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An historical walk through war in Freo

Jessica NicoFremantle Gazette

It is a history that goes all the way back to the 1800s, and one that has intrigued many a University of Notre Dame lecturer.

For Notre Dame's Deborah Gare, having an office in the old Fremantle Hotel building on Cliff Street gives her a daily walk down the same path many soldiers took to get to the port. It is the same path which well-known Australian figure Breaker Morant also took as he headed for the Boer War in 1900.

There are well-known and not-so-well-known links to war scattered all around Fremantle, from lost forts to air raid shelters and enlistment halls, so much so that Professor Gare and her colleagues will be putting a twist to the usual West End tour this weekend in Fremantle and War: A Walking Tour.

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Prof Gare said they wanted to show people that Fremantle's history of war went well beyond World War I.

"The defence of Fremantle was organised from 1829 so we want to look at all of the ways in which war has shaped the lived experiences and our landscape in Fremantle since 1829," she said.

"So we'll be covering a range of different sights including the explorer's monument, air raid tunnels, Fort Arthur, the servicemen staying in the Fremantle Hotel, the old tramways, the Drill Hall and the Town Hall.

"We know that Fremantle continued to be used to supply troops in Korea and Vietnam and because Fremantle is a working port, it is by definition a front in wartime."

The Fremantle Heritage Festival runs until May 17.

Visit www.fremantle-story. com.au for more information on Notre Dame talks and other festival events.