On Saturday Larry and I headed to the town of Rockingham, about 45 minutes south of Fremantle. This was the place where the Catalpa picked up the Fenian prisoners after they escaped from Fremantle Prison. We had discovered that there is a memorial to the escapees at the Rockingham Beach.
Traveling down there meant following the route on the Rockingham Road that the Fenians had followed on their escape. Now the area is heavily industrial, and there are two big Australian Navy installations as well, including Garden Island, the place behind which the Catalpa was anchored awaiting the prisoners. We drove in to town and found the tourist information office, and thereby found the location of the memorial. It was a short distance away, and is a very beautiful piece that uses the Irish Wild Geese theme for its motif.
After we looked at the memorial, we went to the end of the road and hiked out to Point Peron. From there we could see the breakers that could have cause so much difficulty for the Catalpa and its row boat. The rock formations at the point were very interesting - much different from other things we have see here. The point also has many World War II battlements tucked away in the rocks and scrub.
We left Rockingham again by the old coast road and headed back to Fremantle. When we got there we were invited for tea by our Air BnB hosts, Dave and Zolly Williams. We had a wonderful 2-hour conversation with them ranging over all kinds of subjects. Their rental flat is just perfect and we’ve been very happy to be there.
We had dinner that evening at another neighborhood place - Young George - and had another splendid meal. One dish included Kangaroo, which was tender and tasty.
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