Background Information

Methodology

The methodology used in the preparation of this HMP is consistent with the principles and definitions contained in the The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance (the Burra Charter). In particular, it observes the principle that the nature and level of a place’s heritage significance will determine the appropriate management response.

This HMP is based on consultation with Fremantle Prison personnel and with ‘external’ stakeholders from the WA Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage and the WA Heritage Council. Further, extensive and ongoing community consultation has been undertaken by Fremantle Prison. This has included a combination of online data collection and face-to-face community consultation regarding the ways in which the community (widely defined) values Fremantle Prison and would like to see it used and enhanced. These data have also informed the content of this HMP.

A draft of the HMP was exhibited for public comment. The content of the HMP reflects the sentiments expressed by the bulk of the respondents concerning community connection and aspirations for the place.

The authors of the HMP undertook a number of site visits between January and May 2018 to inform their policies and recommendations.

The HMP has also been prepared in accordance with Schedules 5, 5A, and 5B of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000. The Schedules emphasise that a HMP must include a number of critical elements, including the following elements (which have been paraphrased):

a clear statement demonstrating an understanding of the nature and level of significance that the place embodies and how the place embodies different kinds of significance (its different ‘values’)
a clear statement demonstrating an understanding of the legislative processes that the HMP must operate within
a clear description of the place so that managers understand precisely what they must conserve and where
a mechanism for the early identification of ‘risks’ to identified heritage values and the constraints on future actions that these risks impose; as a counterpoint, the HMP may identify opportunities (e.g. for new development) arising out of the place’s heritage values
a clear means of identifying and assessing potential adverse impacts on the assessed heritage values of the place arising from the prevailing environment and/or proposed actions
recommendations for timely ‘actions’ necessary to the conservation of the place
mechanisms for monitoring the condition of the place and for reporting on changes to its condition

Report Structure

Rather than present the above matters in separate sections – which requires users to navigate between different parts of a lengthy report – this HMP consolidates disparate relevant information around broad areas of management concern. These are presented as ‘Overarching Policy Areas’ which comprise the following:

Outstanding Universal Value
Aboriginal cultural heritage
archaeology
community engagement
governance and finance
keeping a record
movable heritage
new development
physical conservation
setting
‘telling the story’ (heritage interpretation)

With the exception of the Overarching Policy on Outstanding Universal Value, the overarching policy areas are presented in alphabetical order. The order does not denote different levels of importance or priority (except for the Overarching Policy on Outstanding Universal Value), because the appropriate management of Fremantle Prison demands a holistic approach to conservation.

For each overarching policy area clear and concise guidance is provided with respect to:

management objectives
risks to assessed heritage values
the statutory obligations
non-statutory obligations
constraints arising from significance
opportunities arising from significance

Each overarching policy area is then provided with:

relevant policies to guide decision-making
specific actions necessary to the implementation of those policies

It is envisaged that when managers of Fremantle Prison are required to carry out an action they will consult the text within the relevant overarching policy area/s and act as follows:

form a view about the objectives that their decision should assist to attain
proceed with a clear understanding of the risks to be avoided and the opportunities that are available
be equipped to satisfy statutory and non-statutory requirements

Further, users will have ready to hand the policies that will govern their decision-making in relation to those overarching areas.

The HMP in this form provides the managers of Fremantle Prison with a clear set of guidelines designed to:

underpin heritage impact assessments for proposed works
assist with proactive heritage conservation

Each ‘Overarching Policy’ concludes with a series of recommended ‘Actions’. Fremantle Prison is subject to competing demands on its limited resources; the specific actions identified for each policy area are usually intended to be read as desirable actions to be implemented when resources allow and having regard to the full range of conservation imperatives. Where essential and/or urgent specific actions have been identified (as opposed to ‘desirable’ ones), this is explicitly noted in the HMP.

In addition to the overarching policy-based division of text described above, this HMP also includes:

Guidelines with respect to a range of more specific activities, particularly the kind that are undertaken during physical conservation works and the day-to-day maintenance of the place. It is envisaged that this more specific policy guidance will be of particular use to personnel engaged in building maintenance and landscape management. Importantly, each of the specific policy areas refers the user back to the relevant overarching policies.
Guidelines based on physical locations (termed herein ‘structures and spaces’). It is envisaged that the ‘Structures and Spaces Conservation Principles and Actions’ will be particularly useful in future masterplanning, especially in identifying locations suitable for new development and adaptive re-use. They include both guiding principles and more detailed actions for each ‘structure and space’.

The content and format of the report, as described above, meets the requirements of the EPBC Regulations.

It also lends itself to the digital delivery of the data, which is an objective of Fremantle Prison.

Outstanding Universal Value

This HMP recognises that Fremantle Prison’s heritage values require a holistic and inclusive approach to its conservation. Fremantle Prison is part of the ‘Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Property’ and therefore management decisions that adversely impact its heritage values may impact the OUV of the Australian Convict Sites as a whole. As a reflection of the importance of managing the OUV of Fremantle Prison relative to the other co-existing values at the place, a separate ‘Overarching Policy’ on OUV has been prepared. The policy is placed first in Section 5, in a list of Overarching Policies that are otherwise in alphabetical order.

