Article introduction

Pioneer Window introduction

     The importance of St. John's in the new settlement

     Memories of England

     Life in the new settlement

     Politics in the new settlement

     The spirit of the new settlers

Other historical memorabilia in St. John's

History outside St. John's (in The Square)

A tour book of Western Australia will contain large glossy photographs of these and other grand, historical sites in Fremantle, a beautiful port city. But what it may not contain are the small, hidden treasures of Fremantle.

Fremantle, or Freo (as it is known by locals), boasts a magnificent and conspicuous history. Whether strolling along High Street or sitting under an umbrella on its Cappuccino Strip, visitors can easily see that Fremantle wears her history on her sleeve. Her meticulously preserved and zealously protected late Victorian and Edwardian facades abut the sidewalks. Heavy limestone buildings weathered by the sun and the daily wind called the "Fremantle Doctor" stand at the crest of hills and at the end of streets. It is easy to close your eyes and imagine a time of unpaved streets. White sand filled the air as horses and carts plodded by. And whalers and pearling luggers offshore were heard inland; the din of ropes and voices carried ashore by the "Fremantle Doctor."

But Fremantle’s history goes beyond its grand structures and facades; it is found in quiet corners and shaded spots. One such secluded jewel, which illustrates the livelihood of some of Fremantle’s first settlers, their genealogy and their politics, is a stained glass window in St. John’s Church.

Depending on the approach to St. John’s Church, a passerby may completely miss it. Bounded by High Street (and the Town Hall) and Queen and Adelaide Streets, the large limestone structure is partially hidden by massive palm and fig trees. If approached from the south or east, a sightseer can easily walk by the church, admiring instead the neighboring Town Hall or the cameo pink and eggshell white facades of nearby shops. However, if approached from the north or west, a passerby cannot miss St. John’s Church with its gray shingled roof, tuck-pointed stones, soaring belfry, and roof apexes topped with various carved stones crosses and finials.

Unless the sightseer has an interest in churches, the once-over given St. John’s may end at that; simply an appreciative, cursory look at an excellent example of ecclesiastical architecture. No single detail suggests a further venture inside. Even the stained glass windows, the church’s pièce de résistance, look nondescript from the outside. Covered with sheets of protective plastic, the windows look dull.

Once the portal doors have been crossed, it is strikingly apparent that St. John’s Church isn’t just another church – this structure is a historic gem. Fremantle’s history has woven itself into the interior and exterior of this church.

The church is a well-maintained, vibrant, living museum, whose roots begin in the colonial days and stretch into the present. The memorials, big and small, speak of Fremantle’s history equally as eloquently as the grand facades and structures lining her streets. The church Archivist, Mr. Brian Solosy, aptly describes the church: "There is history built in its fabric; it breathes the atmosphere of early Fremantle, and is a monument to the pioneer spirit of the early … settlers."

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The Pioneer Window, one of St. John’s prized jewels, was made by E.G. Gowers and A.S. Brown of Greenmount and donated by Thelma and David Johnson of Nedlands, who have early Fremantle settler ancestry. The window commemorates the pioneers and early settlers of Fremantle, including John Hole Duffield, the ancestor of the Johnsons.

Duffield sailed aboard the Warrior in 1829-1830. He landed alone, his wife and four children over 12,000 miles away in England. They wouldn’t arrive for almost two more years, on the Egyptian. Walking along today’s up-market Esplanade and the busy port with docked seafaring vessels and anchored sailing boats, it is hard to imagine the feeling of isolation and desolation felt by many of the first settlers. Before Duffield stretched a flat, white landscape dotted with dusty bush and scrawny trees. North and south of Fremantle sheds, tents, crates, ploughs, sheep, and cattle were scattered haphazardly over the scrub-covered dunes.

The Pioneer Window distinguishes itself from other church windows by its subject matter. Whereas the majority of windows depict religious themes such as caring for the needy, or religious persons such as Jesus, the Pioneer Window illustrates the religious and secular life in the early settlement of Fremantle. The window juxtaposes memories of the motherland with life in the British colony.

