Fremantle Prison is one of those places that stays with you long after you’ve walked back out through the imposing limestone Gatehouse. Convict-built and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the former maximum security prison only closed in 1991, which makes its stories feel surprisingly recent and very real. It’s an excellent day out for families with tweens and teens, and many primary-aged kids will find it absolutely captivating too.
If you’re planning a family visit to Fremantle Prison, the lead-up to Christmas is an especially magical time to go. Read on for everything you need to know about the tours, and don’t miss the details of the festive “Get Stitched Up” light display at the end.
Once you’ve chosen and booked your tour, you’ll wait in the central courtyard until the bell rings and your guide gathers the group. Fremantle Prison is only accessible by guided tour, which really adds to the experience – the guides are knowledgeable, enthusiastic and brilliant at pitching stories so both adults and kids stay engaged. Expect lots of questions, unbelievable anecdotes and a real sense of what life behind bars was like.
The most family-friendly way to start is with one of the daytime tours. The Convict Prison Tour steps back to the 1850s and explains how almost 10,000 convicts from Britain and Ireland built the prison and helped shape early Western Australia. It’s a great option if your kids are learning about convicts at school. The Behind Bars Tour, which we did, focuses more on the prison’s life as a maximum-security gaol right up until the early 1990s. You’ll start in the processing area where new arrivals were strip searched, issued uniforms and moved through the showers before heading into the main cell block.
Walking into the vast cell range is a real wow moment. You’ll see cells set up to show conditions in the 1800s, early 1900s and the late 20th century. Early prisoners slept in tiny cells with just a hammock and a bucket for a toilet. Proper metal-framed beds didn’t appear until the 1950s, so it’s a powerful way for kids to see how basic and harsh prison life was.
Out in the exercise yards, you really get a sense of how cramped things would have been with hundreds of men sharing the space.
The tour also takes you through the kitchen and into the chapel – which, somewhat surprisingly, is now a popular wedding venue.
A highlight for many visitors is seeing the incredible murals painted by some prisoners in their cells just before the prison closed; these colourful artworks are a stark contrast to the harshness of the rest of the site.
As you move through the prison, your guide explains how punishments changed over time. You’ll pass areas used for floggings, and tiny, oppressive cells where prisoners were held in solitary confinement. Right at the end of the Behind Bars tour there’s the option to visit the gallows, where executions took place. The final hanging at Fremantle Prison was serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke in 1964. This part of the tour can be intense, so families are given the choice to skip it if they prefer.
For families with older kids who love true crime or a bit of a scare, there are additional tours to consider. The True Crime Tour is recommended for ages 10+ and digs deeper into the stories of Fremantle’s most infamous inmates – bushrangers, escape artists and some very dark characters from WA’s past. Teens in particular tend to find this absolutely gripping.
If your family is adventurous and your kids are 12 or over, the Tunnels Tour is a completely different experience. After suiting up in hardhats and overalls, you descend beneath the prison to explore the maze of hand-dug tunnels, some of them navigated by boat. It’s physically demanding and not suited to younger children, but a real bucket-list activity for fit teens and parents.
The Torchlight Tour, held after dark, turns the whole place up a notch on the spooky scale. Exploring the prison at night by torchlight adds atmosphere and drama, and older kids will love the stories that feel just that bit more eerie in the gloom.
If you plan to spend a few hours here, it’s worth looking at the multi-tour passes and packages, which offer good value if you want to combine, for example, Convict Prison with Behind Bars, or add True Crime on the same day. If you decide on another tour after you arrive, there’s a heavily discounted fee for a second tour on the same day, which is handy if your kids are still full of energy and enthusiasm after the first one.
From a practical point of view, Fremantle Prison is well set up for families, but it is an old building with stairs and uneven floors. Prams can access many, but not all, areas, and the Behind Bars tour is around 90% wheelchair accessible. Wear comfortable shoes, pack water (especially in warmer months) and allow time to explore the free Gatehouse exhibitions either before or after your tour. During school holidays and weekends, it’s wise to book ahead as tours often fill up.
We found our visit absolutely fascinating. Between the gripping stories, the dramatic setting and the chance to step right into WA’s convict and criminal history, Fremantle Prison makes a memorable, educational day out. If your kids are curious, enjoy a bit of spooky history and can handle some confronting content with your guidance, a visit here is a must-do when exploring Fremantle.
Christmas at Fremantle Prison
To make your visit even more magical during the festive season, Fremantle Prison’s historic Gatehouse transforms into a dazzling Christmas spectacle with “Get Stitched Up.” For the fourth year, Fremantle Prison has partnered with VJZoo to create a vibrant lighting display inspired by cosy knitted Christmas jumpers, vintage holiday cards, gingerbread houses, and the rich colours of stained-glass windows. This free event lights up the Gatehouse after sunset (around 7:45 pm) until 10 pm on select nights: Wednesday 10 December, Friday 12 December, Saturday 13 December, Wednesday 17 December, Friday 19 December, Saturday 20 December, and Tuesday 23 December. Families are encouraged to rug up, wander the grounds, and enjoy the festive atmosphere, with plenty of opportunities for stunning photos.
Fremantle Prison
Address: 1 The Terrace, Fremantle WA 6160, Australia
Opening hours:
Gatehouse & café: Daily, 9:00am – 5:00pm (café service generally 9:30am – 4:00pm)
Day tours: Typically running from 10:00am – 5:00pm; Torchlight and special tours on selected evenings. Check the website for current tour times and availability.
Website: https://fremantleprison.com.au
Discover more family friendly things to do in Freo here.
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Amanda Carlin has her own food and travel blog. Established in 2013, (first as “The Chef, His Wife and Their Perth-fect Life”) Amanda loves getting out and about in Perth and WA for her blog ‘Simply PERTHfect’. You’ll find her checking out the newest foodie spots (brunching, tapas or something a little fancy), as well as fun family activities with the kiddos in tow, so Amanda always has plenty of family friendly eating options to recommend too! Be sure to check out Simply PERTHfect.
