This Fremantle maritime story explores how an isolated and hazardous port transformed into a safe and efficient harbour. The early Colony of Western Australia faced challenges in establishing itself, as it struggled to maintain a reputation beyond an isolated maritime outpost, derided by critics as a land of 'sand-gropers'.
The colonial Port of Fremantle witnessed at least 168 serious maritime incidents, including 88 wrecks. Ships that were essential to supplies had to contend with pitiful man-made harbours and dock conditions. This exposed any ships and crew engaged in supplying the Colony to great difficulty and hazard when loading and unloading cargo, creating heightened risk to their entire shipping enterprise. As time went on, Fremantle's port conditions and reputation internationally had been deemed a major impediment to the Colony's growth. Leaders within the Colony fought haplessly over a dozen sets of controversial official reports on the proposed development of a safe harbour. In the Colony's final years before Federation, the quest to develop a safe harbour was realised just as Western Australia became a state in the new nation of Australia.
