Stories Along The Edge: The Dock Sider

When you explore The South West Edge road trip, you’ll meet all sorts of local characters who will give you a glimpse into their world. Immerse yourself in their stories along the edge.

It’s the longevity of Michael Deller’s familial relationship with Fremantle that gives him such a storied perspective: Michael is a third generation port city local with a passion for history and a unique talent for transcribing the city’s story through an intimate lens.

“There aren’t many 30-year-olds who have history book collections of the city they grew up in,” Michael’s laugh is self-deprecating. And yet nor are there many 30-year-olds who can connect to the transformation of Fremantle from an at-times shady post-colonial city, to the vibrant landscape it is today.

“There aren’t many 30-year-olds who have history book collections of the city they grew up in,” Michael’s laugh is self-deprecating. And yet nor are there many 30-year-olds who can connect to the transformation of Fremantle from an at-times shady post-colonial city, to the vibrant landscape it is today.

That he can make these connections via the experiences of his own family, makes history personal.

“My Pop can’t quite grapple with the fact that what was a warehouse he once worked in, is now a series of New York-style apartments with a 200-seat restaurant. And as for my folks, they couldn’t come down here for a pint when they were my age,” Michael says, standing just outside the now-famed Kakulas Sister. “It was a bit sailor-esque.”

With Michael, buildings become signifiers of moments in time. Alleyways are thoroughfares connecting hidden street art with colonial architecture. A passing freight ship is the city’s port history sailing into the present.

Michael makes sure his guests imbibe an understanding of Fremantle that is porous and organic: his city breathes in differing viewpoints and continues to move and shift as new developments occur and new communities arrive. According to Michael, the advent of the 1987 America’s Cup race may have been largely responsible for lighting a fire of transformation under the city, but he knows it won’t be the last time the Freo Doctor blows in the winds of change.

Talk of the port moving would mean a new shift. Another story to tell. Another element to add to the storytelling mix.

“We’ve got a city of old bohemian hippies. You can’t get a house for less than a million bucks and there is the wave of people who have a million bucks to spend. And yet every street has a Nonna living on it, with their fruit trees out the front,” Michael tells. “All of those elements are there. They’re all mixed in. Diverse.”

As is Michael. A conservation biologist-cum-cafe owner and tour guide who can take you from an understanding of the famed Fremantle coastline, through an explanation of colonial penal history, past some of the city’s most engaging street art and architecture, right into a relationship with hospitality via insider knowledge on the city’s best espresso martini.

“Fremantle is where I am and where I need to be,” Michael smiles a little, “and I get to show it off.”