnerable
[Reliable]
The spatial information recorded in the site file is deemed to be reliable, due to methods of capture.
[Unreliable]
The spatial information recorded in the site file is deemed to be unreliable due to errors of spatial
data capture and/or quality of spatial information reported.
Status
L - Lodged
Information lodged,
awaiting assessment
ACMC Decision Made
R - Registered Site
I - Insufficient information
S - Stored Data
Spatial Accuracy
Index coordinates are indicative locations and may not necessarily represent the centre of sites, especially for sites with an access code “closed” or “vulnerable”. Map coordinates (Lat/Long) and (Easting/Northing) are
based on the GDA 94 datum. The Easting / Northing map grid can be across one or more zones. The zone is indicated for each Easting on the map, i.e. '5000000:Z50' means Easting=5000000, Zone=50.
Sites Shown on Maps
Site boundaries may not appear on maps at low zoom levels
© Government of Western Australia
Report created 22 Nov 2012 13:43:45. Identifier: 989176.
Page 2
Aboriginal Heritage Inquiry System
Aboriginal Sites Database
List of Registered Aboriginal Sites with Map
No results
© Government of Western Australia
Report created 22 Nov 2012 13:43:45. Identifier: 989176.
Page 3
Aboriginal Heritage Inquiry System
Aboriginal Sites Database
Legend
Selected Heritage Sites
Registered Sites
Town
Map Area
Search Area
Copyright for base map information
shall at all times remain the property
of the Commonwealth of Australia,
Geoscience Australia - National
Mapping Division. All rights reserved.
Cadastre, Local Government
Authority, Native Title boundary data
copyright © Western Australian Land
Information Authority trading as
Landgate (2012).
Geothermal Application, Geothermal
Title, Mining Tenement, Petroleum
Application, Petroleum Title boundary
data copyright © the State of Western
Australia (DMP) (2012.11).
For further important information on
using this information please see the
Department of Indigenous Affairs’
Terms of Use statement at
http://www.dia.wa.gov.
au/Terms-Of-Use/
© Government of Western Australia
Report created 22 Nov 2012 13:43:45. Identifier: 989176.
Page 4
Aboriginal Heritage Inquiry System
Aboriginal Sites Database
List of 1 Other Heritage Places with Map
Site ID
Status
Access
3726
S
O
© Government of Western Australia
Restriction Site Name
N
Fremantle.
Site Type
Additional Info
Camp
Report created 22 Nov 2012 13:43:45. Identifier: 989176.
Informants
Coordinates
Site No.
385639mE
S02170
6453649mN
Zone 50 [Unreliable]
Page 5
Aboriginal Heritage Inquiry System
Aboriginal Sites Database
Legend
Selected Heritage Sites
Other Heritage Places
Town
Map Area
Search Area
Copyright for base map information
shall at all times remain the property
of the Commonwealth of Australia,
Geoscience Australia - National
Mapping Division. All rights reserved.
Cadastre, Local Government
Authority, Native Title boundary data
copyright © Western Australian Land
Information Authority trading as
Landgate (2012).
Geothermal Application, Geothermal
Title, Mining Tenement, Petroleum
Application, Petroleum Title boundary
data copyright © the State of Western
Australia (DMP) (2012.11).
For further important information on
using this information please see the
Department of Indigenous Affairs’
Terms of Use statement at
http://www.dia.wa.gov.
au/Terms-Of-Use/
© Government of Western Australia
Report created 22 Nov 2012 13:43:45. Identifier: 989176.
Page 6
Aboriginal Heritage Inquiry System
Aboriginal Sites Database
Map Showing Registered Aboriginal Sites and Other Heritage Places
© Government of Western Australia
Report created 22 Nov 2012 13:43:45. Identifier: 989176.
Page 7
Aboriginal Heritage Inquiry System
Map Showing Registered Aboriginal
and Other Heritage Places
AboriginalSites
Sites Database
Legend
Selected Heritage Sites
Registered Sites
Other Heritage Places
Town
Map Area
Search Area
Copyright for base map information
shall at all times remain the property
of the Commonwealth of Australia,
Geoscience Australia - National
Mapping Division. All rights reserved.
Cadastre, Local Government
Authority, Native Title boundary data
copyright © Western Australian Land
Information Authority trading as
Landgate (2012).
Geothermal Application, Geothermal
Title, Mining Tenement, Petroleum
Application, Petroleum Title boundary
data copyright © the State of Western
Australia (DMP) (2012.11).
For further important information on
using this information please see the
Department of Indigenous Affairs’
Terms of Use statement at
http://www.dia.wa.gov.
au/Terms-Of-Use/
© Government of Western Australia
Report created 22 Nov 2012 13:43:45. Identifier: 989176.
Page 8
A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
APPENDIX 2: MAP OF THE PROJECT AREA
23
384000
384500
385000
6455000
383500
6455000
383000
6454500
6454000
6454000
6454500
DIA: 3536 SWAN RIVER Status: R
DIA: 3419 FREMANTLE: CANTONMENT HILL. Status: R
6453500
6453000
6452500
6452000
6452000
6452500
6453000
6453500
DIA: 3726 FREMANTLE. Status: S
Map of Aboriginal heritage sites and places in relation to
Main Roads Survey Area, Fremantle, Western Australia
Main Roads Survey Area
0
Aboriginal heritage sites and places
100
200
400
600
Coordinate System: GDA 1994 MGA Zone 50
6451500
´
800
Meters
Scale: 1:15,000 (A4)
Map Prepared: 29/10/2012
COPYRIGHT
This is the property of Brad Goode & Associates Pty Ltd and shall not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part, for any
other purpose than was originally intended unless written consent is obtained by Brad Goode & Associates Pty Ltd.
383000
383500
384000
384500
385000
6451500
Legend
A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
APPENDIX 3: OBLIGATIONS RELATING TO SITES UNDER THE
ABORIGINAL HERITAGE ACT 1972
24
A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
25
A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
26
A DESKTOP ABORIGINAL HERITAGE SURVEY OF HIGH STREET UPGRADE BETWEEN SWANBOURNE STREET
AND HIRD PLACE, FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
27