Another distinguishing characteristic of the Pioneer Window is its use of space. Unlike the other windows, whose subjects depict a solitary figure or a single scene, each of the Pioneer Window’s medallions (sections) illustrate miniature, standalone scenes. Framing and/or incorporated into many of the sections are symbols such as roses, wheat, grapes, and grapevines. The repetition of these symbols unifies the distinct scenes and brings cohesion into the sectioned approach to the window.

The Pioneer Window can be split down its vertical middle to denote before and after immigration. The left four medallions depict life in England, while the right four sections show life in the new colony. The importance placed on St. Paul’s Cathedral, the church of the Commonwealth, is shown in its positioning. This grand structure of columns, central dome, and flanking towers is located at the pinnacle of the window, belonging solely to neither pre nor post ocean passage. An early crest of the Cathedral (dating back to Christopher Wren) is prominently displayed beneath the colossal structure.

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Colonial St. John’s Church was indispensable to many of the colonists. Regular gatherings provided a sense of community, spirituality, and hope in a land that seemed to its pioneers not only distant, but also foreign. The church also acted as a social club, performing plays and organizing sports clubs and fellowship leagues. An early news sheet account of the church describes its importance to the "secluded inhabitants of this part of the world," enabling the settlers to live on the edge of wilderness, a surrounding and pervading "unknown and mistrusted desert."

The importance placed by the pioneers on the church is apparent in its early appearance in the developing settlement, just over a decade after their arrival. This timeframe is impressive when placed in context. In the early days of the settlement, the colonists felt acutely a lack of goods and labour. The church was built at a time when the cost of importing goods was almost four times as high as the settlement’s meager revenue (generated mostly from wool and whale oil). Settlers were also focused on securing a home site and land, which became increasingly difficult with each arriving boat. And convict labour, which was an invaluable workforce in the other colonies, was unavailable. The settlement was not envisaged as just another "pickpocket colony." Convicts, as a source of labour, would not arrive for at least two decades. In the meantime, land had to be explored and granted, scrub and large trees cleared, seeds planted, and homes and buildings erected.

Life in the fledgling country was difficult. Farming was a hit-and-miss venture; seeds suitable for English conditions often failed to germinate. Compounding the difference in seed were the unknown pests and the differing seasonal conditions: weather seesawed from intense heat to cold and from dry to flooding. The sense of adventure and enterprise that brought many of Fremantle’s first free immigrants was tested again and again. The pioneers set their priorities for survival, one of which was a church.

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Memories of Mother England are depicted in the left side of the Pioneer Window. The uppermost point of the first medallion contains a small, white map of England with two cities: York, and Plymouth, which was the port of departure for many early settlers. A depiction of the Plymouth port appears directly beneath the English map.

The second medallion gives a homey feeling of abundance and protection. Thatched-roof, English cottages sit amidst rolling, fertile countryside. A tree and its lush leaves stretch protectively across the upper left portion of the scene. A calm, royal blue sky peeks between the foliage and the white, chimneyed cottages, which stand beside a stream. Green leaves and grapes border the already abundant scene. England is nostalgically remembered as a fertile, cultivated land.

A poem about the English Cotswolds, by Nancy Eaton (a descendent of one of the first settlers), speaks of this fondness for the English countryside in a poem: "… Into the green that is England’s green, To the stone that is England’s stone. …Where the stone cottages snuggle the earth…."

H.M.S. Challenger, with her billowing sails and full rigging, fills the entire third medallion. The distant sea is topped with swells of clouds. Captained by Charles H. Fremantle, the ship set sail from England, arriving approximately sixteen weeks later on the western shore of "New Holland." The English planned to build a permanent settlement here at the mouth of the Swan River.

