FAQ

These are some of the questions that are most frequently asked of the Fremantle Volunteer Heritage Guides. If you would like to find out more, please go on over and visit them at the Roundhouse!

Why is it called the Roundhouse?

It is called the Roundhouse because of the general shape of the building. It is a twelve-sided building and consisted of 8 cells and an ablutions area. "Dodecagon House" was too much of a mouthful!

What rooms and structures are in the Roundhouse?

Aside from the cells there are also a number of rooms incorporated into the Roundhouse. The front of the building is two story and is the entrance way into the building. It also provided the guard's quarters. The well was constructed in the centre of the building and a bakery and laundry were incorporated under the front steps.

Did the Round House ever have any involvement with the transported convicts from Britain?

Yes, however when they arrived in 1850 it became apparent that the Roundhouse was too small to house them. The convicts thus built a new gaol, known as Fremantle Prison.

What is the number of people hanged at the gaol?

Only one person was ever hanged at the Fremantle Roundhouse.

What where the gaol's uses after the convicts arrived in the colony?

The gaol was still used as a gaol, but rather than housing convicts it was used to house short term prisoners and as a lock-up for ticket-of-leave men who broke curfew.

Who designed the gaol?

The Roundhouse was designed by Henry Willey Reveley, who was the colony's civil engineer in the 1830s.

What is the purpose of the Time Ball?

The Time Ball was erected in 1900 as part of a procedure to give mariners and residents an exact daily time check. It was a visual reference for the 1'o-clock cannon fire.

What were the crimes the prisoners commited?

They ranged from drunkeness, theft and desertion to murder.