
Bathers Beach
Sandy cove below a limestone bluff, once a Noongar meeting ground and colonial whaling shore.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Bathers Beach in Fremantle follows two very different beliefs that once shared the same strip of sand below the Round House: a Whadjuk Noongar ceremonial and trading ground known as Manjaree, and a nineteenth-century whaling economy that dug a tunnel through the limestone above it. It moves from a shipwreck that gave the point its colonial name to the ochre trade that reportedly reached as far as Uluru. Listen at low tide, where the old tunnel mouth still opens onto the sand.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
The Round House
Twelve-sided limestone jail above the harbour, once a lockup for prisoners bound for a penal island.
Blackwall Reach Reserve
Limestone river cliffs and bushland reserve, prized for cliff jumping, rock climbing and river views.
Elizabeth Quay
Waterfront promenade around a reflooded river inlet, ringed by restaurants, bars and a rooftop lookout.
South Beach
Sweeping South Fremantle sand and shallows, once the terminus of the horse-tram and site of the colony's first race.
Perth Cultural Centre
Reclaimed lakebed turned arts precinct, with galleries, theatres and a recreated Noongar wetland.
Rottnest Island
Former Aboriginal punitive prison island whose limestone quod cells later served as holiday lodging.