Once thought by the French, Dutch, and English to offer little in the way of comfort or commercial gain, Western Australia remained unclaimed for centuries. However, when the French looked interested in colonial expansion, the English set sail. In 1827, led by Major Edmund Lockyer, a tiny military unit and a handful of convicts unfurled the Union Jack and fired a few salutary shots where Albany suburbs rest today. Although some historians claim this landing as the beginning of the permanent occupation of Western Australia by the British, there were few facilities offered to potential settlers. Other historians claim there was no intent for a permanent settlement here; that would wait until Fremantle.

In 1829, under Captain Fremantle, the British Empire annexed (through occupation) the western coast of New Holland (Western Australia) for His Britannic Majesty, King George IV. The British flag was hoisted at Arthur’s Head. This act expanded the British Empire by over one million square miles with 4,300 miles of coastline. The area was ten times as large as the British Isles. The first permanent settling of Western Australia had begun. Wheat and grapes again border the third medallion. These images take on a second meaning: export product, foreshadowing some of the coming agricultural trade of the colony.

The bottom, left medallion illustrates the arrival of the settlers in the new land. Wading through the waters, men, most likely settlers’ servants, carry heavy trunks and furniture toward shore. Smaller boats, used to move the goods and people onshore, float on the water behind the wading men. A gentleman wearing a top hat and with an overcoat draped casually over his arm, and a woman with equally neat clothing stand on the shore and watch as their belongings arrive. Unfortunately, much of the furniture never made it past its point of arrival, rotting there at the water’s edge. Wheat, green grapes and leaves border the top and bottom of the medallion of the arriving immigrants.

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The right side of the window continues the history of 19^th-century Fremantle, showing glimpses of the immigrants’ lives in the new colony. At the uppermost point of the right window is an outline of their new home, the west shore of New Holland. Fremantle is pinpointed on the white map.

The second medallion exudes a sense of vastness. Flat fields fill the majority of this section and large fluffy clouds drift overhead. Grain is stacked on end to dry and appears ready to harvest. A single-story pioneer cottage with small supportive posts and an encircling veranda, common at the time, sits in the distance. Another, square building – a shed – can be seen to the left. Full, round green grapes border the bottom of the section.

The work of clearing and planting and of producing harvest was labour intensive and slow. Some early explorers described the land as monotonous with meager vegetation (circa 1827). The town was still described in 1950 by European immigrants, such as a then 19-year-old Scottish immigrant, as being cold, rainy, miserable, and if possible, a place to leave, not aspire to. With such grim reports, why would anyone immigrate?

Early reports on the aspiring colony were mixed. In 1827, reports of high praise came back from explorers such as Captain James Stirling. They painted a romantic, positive picture of southwest Australia, which can look beautiful – almost lush – with its picturesque grass and trees, sweet smelling boronia and brilliantly colored kangaroo paws. These early descriptions caught the imagination of the first settlers. The reports of early explorers were correct, but they didn’t tell the whole story. On the southwest coast, land appearances can be deceptive; scenery can be confused with fertility.

In contrast to these recommendations were the harsh reality faced by many of the settlers. Soil was patchy in quality and much of it was not suitable for agriculture. The Fremantle environs had limited grassy pastureland and pockets of rich soil that could be quickly worked and harvested. These land plots were located along the frontages of small river systems. However, few settlers could have such a plot of land. The first abundant harvest did not happen until the end of 1831. In the interim years the settlers relied on supplies of flour, potatoes and meat from Java, Tasmania, the Cape of Good Hope, and India. On a number of occasions, the settlers faced severe rationing; it was their only way to hold famine at bay.

Beside the potential for good pastureland, which had been reported by settlers in New South Wales, settlers emigrated for other, personal and national reasons. Some wanted to escape pauperism, low wages, and unemployment. At the other end of the social scale were the moneyed immigrants: gentlefolk, tradesmen and professionals. Military and naval officers who were on half pay since the end of the Napoleonic War were also interested. Still others were convinced that the new colony held quick profits and stately mansions with big estates. On a patriotic level, British vision and Empire expansion were reasons why some loyalists emigrated.

