The port city was named after Captain Charles H. Fremantle who arrived in the HMS CHALLENGER and took possession of this part of the continent in the name of His Majesty King George IV at Arthur Head on 2 May 1829.

Captain James Stirling arrived with 68 settlers in the PARMELIA on 2 June 1829, and established the settlement on the Swan River.

At that time, the entrance to the estuary was blocked by a rocky bar. This made the mouth of the river virtually impassable for sea-going vessels.

As time passed, the need for a protected anchorage became more urgent.

The gold discoveries of the 1890s brought people and prosperity to Western Australia.

In 1891, Western Australia's first Premier, Sir John Forrest appointed Irish born engineer, Charles Yelverton O'Connor as Engineer-in-Chief. Work on O'Connor's scheme for the development of a safe harbour at Fremantle began the following year.

The project involved blasting and dredging of the rocky bar to create a channel, dredging to deepen the river basin, and construction of two moles to protect the entrance to the harbour. The scheme also involved land reclamation to allow for the construction of quays and warehouses. The Inner Harbour was opened on 4th May 1897.

While the harbour has been deepened, and facilities extended and modernised over the years, the basic structure of the Inner Harbour remains essentially unchanged to this day, testament to the boldness, brilliance and foresight of its designer.