Kings Square, Fremantle

Kings Square, also known as King's Square, is a town square in Fremantle, Western Australia. It is bounded by Queen, Newman, William, and Adelaide Streets. Though the square was originally a public reserve, it has been the site of Saint John's Church of England since 1843, and the Fremantle Town Hall since 1887. High Street was extended through and beyond the square in the 1880s, but the portion through the square was closed off in the 1960s. Today Kings Square functions as a civic and cultural centre of Fremantle, with modern events taking place adjacent to the historic buildings.

The square began as an open space on John Septimus Roe's original town plan of Fremantle, drawn in 1833. In 1839, property owners around the square petitioned the State Governor for a church to be built in the square. This was approved in 1840, and construction works began with the foundation stone being laid on 6 April 1842. Saint John's Church of England opened on 4 August 1843, and was consecrated on 16 November 1848.

In 1876, the church applied to the Fremantle City Council for a strip of land, adjacent to the church wall, to be granted to the Church of England, for the purpose of building a new church on the site and to improve the amenity of Kings Square. In this application, all of the land in Kings Square was claimed to have been previously granted to the Church of England, though in later years this was seen to be controversial. This application was refused, as the strip was used for storing and preparing stone (for use in road works), and some councillors believed the church had enough land already. One year later, the church made a second proposal, offering the council the south-western corner of the square, and a right of way for the extension of High Street through the square, in return for the strip of land and 500 pounds. The council accepted, subject to minor modification.

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