Allen Graham discusses his book about the social history of Fremantle 1829-1929.

There is no town in Western Australia which has a richer history and heritage than Fremantle. Established in 1829 it was where the first colonists to what was then called Swan River Colony first landed. However, the history of Fremantle cannot be told in isolation so any story about Fremantle is also a story about Western Australia and if storekeeping was the first occupation to be followed in the new colony, then hotel keeping was the next. Within six months of the colony being founded Fremantle had four hotels so this book traces the history of those early Fremantle hotels and how they, and the hotels that followed, shaped the culture and appearance of Fremantle today. To know the history of those hotels is to know the history of Fremantle.