Abandoned South Fremantle Power Station

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Posted 2012-08-15 by Stephanie Rae ⇒ follow

There's nothing more mysteriously cool than an abandoned building. The history and all the possibilities of what could have been or what actually was can set the imagination running. In a city where new and shiny is rapidly replacing the markers of a dated past, it's nice to stop and pay homage to those buildings that have managed to survive progress.

The old South Fremantle Power Station is a far cry from Romes Pantheon, but it is glorious none the less. The sheer magnitude of its size demands attention from the humble distance the law allows.

We've driven past many times and have morbidly labelled it the "Chernobyl" building, because it really does look like it's endured a nuclear catastrophe.

Ironically we only fully understood its mammoth glory when we were exploring the new Marina at Port Coogee. As we were on the freshly designed manicured grassed area near some ridiculously beautiful homes I could not take my eyes off the power station. As sunset was looming it turned the once white eyesore into an unbelievably golden, luminous monument.

There are plenty of dark urban tales surrounding the building's questionable past, however none of this will take away from the utter awesomeness of it.

At some point not very long ago there must have been some very accessible public entrances, unfortunately the heavily beefed up security fence barring us from closer views looked suspiciously new. But if curiosity and mischief is your thing then no doubt where there's a creative will there's an illegal way.

Alas my little goody goody gumdrop family are blessed with both accident prone coordination (me) and ill prepared quick thinking (him) which combined does not make for a stealthy risk taking couple.

So if lawlessness is not your thing the Power Station is photography heaven. There are plenty of vantage points. As mentioned we shot from the marina side and then hopped in the car and headed along Robb Road down Mctaggart Cove. Quite conveniently CY Oconnor Reserve is also on this street which has a lovely park with playgrounds, BBQ, toilets and heaps of space for footy kicking and the like.

Who knows how long this unique landmark will be around, so even if you're not into photography, it's worth a Sunday drive by for a bit of a gander.