The settlement grew fast, at first. The pioneers landed during boisterous wintry weather and spent the first two months offshore on Garden Island huddled in tents and huts. Despite this slow start, within six months over 20 ships dropped anchor at the mouth of the Swan River. And one year later approximately 1500 settlers had landed - all of whom required home sites and land. This inundation caused problems; land had to be explored and granted.

Settlers were not impressed with the unpromising appearance and infertility of much of the land. About three-quarters of the immigrants were from urban areas, which left them unprepared for the conditions they faced in the colony. Some early settlers, who could afford it, packed up and sailed back to England or explored other Australian possibilities. Like them, John Hole Duffield explored other opportunities in New South Wales before settling around Fremantle.

Captain James Stirling, the Lieutenant-Governor of the colony, tried to help the struggling settlement. In 1929 he sailed to Java for supplies for the colony. Missing that year’s harvest, the first pioneers had to rely on the remaining food brought aboard the sailing vessels. In 1832, a few years after H.M.S. Challenger came to Fremantle, Captain Stirling sailed back to England. One of his purposes for sailing was to plead Fremantle’s case, requesting more money for the struggling settlement.

Progress was coming, albeit slowly and in spurts. In 1832, the colony planted its first vineyards at Hamilton Hill. Settlers were erecting tolerable houses, according to Captain Fremantle, in spite of the sandy and unpromising appearance of the settlement’s landing. The work seemed relentless; by 1836, some of these houses were already in decline, being buried in the drifting white sand.

The first St. John’s Church is illustrated in medallion two. Opened in 1843, this structure dominated the eastern end of Fremantle. The church was a stately structure in the small, struggling town, especially when set against the surrounding flat brush and scrub land. It had a high turret and a large, single-roomed body. Like most of the buildings of that century, the church was built from local limestone, which made it so white and bright as to dazzle and hurt onlookers’ eyes.

Located directly at the end of High Street, the main street of the new settlement, it commanded an equally impressive position in the town. The Square on which St. John’s sat had been planned as a public reserve. It became the prominent location of the church when the proprietors of allotments facing the Square, which included the Duffield family, petitioned the government. A copy of this petition is displayed in the current church.

High Street had a likely pair of street ends: a gaol (Round House) at one end and a church at the other end. The symbolism of retribution and redemption was not by accident.

The church was designed by the church’s first Rector, an Irishman named George King. The design fit its new home: "Western Australian", meaning practical, with a touch of Georgian and Greek-revival style.

During the late 1870s and 1880s, Fremantle experienced significant expansion and a few accompanying growing pains, one of which was the demolition of St. John’s Church. During this time, the town erected many municipal buildings, such as the State’s first Lunatic Asylum, the Court House, and the Town Hall. The town’s early plans included an extension of High Street. As a result of these and later plans, the Town Trust bought half of St. John’s Square from St. John’s Church; High Street was extended, and construction of the Town Hall was discussed. Less than 40 years after it was opened, St. John’s Church was demolished, and the current building constructed. Two remembrances remain from the original church: a commemorative plaque in the middle of the Square and rich red glass located in the stained glass windows next to the Pioneer Window.

Today’s structure is over twice as large as its forerunner. The later church has a high vaulted ceiling of seasoned jarrah and combines Early English and Gothic architecture. Construction of the second St. John’s Church began in 1879, after the traditional "laying of the foundation stone." Bishop Parry placed under this foundation stone a time capsule of sorts: money and three newspapers from the time.

The nave of today’s church contains an interesting assortment of 19^th-century documents, including allotment papers, architectural plans, news sheet articles, and black and white photographs of the original church.

Green grapes and wheat, a theme that repeats itself throughout the Pioneer Window has a third meaning when taken in context of this church medallion. Used as a border for St. John’s Church, the images symbolize the Christian sacrament of the Eucharist, in which bread and wine are consecrated and received in commemoration of the passion and death of Jesus.

