Today we went to prison. The reason: Eryn was caught shoplifting. Actually, she wasn’t, we went because we stopped in a no stopping zone…even that isn’t the truth, though we did stop in a no stopping zone. No, the truth is, we went so that we could look around the World Heritage Site.

The Fremantle Prison is situated on a hill in what used to be the outskirts of Fremantle. Now, however, after years of growth and development, what used to be a prison away from everything turned into what it is now: a jail in the City Center. It is a large prison and has lasted for over a century, but was recently closed in 1991. The Reason: There was no sanitation, in each 7 ft by 4 ft room, there was a bunk bed, a desk, and a bucket. The bucket was used as a toilet. With 16 hours a day locked in a cell with another person, think of how bad that bucket would smell. On that happy note, let’s go back to talking about the prison.

The prison was built in the 1800s by the convicts. The original building is made of limestone blocks, cut and quarried on the site by other convicts. In the back, there are the ‘yards’ which are exercise places in which the prisoners exercise. There is also the kitchen, in which the best job is, getting paid $37 a week, no holidays, 7 days a week. That is more than three times the amount you would be getting if you were a cleaner, a bleary $11 per week.