title: Fremantle walking tours and trails
text: # Fremantle walking tours and trails
  
  The historic city of Fremantle, Western Australia has many walking tours and trails. A variety of books and pamphlets describe these trails.
  
  The walking through or around Fremantle is celebrated in at least one song, and also had involved competitions in 1893.
  
  The City of Fremantle has had "heritage events" which have included special tours and walks, as well as explorations of the city heritage.
  
  Fremantle heritage is not without its controversies and regular public debates have occurred over demolition of historic buildings and sites, as well as overall policy in relation to heritage of Fremantle.
  
  The debates and controversies have usually involved the Fremantle Society, politicians, members of the city council and other public groups.
  
  Some issues over the decades have seen significant loss of heritage in the City area, but despite the losses, sufficient streetscapes and evidence of cultural heritage remain, and there is a good facility for the heritage to be recorded and written up.
  
  ## Books
  
  Books from the 1960s such as Birch's are both "a handbook and official guide". The Education Department of WA published a guide in 1980. The 1987 Louis Vuitton Cup and the 1987 America's Cup challenge changed the Fremantle landscape.
  
  David Hutchison's Fremantle Walks and his earlier book from 1986 provide a well based set of information about the features of Fremantle.
  
  Specific sections of Fremantle such as the "West End" and other parts have been isolated in specific books such Seddon's 2000 publication Looking at an old suburb. In the 2000s, books such as Richard and Moira's Freo footsteps appeared.
  
  ## Annual events
  
  The local university, Notre Dame, holds its annual commencement walk around the streets of the West End of Fremantle.
  
  ## City of Fremantle
  
  The city has provided over time maps and guides as to walking around Fremantle.
  
  The City of Fremantle has engaged consultants to review the objects and subjects of tours and events, such as the 1995 report.
  
  ### Fremantle Trails
  
  The City of Fremantle has a set of Fremantle Trails ranging through a range of subjects:
  
  * C. Y. O'Connor trail
  * Convict trail
  * Discovery trail
  * Fremantle cemetery trail
  * Fishing Boat Harbour trail
  * Hotels and Breweries walk
  * Water front trail
  * Writers walk
  * Freopedia Heritage Tour
  
  ### Walking the City
  
  David Hutchison's 2006 Fremantle Walks includes the following themed subjects with maps.
  
  * Victoria Quay
  * Arthur Head
  * The Esplanade and Boat Harbours
  * The West End
  * Market Street to the Cappuccino Strip
  * Kings Square
  * St Patrick's Basilica Precinct
  * Fremantle Prison
  * Memorial Park, Monument Hill
  
  ## Other tours and guides
  
  At various stages in Fremantle history, there have been events and special tours that have been isolated single events.
  
  Also tourism promotion guides that do not identify specific trails have been published over decades as "what's on" and are basically advertising for businesses prepared to be included.
  
  ## Walking tours
  
  More recently organised tours are provided by providers such as Two Feet and a Heartbeat and other groups.
  
  ## Freopedia
  
  The Freopedia project for having QR-coded signs at significant historic buildings and sites throughout Fremantle was a project that originated outside of Fremantle, and saw the collaboration between The Fremantle Society, Wikimedia Australia, the Fremantle City Council as well as the State Records Office, Fremantle Business Improvement District, Fremantle Port Authority, and other organisations in Fremantle. The QR signs link to the articles in Wikipedia about the buildings and the sites marked.
  
  