Fremantle Market

The grand old Victorian building was designed by architects H.J.Eales and Charles Oldham. Sir John Forrest, the Premier of Western Australia, laid the foundation stone on Saturday November 6 1897, with construction finishing in 1898 at a cost of £8268.
This building is one of only two surviving municipal market buildings in Western Australia, and one of the few in Australia that continues to be used for its original purpose.
The building functioned as a wholesale food and produce market until the 1950's and would no doubt have been an eclectic mix of fresh produce, reflective of the many migrants who flocked to the Port City of Fremantle.
The building eventually became a packing and distribution centre until the early 1970's before undergoing a complete restoration in 1975 by the Fremantle City Council. The Fremantle Markets was officially added to the Register of Heritage Places in November of that year.
When the refurbished Fremantle Markets was reopened on 31 October 1975, there was a significant addition that continues to be one of its most popular attractions: Farmer’s Lane. This area to the rear of the market’s building because the site where fruit and vegetables were sold. It was not until 1993 however, that the permanent building to ‘Farmer’s Lane’ was completed, designed by Brian Klopper. The building was awarded a Royal Australia Institute of Architecture Commendation in the same yearLæs mere