The Cleopatra Hotel
J.H. Eales
1907
24 High St, Fremantle
The Cleopatra Hotel provides the convergence to point to explore the increasing occupation Fremantle’s West End by Catholic business ventures in the wake of post-America’s Cup Fremantle. The site of the Cleopatra has been a hotel since 1850 and like many of Fremantle’s pubs was was renovated in 1985 for the Cup Defence. Called the Auld Mug Tavern during the period of Cup prosperity, fire destroyed the top floor in 1988.
The hotel came up for sale 2001 and was bought by The Edmund Rice Centre (affiliated with Notre Dame University) in Nov 2001. The Cleopatra Hotel is now student housing, as is much of High streets historical fabric. Preserving the public quality of Fremantle's West End was an issue for residents with the concern that a large number of public buildings, many of which were empty hotels and restaurants, being acquired by a single private user would sever the connection of the fabric to the broader working city.
