State invests $20m into historic Fremantle port

FREMANTLE Ports today welcomed the State Government $20 million budget pledge to transform Victoria Quay into one of WA’s top tourism and cultural precincts as part of the Westport project to build a new outer harbour and container port in Kwinana.
An initial $7.5m will be invested to develop, with work expected to start later this year, new public spaces with shade, seating, landscaping and pedestrian and cycle pathways. Another $3.5m will be spent on works at and around the historic HMAS Ovens submarine attraction outside the WA Maritime Museum.
“The $7.5m is a welcome start to make Victoria Quay a more comfortable and inviting place for the public and it’s great to see the government exploring what can be done,” Corporate and Community Relations Manager Neil Stanbury told StreetWise.
“It’s potentially a world-class waterfront precinct, but definitely needs more shade, seating and public spaces. The connectors to the city are weaker than they should be, and there are two obvious links that can be improved – next to the train station and also through from the Maritime Museum to Fishing Boat Harbour. We’re keen to see a much stronger use of Victoria Quay by pedestrians and cyclists, but it has to become a destination that’s pleasant to be in.”
The $20m announcement includes up to $5m investigating the relocation of vehicle shipping operations; $2m investigating the feasibility of relocating livestock shipping; and $2.5m examining new development opportunities in and around Victoria Quay.
Mr Stanbury said while Westport planning continues around moving the container trade to Kwinana, “it’s easy to forget there are other shipping trades handled by the Inner Harbour, including vehicles, break-bulk, scrap metal, live-export and of course ships are laid-up, or spelled, here from time to time. That means working out how best in the future to facilitate those trades and activities.
“We can move trades around in the Inner Harbour, such as the vehicle and break-bulk trades possibly transitioning from the eastern end of Victoria Quay to North Quay, but that would requires the right berths, infrastructure and logistics planning. Port operations are a chess board and it’s about getting the best outcomes for the State in a way that looks after the interests of the local community.”
Premier Mark McGowan said Victoria Quay has remarkable potential to become one of WA’s best entertainment, tourism and cultural precincts: “Many of the great cities of the world have transformed their historic ports into wonderful community and entertainment assets, and my Government is focused on creating something terrific for Fremantle.”
Fremantle MLA Simone McGurk said Fremantle has so much to offer and the transformation of Victoria Quay will unlock its massive tourism and people-friendly potential, which to date has been tied up in industrial use: “This significant investment will help breathe new life into Victoria Quay while retaining the history that makes Fremantle so special.”
Additional stories and images of Victoria Quay in the latest edition of Freo StreetWise, Fremantle’s only independent print and online publication available in Fremantle, Melville, Cockburn and select sites in WA.