Operations Centre
Officially opened on the 26th of November 2016, the Marine Rescue Fremantle Operations Centre (ROC) is the result of countless volunteer hours, the extreme generosity of a group of local businesses and individuals, and grants from both the State and Federal Governments.
Moore & Meehan Radio Room
Most importantly, the top floor of the ROC is home to the More & Meehan Radio Room; one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in the country. From here our volunteers operate VN6DI, our 24 hour, 365-day radio watch and vessel log on service, which logs around 30,000 radio calls from the boating public annually. The ROC is our communications hub where all phone and radio calls to Marine Rescue Fremantle are answered before being passed onto the on-water operations team as required.
Utilising WAVE Radio Over IP (ROIP) technology, a single operator can monitor all 11 marine radio frequencies simultaneously from one console or share the workload with other operators across a total of 5 consoles. WAVE is also remotely accessible, allowing operations personnel to listen and even transmit from anywhere in the world via a PC or mobile device if required. This is particularly useful in on-call situations, as crews can listen to an incident unfolding whilst at home or while in transit to the rescue vessel, ensuring they receive the most accurate information in real time.
WAVE also enables remote after hours monitoring, allowing our volunteers to maintain VN6DI’s radio coverage from the comfort of their own homes at night, using the radio infrastructure installed at the ROC. WAVE also records and archives all incoming and outgoing calls, individually separated by channel, to make sure no details are missed and incidents can be reviewed.
History
The ROC is inside the heritage listed Cantonment Hill Signal Station, built in 1956 for the Port of Fremantle. The building’s role as a signal station was short-lived, and in 1964 it was replaced by a similar facility built on top of the newly constructed Fremantle Ports administration building on Victoria Quay. The station at Cantonment Hill was then transferred to the Department of Defence before being sold to the City of Fremantle in 2010. The building fell into general disrepair over the years and was extensively vandalised inside and out.
In May 2014, Marine Rescue Fremantle (then known as Fremantle Sea Rescue), submitted a response to the City of Fremantle’s request for expressions of interest for the ‘Establishment and Activation of Cantonment Hill Signal Station and surrounding area’. In May 2015, after a lengthy process of negotiations and community consultation, a decision to award the lease of the building to Marine Rescue Fremantle was made.
Due to the poor state of the building, the City of Fremantle committed to a range of remedial works including new windows, handrails and external paint. The keys were handed over to the group in the first half of 2016 after these works were completed.
The heritage value of the building has been enhanced by both its restoration and its return to the role for which it was originally built, with the top floor once again dedicated to marine communications. The Cantonment Hill Signal Station provides our radio operators with commanding views of boating movement in the harbours, out to sea to Rottnest Island and beyond, and back up the Swan River toward Perth.
Live From the Roof
Check out the stunning 360° views from the roof of the signal station. Updated regularly and kindly provided by Fremantle Ports.