The Bathers Beach precinct is traditionally known as
Manjaree by the Whadjuk Noongar people, serving as an important meeting place and trading site. On 4 September 1829
Marquis of Anglesea dragged her anchors and was wrecked on Bathers Beach during a gale. A rocky promontory, which defined the southern end of the beach (now hidden beneath reclaimed land) and from which the
Fremantle Long Jetty extended, was subsequently named
Anglesea Point.
Daniel Scott, who was the local harbour master, businessman and chair of the town council, made substantial investment in the
Fremantle Whaling Company in 1837. An impressive investment was made when the company created a tunnel that linked the beach to
High Street, allowing easy access for transporting heavy equipment and products. The tunnel was built underneath the substantial
Round House without damage. It was dug in five months and completed in January 1838. This rapid progress was possible because prisoners from the Round House were used, the rock was capable of being mined with a pick axe, and the work was overseen by
Henry Willey Reveley. Today the tunnel is only long as the cliffs were cut back some time after 1880. There were two local whaling companies started in 1836, but the Fremantle Whaling Company was based here. This company, which included investors in Liverpool, had mixed fortunes as the market collapsed in 1840. However the company did build a whaling station at Bathers Beach. The station included the tunnel and a number of buildings and a jetty where whales could be processed. (Scott's new task was accommodating convicts that year.) Due to the range of activities since the 1820s, including whaling, the area adjacent to the beach has attracted archaeological interest. ==References==