Challenger Harbour

Challenger Harbour is a marina in Fremantle, Western Australia adjacent to the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour. The harbour breakwater covers the historical site of the Fremantle Long Jetty.^[1][2]

The city of Fremantle with Challenger Harbour in the foreground

The harbour was named after HMS Challenger,^[3] which was under the command of Captain Charles Fremantle when, on 2 May 1829, he hoisted the British flag on Arthur Head, the south head of the mouth of the Swan River, to mark the establishment of the Swan River Colony.^[4]

The harbour was built for the 1987 America's Cup in 1983–84 and included facilities specifically for the associated 12-Metre class racing yachts. A stone breakwater protected the harbour from the ocean. It has since been modified for recreational vessels only, with seven jetties (including one jetty leased to the Fremantle Cruising Yacht Club and four jetties leased to the Royal Perth Yacht Club), as well as short-term serviced apartments. Pens range in size from 10 metres (33 ft) up to 35 metres (115 ft). The marina is owned and administered by the Western Australian Department of Transport.^[5][6]

In January 1999 the Fremantle Sea Rescue's communications centre was sited at the harbour,^[7] until a 2016 move to the former signal station^[8] on Cantonment Hill.^[9]

References

1. Garratt, Dena (1999). "The Long Jetty: A case study in salvage archaeology" (PDF). Fremantle, WA: Western Australian Maritime Museum. p. 1. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
2. Garratt, Dena. "Fremantle Long Jetty". Fremantle, WA: Western Australian Maritime Museum. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
3. Fremantle History Centre (2016), City of Fremantle and Town of East Fremantle Street Names Index (PDF), City of Fremantle: City of Fremantle, Wikidata Q121022909
4. Wickens, Charles H. (1923). Official Year Book of the Commonwealth of Australia (16 ed.). Melbourne: Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics. p. 5. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
5. "Challenger Harbour Fremantle" (PDF). South Fremantle, WA: Department of Transport. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
6. "Royal Perth Annexe (Challenger Harbour) Routing & Jetties Diagram" (PDF). Crawley, WA: Royal Perth Yacht Club. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
7. "Ministerial Media Statement". Perth, WA: Government of Western Australia, Department of Transport. 15 January 1999. Archived from the original on 12 February 2006. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
8. "Long Watch Ends". The West Australian. Perth, WA. 9 January 1941. p. 6. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
9. "Cantonment Hill Project". City of Fremantle. February 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2020.

32.06°S 115.74°E / -32.06; 115.74