Manjaree Area - Vision, Purpose & Guiding Principles

The City of Fremantle has been developing a revised vision, purpose and guiding principles to inform planning for the Manjaree area (encompassing Bathers Beach and Arthur Head/Round House precinct). We'd like to hear from the community on ways to best activate the area to successfully realise the Vision, Purpose, and Guiding Principles that have been set.

The City has a focus on renewing and activating amenities and precincts and sees the Manjaree area as a place where life, heritage, culture, art and tourism coexist and thrive. This item builds on previous area and project specific consultation completed in 2012 and 2019, and further community consultation through the Arts, Culture & Creative Strategy 2024-2034 and the Strategic Community Plan 2024-2034.

The Manjaree area is a key public site with significant cultural and historical importance in Walyalup | Fremantle. The Manjaree includes Manjaree | Bathers Beach and Arthur Head, which have long been sites for ceremonies, kinship, and cultural exchange by the Whadjuk Nyoongar people. The headland and nearby islands form part of the ancestral songlines, offering a powerful vantage point to experience culture and heritage. Manjaree is where colonial history began in Walyalup | Fremantle. These deep and intersecting layers create opportunities for truth-telling, cultural continuity and shared understanding.

The Manjaree area features Bathers Beach, the Round House, Western Australia’s oldest public building, and significant heritage sites, including the Whalers Tunnel, limestone walls, stairs, and buildings on Captains Lane, Mrs Trivett Place, Kidogo Arthouse and the J-Shed. The Walyalup Aboriginal Cultural Centre has operated in the Manjaree area since 2014.

This site plays a pivotal role in connecting places, including Wadjemup | Rottnest and the Fremantle Prison, while remaining an important public destination in its own right - one that is welcoming and inclusive to all.

Currently, the primary function of the Manjaree area is cultural, artistic, and creative pursuits. Other community uses may emerge through this engagement, such as but not limited to accessibility of the site, recreational uses, types of operators, use of public realm areas, and other general uses. It is noted that the public realm areas at Manjaree will continue to serve as a public recreation and community space. The findings from this community engagement and previous consultation processes will inform operational planning, future use, and activation of the area.

We are asking the public to:

• Review the Vision, Purpose, and Guiding Principles, the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Key Documents section.
• Share your ideas and thoughts by completing the survey below.
• Provide any relevant examples that we should be looking at to inform the project.
• Request to meet with city staff to discuss your thoughts via a 1:1 meeting or group meeting.

How can you make your submission?
Submissions can be submitted online via the submission form below, or:

• By Mail
  PO Box 807
  Fremantle WA 6959
• In Person
  Walyalup Civic Centre
  151 High Street
  Fremantle WA 6160
• By email - communityengagement@fremantle.wa.gov.au
• Online via the submission form below

A hard copy of the survey can be sent or picked up upon request by emailing the Community Engagement team here: communityengagement@fremantle.wa.gov.au.

Submissions will close 5pm AWST, 16 July 2025.