Fenian sites of significance IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA BY PETER MURPHY
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WHILE THERE IS MUCH WRITTEN ABOUT THE 62 FENIAN POLITICAL PRISONERS TRANSPORTED TO WESTERN AUSTRALIA IN 1867 ON THE HOUGOUMONT AND CATALPA RESCUE IN 1876, LITTLE IS KNOWN OF THE WHEREABOUTS OF SITES THAT HOUSE MURALS, SCULPTURES, EXHIBITS AND PARKS DEDICATED TO THEM. PHOTO 2 Fremantle is probably a good place to start if you’re keen to follow the Fenian Heritage Trail. On the ramp leading to the Fremantle Prison entrance (photo 1), there are six life-size metal sculptures depicting the six Catalpa escapees (photo 2), while inside the prison, there are a number of exhibits mentioning the Fenians including several books about them in the souvenir shop. Not far away in Bannister Street (at the rear of the Hougoumont Hotel), there is a giant mural depicting one of the Catalpa escapees floating on the Indian Ocean along with six geese in full-flight gliding above him (photo 3). On the corner of High Street and Henry Street, you’ll find a sculpture that pays homage to one of the most celebrated of the 62 transported Fenians, poet John Boyle O’Reilly (photo 4), while at the rear of ‘Peaches’ on Hampton Road, you’ll find O’Reilly Close (photo 5). The Catalpa Memorial on the Rockingham foreshore is one of the most significant Fenian sites, and which pays homage to the six Catalpa escapees, who with the help of their fellow countrymen, managed to execute one of the greatest prison escapes in Australian history (photo 6). Incidentally, Fred Rea tells me that on Guildford Road (beneath the railway 56 | THE IRISH SCENE
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Image: Reddit u/AjdeJednuRakiju
bridge) locals refer to that site as Fenians Crossing. That site is still yearning for a plaque. Scattered throughout the City of Bunbury, there are also sites dedicated to the 62 Fenians, such as the Old Bunbury Post Office (circa 1865) where a flurry of telegrams were sent during the Catalpa Rescue, while JB O’Reilly Park on Vittoria Rd in Glen Iris (photo 7), Fenian Park in Glen Iris (photo 8), and the JB O’Reilly Seat overlooking Koombana Bay in Marlston Hill (photo 9), are also worth a visit.