A baptism scene, the third medallion in the Pioneer Window, is simultaneously allegorical and genealogical. The baptism appears to be typical: persons gathered around a font for an infant’s baptism. The persons, however, were not random figures. These figures represent actual individuals in the Humble/Duffield lineage: four generations of family, from John Hole Duffield to those who commissioned the window (the Johnsons).

The garments worn by the baptism attendees reflect the eras and social strata in which the individuals lived. For example, one woman is wearing a bonnet and a white shawl; her hands are slipped in a hand muff. Her simple clothes reflect the basic, difficult lives endured by many of the new settlers. Another woman, presumably from the next generation, has climbed the social ladder. She is dressed in a late Victorian, red velvet, bustled gown and matching hat. This woman in tailored gown looks as if she stepped right out of a Dickens’ novel. Likewise the earlier, loose cut suit of one gentleman starkly contrasts with the later, tailored suit and tie worn by another attending gentleman.

Twenty years after John Hole Duffield arrived in Fremantle, he was surrounded by family. He lived on his farming estate "Bicton," named after an English locality. The estate was the nucleus of a modern-day suburb with the same name. After 20 years, Duffield wrote to his sister Lydia of his adjustment and contentment: "… I have seen many ups and downs …, but I am happy to say that I think I am pretty comfortably situated…. I farm my own land, I grow my own wine, I kill my own cattle, I catch my own fish, I ride my own horse, I drive my own gig, I sail my own boat, I sit under my own vine and under my own fig tree. I have all my family around me – children and grandchildren we number twenty-one." Today Duffield’s descendents number well over 3,000.

In recording their genealogy in the Pioneer Window, the Johnsons used another, equally inventive method of recording direct descendants of the Duffield and Humble families. The monograms of family members, such as the daughters’ first names, are cunningly hidden. For example, a monogram of the letter "B" (Bonnie) is located in the bottom left medallion, in a lower left vine leaf.

Illustrated in the bottom right medallion is the Swan River of the 19^th century, before Willis Point was removed to build today’s inner harbor. There are many reasons for the family to include the Swan River in a historical account of Fremantle. Western Australia was known as the Swan River Colony. The early settlers used the Swan River extensively for transportation. Fremantle’s location made it an excellent trading and distribution center for goods destined for Perth and beyond. Transporting goods and people by boat was more efficient and practical, as the overland route was "rough as a goat’s knees."

The scene includes two bridges, the settlement’s first traffic bridge and the later railway bridge. The former, located in the background of the medallion, was looked upon as a feat of convict labour because of the complexity and difficulty of the endeavor. The bridge was over 2,000 feet long, including approaches, and reached over 40 feet above the water – a thick crisscrossing of logs and beams. The level of difficulty allowed some convicts to work without chains. According to a disputed legend, a convict may also have been the first to use the completed bridge in the mid 1860s. Moondyne Joe (well known bushranger Joseph John) reportedly used the bridge in one of his famous gaol-breaking escapades. This railway bridge, however, is ambitious, being ahead of its time. The medallion represents 1875, which is four years before this bridge was started.

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The Pioneer Window adds another dimension to genealogy and history, namely politics. The window contains roses in several of its medallions: St. Paul’s Cathedral, England’s outline and countryside, the baptism, and the Swan River. White roses largely outnumber red roses. The roses symbolize allegiance to differing royal houses, both of which claimed the right to rule 15^th-century England. This 15^th-century political baggage found its way into the new colony, and its importance to Fremantle’s settlers is apparent here by its prolific inclusion.

Called the War of the Roses, the 15^th-century struggle was contained mostly among the English nobility. The War of the Roses was a 30-year battle for the English throne between the House of York, whose emblem is a white rose, and the House of Lancaster, represented by a red rose. The battles, murders and assassinations during the struggle for power ended in 1485 through a marriage that united the houses. From this union, the Tudor dynasty was founded.

