Interview with Gerry MacGill - Longtime Freo activist

Gerry MacGill is so well known around Freo that he hardly needs a last name. ‘Gerry’ is usually a sufficient reference. People will know immediately who you are referring to. But if you are still unsure whether the fellow in the group is Gerry, you’ll know it’s him once you hear the Geordie burr. Born in Wallsend, right next to Newcastle, England, up there in the North where ships used to be built, just over 89 years ago, Gerry found his way to Fremantle via Canada, and after a short return to the UK to study in London, never really left. One of the first Fremantle Society candidates to be elected to the Fremantle Council in the 79s, Gerry was one of the new breed dedicated to the saving of Freo as we knew it then and still know it today. He served on Council from 1975 until 1988. Gerry has been equally dedicated over the years to conserving the integrity of North Fremantle, where he has lived since the 70s and remains a stalwart of the North Freo Community Association. If you ask Gerry what he is up to these days, post his retirement some years back, he is likely to tell you he is busy being a ‘general public nuisance’ and North Fremantle Precinct Convenor. Gerry kindly agreed to sit and discuss his life’s journey and Freo past, present and future with our editor, Michael Barker. Put in your earbuds, lean back and enjoy Gerry’s story.You can read the original article on Fremantle Shipping News here.Support the show