As a city with a rich history and famed for its creativity and rebellious spirit, it’s no surprise that Freo is home to some of Perth’s best independent bookshops.

Paper Bird (42 Henry Street, Fremantle) 

WA’s most magical children’s bookshop is tucked away in a delightful heritage building on Henry Street in the West End. In addition to the finely curated collection of children’s books showcasing Australian writers and illustrators, including the most comprehensive Indigenous Australian children’s book selection in the country, Paper Bird also offers book clubs, art workshops and story times. And don’t forget to head upstairs to the beautiful Paper Bird Gallery.

Bill Campbell Books (48 High Street, Fremantle) 

It’s easy to lose yourself in this charming and atmospheric bookshop on High Street. The wooden shelves are packed from floor to ceiling with titles ranging from classic literature to science fiction, crime and non-fiction of all kinds, as well as a great maritime, gardening and local history section.

While predominantly a shop selling secondhand books, there is also a fairly deep stock of older and more collectable books—children's, penguins, art books, Australian history and an extensive Indigenous section.

New Edition Bookshop (41 High Street, Fremantle) 

From humble beginnings in a small shop on the Cappuccino Strip 30 years ago, New Edition Bookshop is now happily ensconced in the old Union Stores building on the corner of High and Henry Streets in the West End. Open til late seven days a week, this Fremantle institution is a favourite place to while away a few hours browsing the extensive selection across all genres.

Elizabeth's Bookshops (8 South Terrace and Queen Victoria Street)

Elizabeth’s Bookshops—where they buy, sell and exchange vintage, second hand and discounted new books—have been family-owned Western Australian bookshops since 1973. There are two Elizabeth’s stores in Freo: one in the heart of the Cappuccino Strip and the Queen Victoria Street warehouse.

Elizabeth’s is also the home of the original Blind Date with a Book—a handwrapped new book tagged with intriguing clues alluding to the mystery title inside. Proof that you should never judge a book by its cover!

The Chart and Map Shop (70 High Street, Fremantle) 

Whether you’re looking for a world atlas, 4WD and camping guide or an old-fashioned street directory, chances are you’ll find it at The Chart and Map Shop on High Street. They also have a huge selection of travel guides and boating books, as well as maps, globes, flags and gifts and gadgets for every adventurer.

Compendium Design Store (49a High Street, Fremantle)

As well as their concisely curated collection of designer gifts, watches, stationery and accessories, Compendium Design Store also boasts a tasty selection of design books, magazines and guidebooks for the sophisticated traveller. They also specialise in official classic The Adventures of Tintin collectables, posters and books.

FOUND at Fremantle Arts Centre (1 Finnerty Street, Fremantle)

FOUND at Fremantle Arts Centre has a great range of books. Continuing the store’s ethos of showcasing the best locally made products, there’s a generous selection of books by Western Australian authors, including titles from Fremantle Press and UWA Publishing. FOUND specialises in art books but also carries great titles relating to Fremantle history, design, architecture, local fiction, cooking, magazines and children’s books. Open seven days 9am–5pm, pop into Fremantle Arts Centre to browse the full range, with an ever-expanding list of titles also available on FOUND’s online store. 

Plus stay tuned for the opening of the new Fremantle Library at Walyalup Koort later this year! 

The library will be twice the size of the old one and feature a huge range of books, computers, dedicated children’s and youth spaces, a program space, hireable meeting room and two beautiful outdoor courtyards.

The dedicated children’s zone comes complete with a slide. Now how cool is that? The engaging environment will inspire kids with playful design, bold colours, reading nooks and a gaming area. 

Borrowing of items will be made easier with additional radio frequency identification (RFID) technology implemented to allow the borrowing and returning of items to be much more seamless and convenient.

Complementing the book collection will be an increased digital collection, offering library members free access to more than 82,000 digital items comprising books, magazines, movies, music and audiobooks.

Check out our top nine things to look forward to at Frematle Library.