The ancestry and political leaning of the commissioning family is apparent in the medallion containing the baptistry font as it includes a white rose. Additionally, the English map overhead includes only two English cities, the port of departure (Plymouth) and York.

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The spirit of the Pioneer Window – to celebrate the lives of Fremantle residents, from the 19^th century to today – echoes throughout the church in a variety of stained glass windows, plaques, statues, and carvings. The number of memorabilia is surpassed only in the plurality of personalities therein commemorated. These commemorated individuals capture the spirit of the Australian pioneer, whose versatility, initiative, and ingenuity were so commonplace as to make these hallmark traits seem everyday. John Hole Duffield, for example, was a mariner, a cooper (a maker and repairer of casks and baskets), an entrepreneur (helped form the Fremantle Whaling Co.), and a property owner, who farmed the land and cared for vineyards. To be successful, Fremantle’s early settlers also had to excel at surviving in the bush, harvesting the land, shooting game, and fishing.

A further sampling of family surnames commemorated in the church and a cursory look at their varied interests and skills is daunting, especially when viewed from a current, specialty diploma perspective. Pioneer Sutherland, one of the colony’s first chief executives was an assistant surveyor, who later became a Collector of Revenue at Fremantle. Leake was the pioneer Government Resident of Fremantle; Thomas a shipmaster, hotelier, and Chairman of the Town Council; Lefroy an explorer, Comptroller of the Fremantle Prison, and auditor and later chairman of the Fremantle Town Council; Brown a Police Magistrate, pasturalist and agriculturalist; Scott a Fremantle harbour master, pilot, and foundation Chairman of the Fremantle Town Trust; Pearse a landowner, businessman, member of the Board of Education, and President of the Fremantle Building Society; and Moore (one of the only women commemorated) was a Mother’s Union activist. These names can also be found outside the church through Fremantle’s street signs and/or building names.

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As you walk around St. John’s Church, be observant: look at the walls, the tables, and the chairs. Scan the floor. You’ll find plaques and memorials ad infinitum. For example, look at the sides of the New Zealand pine pews. The fading black numbers located there are left over from the era when churchgoing families rented pews for their weekly use. Small outlines of nameplates can also be seen on the upper parts of the pews.

Most items in St. John’s Church commemorate someone, whether that someone is an early pioneer, a revered archbishop, a popular rector, a successful merchant, a South African War casualty, a vestryman, a Sunday school student, or simply someone who loved children. And most commemorative items were given by someone, including parents, relatives, parishioners, Fremantle citizens, schoolmates, and wartime comrades. The baptistry font, for example, was given by Sunday School children. Locating and reading the commemorative notations of the memorials gives a personal touch. Sometimes the annotations are at the back as on a chair, or at the base as on the brass Eagle lectern. The words accompanying the items may be few, but when contemplated collectively, they speak volumes.

Take, for example, the majestic brass Eagle lectern. This two-metre lectern, commemorates William Dalgety Moore, a merchant whose wide scope of interests included exporting, timber, flour, and pearling. The Eagle, fondly known as "Bill," after W.D. Moore, has frighteningly lifelike talons, distinct breast and wing feathers, and a sharp, curved beak. The view from atop the lectern platform, which looks out across Bill’s outstretched wings and turned head, is one of soaring above the nave’s pews.

Behind the eagle is a plaque in remembrance of a 1902 casualty of the South African War. Several war memorials can be found around the church in various forms and for differing wars. These include a large, white, marble commemorative plaque for the officers and men of H.M.A.S. "Perth" who lost their lives during enemy action in the Sunda Straits on February 28, 1942. The tablet was erected by the Ex-Navalmen’s Association of Western Australia. Survivors of the lost warship hold a memorial service at St. John’s annually. Additionally, the baptistry and screen are in remembrance of more than 30 World War II casualties. The 1922 choir vestry commemorates World War I casualties (more than 60 parishioners), and small wooden tables and carved jarrah angels located about the church were donated for servicemen, from drivers to pilot officers, killed in early 20^th century combats.