That Overarching Policy emphasises the importance of the Australian Convict Sites Steering Committee’s Strategic Plan 2017–2020 which includes the following objectives:

to collaboratively manage the Property’s OUV
to conserve and protect the Property’s OUV for current and future generations
to present and interpret the Property’s OUV, emphasising each site’s contribution to the whole
to give the Property a function in the life of the community

Authorship

This HMP was prepared by Extent Heritage Pty Ltd and Lovell Chen for the Western Australian Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage.

The following personnel co-authored the text:

Acknowledgements

Luke Donegan – Manager, Heritage Conservation, Fremantle Prison – worked with the Extent Heritage / Lovell Chen team in the preparation of this HMP. The HMP also benefited greatly from Workshops involving Fremantle Prison personnel and ‘external’ stakeholders including (in alphabetical order):

This HMP was preceded by several earlier management documents. The following have been particularly useful to the preparation of this report:

‘Fremantle Prison. A Policy for its Conservation’ (1998), report prepared for the WA Department of Contract & Management Services and the Fremantle Prison Trust Advisory Committee, by James Semple Kerr, revised edition.
‘Fremantle Prison Conservation Management Plan’ (February 2010), report prepared for the WA Department of Treasury and Finance by Palassis Architects with Godden Mackay Logan.
‘Fremantle Prison Heritage Management Plan’ (March 2013), report prepared by Luke Donegan for the Heritage Conservation Branch of Fremantle Prison.

The content of this document both synthesises and augments this earlier high-quality work.

The following images courtesy of Fremantle Prison: cover photograph; section divider photographs for Sections 5.0 and 6.0; banner photographs (Section 7.0) for ‘Gatehouse and Entry Complex’, ‘Main Cell Block’ and ‘Watch Towers and Elevated Walkways’.

Rankings

The rankings used in this report observe the following hierarchy of significance:

Exceptional – Buildings, fabric, spaces and elements of exceptional significance are predominantly associated with the convict-era construction, use and operation of Fremantle Prison. This era, which is highly valued, extended from 1851–53, when the earliest convict-related prison works commenced; through to 1886 when the Prison ceased to be a Convict Establishment. This period encompassed the opening of the Prison in 1855 and the cessation of convict transportation to the colony of Western Australia in 1868. Most of the elements of exceptional significance also have OUV, as recognised in their inclusion in the World Heritage Listing.
Considerable – Buildings, fabric, spaces and elements of considerable significance are predominantly associated with the post-convict era of colonial and early state administration, of the period 1886 to 1918. Several major building programmes and developments occurred at the Prison in this period. Physical changes were also made to accommodate innovations in prisoner recreation, management and security, including the introduction of new systems of prisoner classification.
Some – Buildings, fabric, spaces and elements of some significance include some pre–World War II elements, albeit modified or of more limited distinction than earlier elements of the Prison; and post–World War II elements. They also include items associated with the prisoner experience; reconstructed elements; and elements added throughout the twentieth century which demonstrate ongoing developments in prisoner recreation, management and security.
Little or No – Buildings, fabric, spaces and elements of little or no significance are mostly modern elements. While they may provide evidence of later prison works and activities, they typically date from the latest period of prison operations, are elements of utility, and are constructed of commonplace fabric and materials. These elements are typically of little or no heritage distinction, and in some cases are intrusive.

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Terminology: The Burra Charter

The terminology in this report follows definitions presented in the Burra Charter, Article 1, that provides the following definitions:

Place means a geographically defined area. It may include elements, objects, spaces and views. Place may have tangible and intangible dimensions.

Cultural significance means aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual value for past, present or future generations.

Cultural significance is embodied in the place itself, its fabric, setting, use, associations, meanings, records, related places and related objects. Places may have a range of values for different individuals or groups.

Fabric means all the physical material of the place including elements, fixtures, contents, and objects.

Conservation means all the processes of looking after a place so to retain its cultural significance.

Maintenance means the continuous protective care of a place, and its setting. Maintenance is to be distinguished from repair which involves restoration or reconstruction.

Preservation means maintaining a place in its existing state and retarding deterioration.

Restoration means returning a place to a known earlier state by removing accretions or by reassembling existing elements without the introduction of new material.

Reconstruction means returning a place to a known earlier state and is distinguished from restoration by the introduction of new material.

Adaptation means changing a place to suit the existing use or a proposed use.

Use means the functions of a place, including the activities and traditional and customary practices that may occur at the place or are dependent on the place.

Compatible use means a use that respects the cultural significance of a place. Such a use involves no, or minimal, impact on cultural significance.

Setting means the immediate and extended environment of a place that is part of or contributes to its cultural significance and distinctive character.

Related place means a place that contributes to the cultural significance of another place.