“The actors come and go but the speeches stay the same.”
Former ports chief executive Kerry Sanderson, who went on to become Western Australia’s governor, came along and pressure to sell eased off as she was happy to see Mrs Mullally, who didn’t mind all the noise of the working port around her, stay in her home.
The offers from developers still came along every once and a while but Mrs Mullally told ABC Perth in 2019 there was a lot of pressure to sell but scant money on the table.
“I paid it off … I wasn’t keen on letting my house go,” she said.
“I didn’t really do anything, just refused to sell. It was the politicians that were pushing it, giving everything to the Yanks.”
Last year Mrs Mullally’s family contacted the port authority about a possible sale of the house and it changed hands for $450,000.
Whereas once the government would have levelled the cottage, a Fremantle Ports spokesman said it would not be demolished going forward.
An aerial view of Carmel Mullally’s old home (highlighted in blue) in 1953 and 2021.Credit:Fremantle History Centre
“Mrs Mullally happily lived on her property for many, many years and was a respected member of the port community,” he said.
“Fremantle Ports did want to buy her block in the 80s and early 90s, but she was adamant she wanted to stay, she liked living in the port and then-CEO Kerry Sanderson was happy for her to remain right where she wanted to be.
“Over the years Mrs Mullally had a positive relationship with us and we helped her out from time to time.”
Fremantle Port.Credit:Lauren Pilat
The spokesman said the authority would review the site the house sat on and whether it could be integrated into port operations.
“Otherwise it’s likely we will offer it via some process for re-use in another location,” he said.
“If that happens, we’d welcome applications from the public, including community organisations.”
‘Houses will return here’
Mrs Mullally wasn’t wrong when she told The West Australian in 2002 that there would be homes in her part of the port once again.
With the state government looking to possibly shutter Fremantle Port in the next 30 years in favour of an outer harbour at Kwinana, there is also a steering committee looking at future development possibilities.
“I’ve always said one day that the houses will return here and I still say that.”
Carmel Mullally – 2002
Multi-storey apartments have popped up just a kilometre up the road and property developers are now encroaching on the port with old industrial land being snapped up.
An 8.3-hectare site off Bracks Street, in an area once home to large oil terminals and manufacturing sheds, was purchased in 2015 for $18 million, but no plans for development have been forthcoming as the new owners seek to rezone the land with the WA Planning Commission.
Old warehouses in Fremantle a developer wants to demolish for a residential project.Credit:City of Fremantle
The owner, North Fremantle JV, recently lodged a demolition request for the old sheds and warehouses on the 1.7-hectare block with the Fremantle council but was told to retain several heritage features including old timber trusses and a masonry wall.
Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said the port city had a unique industrial heritage which should be incorporated when thinking about future developments.
“We need to remember as the port goes to make sure we keep the character of our city in any developments in that area,” she said.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
Last resident of Fremantle Port sells cottage after five-decade holdout
Source: Philippines Alive
