Jarrah picket fence posts in Canning River to have interim heritage listing

27/9/97

One of the more unusual reminders of Western Australia's convict past is to have its heritage values recognised by the State Government.

A series of jarrah picket fence posts in the Canning River, between Salter Point and Shelley Bridge, is to be placed on the Heritage Council of WA's interim register of heritage places.

Heritage Minister Graham Kierath said Convict Fence was a rare reminder of the State's convict past and its early timber industry and river transportation system.

Mr Kierath said convict labour was used to build the fence in 1866 to keep in place a navigation channel which had been excavated in shallow parts of the river.

"The channel had been dug to enable timber to be transported down the river to Fremantle by barge," he said.

"The Convict Fence represents an unusual technological solution to a problem faced by early users of the river transportation system.

"It also has social significance in regard to WA's use of convict labour."

Mr Kierath said remnants of the fence were clearly visible from Centenary Avenue and Shelley Bridge and from other riverfront areas. Few people, however, knew of its purpose and history.

The fence was originally constructed in 1866 towards the end of the convict era (1850-1868).

"One area where cheap labour was seen as vital was the newly established timber industry along the Canning River," the Minister said.

"Convicts transported the timber down the river on barges, but it was soon found that the shallow draft reduced the amount of timber which could be loaded.

"A channel was dredged and the convicts created a 'fence' of sharpened jarrah poles to assist in retaining the edge of the channel within the river.

"It is believed the convicts had to stand waist-deep in the water, using shovels to keep the channel free of mud."

Mr Kierath said in its early years, the fence was maintained and repaired on a regular basis. In the late 1890s, the dredge 'Black Swan', using prison labour, opened out a channel, which was 1.2m deep at low water, for more than two kilometres.

This allowed the largest, fully laden barges to pass up the Canning River to the industries along its banks.

Mr Kierath said Convict Fence was now in poor condition, despite recent efforts at upgrading.

"Not only is Convict Fence an important reminder of a bygone era, it is now a picturesque part of the Canning River," he said.

"It forms an important part of the landscape for Shelley, Waterford and Salter Point residents and provides a resting place for birds such as pelicans and cormorants."

The Minister also announced that the former Sikh cemetery in Femdale will be permanently entered in the Register of Heritage Places.

The cemetery, created in 1932, now forms part of the larger Bicentennial Adenia Reserve and has been identified by a Heritage Trail marker.

The first members of the Sikh community arrived in 1835. However, a significant number of Indian 'Coolies' were imported subsequently as a workforce. By 1898 the Sikh community was well established.

The Sikhs lacked recognition both as a separate ethnic community and as British subjects and fought to retain their cultural heritage and traditional practices.

One of these practices involved the cremation of the dead, which was not legally recognised in WA until 1929. Three years later, a separate Sikh cemetery was gazetted.

The reserve was cancelled in 1977 and the Canning Regional Park was developed some time later in its place. A mound of rocks is all that remains of the cemetery.

Media contact: Steve Manchee 9481 2133