Fremantle Prison and the Swan River convicts

Short of labour, the Swan River Colony asked Britain for convicts, and from 1850 until transportation ended in 1868 nearly 10,000 men were shipped to Western Australia. Convict gangs quarried local limestone to build their own prison at Fremantle, along with roads, bridges and public buildings. The prison held inmates until 1991 and is now one of the Australian Convict Sites on the World Heritage list.