{{Short description|Heritage area in Fremantle, Western Australia}} {{Use Australian English|date=May 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}} {{Infobox building | name = Arthur Head | image = File:Arthur head res gnangarra.JPG | image_size = | caption = Arthur Head Reserve from near the [[Old Kerosene Store]] on [[Bathers Beach, Fremantle|Bathers Beach]] | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_label = Arthur Head | pushpin_mark = | pushpin_relief = | former_names = | alternate_names = | construction_start_date = | completion_date = | building_type = Headland | location = [[Fremantle]], Western Australia | coordinates = {{coord |region:AU-WA_type:landmark_dim:{{wikidata |property |qualifier |raw |P625 |P2386 |format=%q}} |name=Arthur Head |display=inline,title |format=dms}}{{EditAtWikidata|pid=P625}} | embedded = {{Infobox designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = State Register of Heritage Places | designation1_offname = Round House and Arthur Head Reserve | designation1_type = State Registered Place | designation1_criteria = | designation1_date = 19 November 1993 | delisted1_date = | designation1_partof = | designation1_number = {{SRHP|896}} }} }} [[File:Fremantle map053 May 1914.jpg|thumb|1914 map of Arthur Head area in Fremantle. Notable features are the [[Railway roundhouse|Round House]], tram sheds, Long Jetty, [[Old Kerosene Store]].]] '''Arthur Head''' (also known as '''Arthur's Head''') in [[Fremantle]], Western Australia, is a former large limestone headland on the southern side of the mouth of the [[Swan River (Western Australia)|Swan River]], now also the entry to [[Fremantle Harbour]]. This location has also been referred to as ''Gaol Hill''.<ref>{{cite news |date=17 May 1895 |title=GAOL HILL, FREMANTLE. |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66261394 |accessdate=2 August 2024 |newspaper=[[The Inquirer and Commercial News]] |location=Western Australia |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia |volume=LV |issue=3032}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ourone |date=31 May 1895 |title=THE REMOVAL OF GAOL HILL |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66263177 |accessdate=2 August 2024 |newspaper=[[The Inquirer and Commercial News]] |location=Western Australia |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia |volume=LV |issue=3034}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=14 July 1894 |title=THE PROPOSED DESTRUCTION OF GAOL HILL, FREMANTLE. |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33108066 |accessdate=2 August 2024 |newspaper=[[Western Mail (Western Australia)|Western Mail]] |location=Western Australia |page=11 |via=National Library of Australia |volume=IX |issue=447}}</ref>
Historian Bob Reece identifies the geographical prominence of the location in his entry in the [[Historical Encyclopedia of Western Australia]]:<ref name="ton09">{{cite Q |Q5773872 |first=Bob |last=Reece |chapter=Fremantle |pages=387–389 |editor1-last=Gregory |editor1-first=Jenny |editor1-link=Jenny Gregory |editor2-last=Gothard |editor2-first=Janice |access-date=2021-12-11 }}</ref>{{rp|p=387}} {{blockquote |text=Fremantle is a narrow peninsula of land located at the estuary of the Swan River within Cockburn Sound, its principal landmarks from the sea being the limestone outcrop known as Arthur Head and the two hills known as Buckland Hill and Monument Hill (now Obelisk Hill). |author=Bob Reece }}
Also the strategic quality of the head is noted as:<ref>{{Cite news|date=1921-10-01|title=Fremantle: The Port's History|pages=4|work=Daily News (Perth)|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article81804917|access-date=2020-07-26|via=Trove}}</ref>{{rp|p=4}} {{blockquote |text=in May 1829 the strategic location of Arthur Head led it being chosen by Captain Charles Fremantle RN as the site for his fortified beach camp.}}
It has been significantly altered since European settlement in the 1830s, and is the site of a large number of demolished structures.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Hutchison, D. E. (David Eric) | author2=Fremantle Arts Centre Press | title=Fremantle walks | publication-date=2006 | publisher=Fremantle Arts Centre Press | isbn=978-1-921064-30-2 |page=84 }} Hutchison summarises the work of Pearson ({{Citation | author1=Pearson, Michael | author2=Fremantle (W.A.). Council | title=Report of an investigation into the historical archaeological resource within the Arthur Head area, Fremantle | publication-date=1984 | publisher=Centre for Prehistory, University of Western Australia | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/37432556 | accessdate=17 May 2013 }}) with comment that Pearson counted 72 structures, most demolished, in the vicinity of Arthur Head.</ref>
Archaeologist Michael Pearson in his 1984 report identified the following: * 1851 Lighthouse (first) * 1876 Lighthouse (second): {{convert|22|ft|order=flip}} in diameter, {{convert|72|ft|order=flip}} high; constructed by convicts in 1876–1879; decommissioned in 1902.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://members.upnaway.com/~obees/lights/metro/freoahd.htm |title=Arthur Head |work=Lighthouses of Western Australia |accessdate=2 June 2014}}</ref> * 1834 Courthouse (first) * 1840 Courthouse (second) * 1852 Police station complex * Lighthouse keeper quarters * Harbourmaster quarters
The structures remaining on the head are the [[Round House (Western Australia)|Round House]], the second-oldest building in Western Australia after the [[Wiebbe Hayes Stone Fort]] on [[West Wallabi Island]], and the pilots' cottages, all of which are heritage listed. Passing through Arthur Head is the Whalers Tunnel that enabled ease of access to [[Bathers Beach, Fremantle]] and the [[Fremantle Long Jetty|Long Jetty]].
A significant part of the Arthur Head area was utilised during [[World War II]]; the slipway constructed then for submarine repairs<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44828248 |title=HARBOUR SLIPWAY. |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |location=Perth |date=3 November 1945 |accessdate=9 May 2014 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> was known as the ''Arthurs Head Slipway''.<ref>{{Citation | title=Plans of the telescopic cradle at the Arthur's Head Slipway, Fremantle Harbour, W.A | publication-date=1940-12-31 | publisher=State Records Authority of New South Wales | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/182930927 | accessdate=27 September 2013 }}</ref>
[[File:PWD 8474.JPG|thumb|centre|400px|1900-era plan of area surrounding Arthur Head]]
==References== {{reflist |30em}}
{{subject bar |auto=y |portal1=Western Australia |portal2=Modern history}} [[Category:Fremantle Harbour]] [[Category:Heritage places in Fremantle]] [[Category:State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Fremantle]]