Historic flags hanging in the south transept continue the political history of the state. The first flag on the left, a dusty red, white, and blue banner with gold and crimson fringe, are regimental colours. The Governor of Western Australia (Sir Gerald Strickland), under a direction in 1902 by His Majesty King Edward VII, presented the banner to the 86^th Western Australian Regiment in 1911. The regiment received the banner to commemorate the service of its members in the South African War, 1899-1902.

The first, white flag on the right is the Regimental flag of the Fremantle Rifle Volunteers. The Regiment, formed in 1862, was disbanded in 1903. As the last commanding officer of the unit, Captain John Humble received the flag, which eventually passed to St. John’s Church. Many years ago, the original satin began to rot and the embroidery of the centre wreath desperately needed repair. The flag was sent back to its makers, nuns at Mount Mellick in Ireland, who restored it beautifully.

Excellent craftsmanship is apparent in the blacksmithing and carving of the church’s furnishings. The black iron screen at the front of the church has a wonderful interplay and repetition of straight and curved lines. Miniature swirls, points, semicircles, and arches make the heavy iron look light and airy. This black ironwork and its accents of matte gold petals are repeated at various locations in the church, including the baptistry, the communion rail, and the sanctuary candleholder.

The white stone reredos appears as a stark backdrop against the black iron of the screen. The meticulously carved stone, which is greying with age, contains delicately carved grapes and leaves. Six carved spires reach toward the three stained glass windows overhead. In contrast to these brightly coloured windows, the tri-panel reredos mosaic employs a single scene with sedate, muted tones. Matte gold squares form the background to figures clothed in soft, yet exotically patterned robes of chartreuse, lavender, and powder blue. The rich coloured folds of the surrounding curtains and the bright red of the carpet, as well as the repeating shapes, spirals, and themes of the windows and reredos give the sanctuary a rhapsodic atmosphere with interesting variations.

Above the reredos are three eloquent stained glass windows. The Biblical figures in the glass are wonderfully detailed, showing robe edgings, rug fringe, and skin creases. This window is dramatic when seen from the outside at night. The centre panel represents Christ stilling the storm, which is particularly appropriate in Fremantle, a port city.

The large brass cross on the High Altar was a gift from Lady Fraser, given at Easter 1891. Lady Fraser was the wife of Sir Malcolm Fraser, Surveyor-General and later Colonial-Secretary (1883-1890).

At the opposite end of the church, above the portal doors, there is an equally detailed rose window, whose four winged figures (symbolic beasts of the Apocalypse) look as if they could take flight. Less detailed, but equally as interesting is the Madonna-and-child representation in the south transept. The facial features of the mother and child are Aboriginal, and the setting is Australian flora. The window titled "Faith" in this same transept was specially chosen for the children of the parish. It is in memory of Eva Glyn Watkins and Grace Glyn Watkins, daughters of Archdeacon and Mrs. Watkins.

The nave of the church illustrates continued Duffield connection with St. John’s – a span of well over a century and a half. The stained glass window: "They presented unto Him gifts" (the Magi worshipping the infant King) on the southern side of the nave, is in memory of John Hole Duffield (son of original pioneer) and his wife Sarah. The panel alongside: "They found Him in the Temple" (Jesus at the age of 12 years in the Temple), is in memory of Edwin Foss Duffield (grandson of the original pioneer).

Step into the north transept and come face to face with an original Philip W. Goatcher painting: The Ascension of Mary. Many critics feel that Goatcher, who painted in the mid to late 1800s, has never been equalled in Australia as a trompe l’ oeil painter. Best known for his theatrical drop curtains, Goatcher received the nickname of Velvet n’ Satin for his realistic portrayal of these materials. Goatcher displays this skill in The Ascension in the realistic portrayal of Mary’s and the angel’s gowns.

