Going to Prison

Just a short way out of Perth is Fremantle. It was one of the major ports at one time and also a major jail. In the early 1800's, this part of Australia was slowly dying for lack of labor. Officials managed to convince Britain to send over convicts so that they could have some cheap labor. While Britain wasn't thrilled about the idea because of the expense, they were less thrilled about the colony failing because France was almost sitting offshore just waiting to take over. So convicts came and the prison at Fremantle was built. It ran through 1991 before it was shut. Now it is about to receive UNESCO World Heritage Site because it is the only prison still standing from that era exactly as built and not a ruin.
The tour is a good one and really gives you pause to think about the punishment metted out to violent crimnals and what the life could be like inside a maximum security prison. We had a family on the tour with us of two young boys (7 and 9) and a girl of 10. Not sure the seriousness of the place impressed them but the punishments and the description of smells and sanitary facilities and solitary and executions had their little minds working overtime.
Tour takes about an hour but there are extensions you can do for more information and time in jail. We didn't take the time but it would have been quite interesting as well.
The rest of our day was spent looking around Fremantle and then a visit to a friend of ours whom we had not seen in a number of years. Since we had last seen him, he's gotten married to a wonderful Korean lady and is much happier now and relaxed and living a much better life. See how wonderful married life can be? A nice end to a day that started with so much horrific history.