Walyalup Koort

Walyalup Koort is the current name of the town square. In the Noongar language of the Whadjuk people, “Walyalup” denotes the locality where Fremantle grew up, and “koort” means “heart.” The Fremantle Town Hall, the Walyalup Civic Centre with its library, and St John's Anglican Church stand here; civic events are held in the open part of the square. In old documents it is called Kings Square—Royal Square—in honor of King William IV.

In eighteen seventy-six, another St John's Anglican Church stood almost in the middle of the square. It had opened as early as eighteen forty-three, but the growing parish could no longer fit inside. The church trustees wanted to build a larger church and asked the city council to grant them an additional strip of land beside the old building.

The trustees claimed that the whole square had previously been handed over to the Anglican Church. The legality of that claim was later questioned. The councillors refused: stone for road works was piled and dressed on the required strip, and some council members believed that the parish already had enough land.

A year later, the trustees returned with a proposal that changed the layout of central Fremantle. The church gave the council the south-west corner of its land and allowed an extension of High Street to run through the square. In return, the parish received the desired strip and five hundred pounds. The council agreed because it needed a site for the Fremantle Town Hall and a direct eastward route for High Street. The land and money allowed the parish to begin building a new church.

The current stone church was consecrated in eighteen eighty-two. The old one was dismantled, and builders reused a significant part of its stone. Parishioners moved into the more spacious building; a few years later, the Fremantle Town Hall was built on the site received by the council. The extension of High Street ran through the site of the former church and divided the square into two parts. In the nineteen sixties, municipal planners closed this stretch to motor vehicles, so the former roadway became pedestrian space again.

Between the current church and the Fremantle Town Hall, the footprint of the first church is marked in the paving. The extension of High Street crosses it: where parishioners once entered the church, a city street ran after the trustees’ deal with the council.