The organ, kept in the sanctuary, has an interesting and extensive history. Built as a hobby, the organ was installed in the church in 1884. Being a water blown organ meant that following any extended use of the organ, such as during weekly service, the water had to be released. More than once, the organ’s water ran down Adelaide Street following Sunday morning service. Restored in the early 1900s, the updated version used an electric blower. In 1962 the organ received another, major reconstruction, this time being updated into an electric pipe organ. The organ now has over 1000 pipes and three keyboards. Wood was kept from the original organ and was decoratively carved into a cross, which now hangs in the south transept (Chapel of St. Michael and All Angels).

While in the sanctuary, look at the 1879 floor. The small maroon, navy, and cream tiles tessellate a mosaic of checkered Victorian patterns: diamonds, squares, and triangles. The rest of the church floor tiles, which were similar to these, have long since buckled and, subsequently, have been replaced. Keeping a level, dry floor as well as crisply painted walls is difficult due to the high water table in Fremantle, which causes moisture problems in the church when it rains heavily.

St. John’s Church is alive with small gold plaques, large marble memorials, exquisitely carved jarrah and stone, and worn flags. Some of the items such as the sanctuary screen and reredos are large, but more are small such as carved jarrah angels and the ornately scripted Remembrance Book. Walking into transepts and peering around larger items is necessary to discover these smaller treasures. Look at the items, touch them, and share in the lives of Fremantle’s pioneers and residents.

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The stone walkway outside the church continues the historical tour. The walkway is made of Yorkshire flagstones, which came out to the new colony as ballast on sailing ships. Beginning in 1850, many of these ships carried convicts (a.k.a. labour) to the colony. By 1859, well over 17,000 feet of flagstone paved the northern side of High Street, the western sides of Henry Street, and the eastern side of Cliff Street. The church walkway contains the remaining flagstones in Fremantle today. The corner slab to the right of the portal door bares the broad arrow stamp of the convict, who was a main source of labour in laying the stones. Unfortunately, the stones were squared to fit, instead of being left in their original, curved shape.

Above the flagstone walkway is a Gothic doorway arch with small square stones at eye level (where the arc ends). These stones, like the square stones outside each of the church’s doors, were designed as carved roses. Their unfinished state echoes back to the era of labour shortages.

Further southwest along the square is a two-metre stone memorial water fountain. The memorial, to a "Working Class Martyr," commemorates Thomas Charles Edwards, who died as a result of Bloody Sunday, May 4, 1919. On this day, police, and unionist wharf labourers and their supporters battled for control of the Fremantle wharves. The confrontation occurred during a strike by the unionist lumpers protesting non-union labour and the unloading of goods. Timing was critical: the perishable goods were to be unloaded without regard to the current quarantine, imposed to prevent the spread of a life-threatening influenza. Iron pickets, which ran along the Town Hall, were pulled from the ground and used as weapons in the uprising.

A celebration of the arts presents itself on the north side of the church where Italian sculptor Pietro G. Porcelli is seen in action – molding a head from clay. Porcelli’s statue is so lifelike that it often commands a second look from passersby. The parted stance and slightly bent knees as well as the forward thrust of the head gives this statue the concentration of a living artist.

To help assimilate the hidden, historical gems of St. John’s Church and to simply enjoy the sun of Fremantle, benches are located around the Square under the massive fig trees. Past the Square is a medley of sights and sounds typical of Freo. The soft colours of the facades contrast sharply with the busy streets below, a mishmash of discount shops, CD stands and Lotto scratch cards. The odd café here or there, astray from the Cappuccino Strip, wafts an inviting aroma of freshly brewed lattes. And a thriving tourist office is chock-full of information on Fremantle attractions, including gripping night tours of the Fremantle prison, Sunday courtyard music at the Fremantle Art Centre, and hundreds of crowded Fremantle market stalls.

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