The President visited Fremantle Prison, a former prison and now a World Heritage site, with significant relevance for both Australian and Irish history.
Following the arrival of the first convict transport ship in Fremantle Harbour in 1850, nearly 10,000 convicts passed through the ‘establishment’ between 1850 and 1868, including a number of Fenian political prisoners who arrived on the Hougoumont, the last convict ship to sail for Australia, docking in Fremantle on 9 January 1868. During the voyage a number of the Fenians produced seven editions of a shipboard newspaper entitled The Wild Goose, which survive in the State Library of New South Wales.
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A book about the President's 2017 visit to Australia is available to read, or download, here.
Related events:
- President dedicates a Famine Memorial sculpture in Subiaco Park
- President addresses State Parliament of Western Australia
- President receives Honorary Doctorate from the University of Western Australia
- “The Economic Debate: From the Great Famine to Today - The Australian/Irish Dimensions.”
- President attends the unveiling of ‘Footsteps’ by Rowan Gillespie
- President lays a wreath at the Australian Monument to the Great Irish Famine
- President gives keynote address at the University of New South Wales
