Never-sleeping rust (assisted by the Fremantle Doctor’s salty breezes & the estuarine waters of so-called Freshwater Bay), exposed timber, winter sunlight…
I especially love places where our own species’ presence is not inescapably evident, but I also enjoy some of what happens when “the natural world” interacts with human-made structures.
Claremont Jetty juts a short distance into the Swan River’s Freshwater Bay.
It is an easy 15 minute walk from Claremont Station; from Perth Station, train to Claremont + stroll to jetty amounts to 30 minutes.
The jetty was first built nearly 125 years ago, and has had various incarnations.
At different periods it has been a bustling location (with ferries, swimming baths and thriving boat hire businesses) and a dangerous, dilapidated “eyesore”. (at least two people drowned, after falling through holes in it)
Since 1991’s repairs, it has been safe, generally little-visited, and a pleasant spot.
Click here to discover a little of its history.
Unsurprisingly, highly luxurious dwellings (including what, originally, was Alan Bond’s. In its graceless first state it used to resemble two oversized Pizza Huts, mating) and many millions of dollars worth of boats are visible from this jetty, but they fail to dominate the Swan River’s natural splendour, which is sweeping and grand at this point.
(photo copyright Doug Spencer, taken at 2.53 pm on 30 June 2022)
Tomorrow’s post features a very different, much more modern structure, on dry, inner-city land.
It, however, also crucially involves Perth’s uncommonly intense winter light.