Numbat — ROA, Fremantle
ROA · Henderson Street Mall, opposite Fremantle Markets · Western Australia
Photographs by Gnangarra…commons.wikimedia.org · CC BY 2.5 AU · photographed 24 October 2013. Full photograph shown; resized for display.
A pointed snout, a long brush of a tail and stripes that follow an entire building: ROA turned a small Australian animal into an enormous street companion. The fine fur makes the white brick wall seem almost soft. Painted in October 2011, the numbat survived in Henderson Street Mall until its wall was demolished in August 2022. StreetArtNews · FREOVIEW Checked
5 things to know
- The city paid for itFremantle council commissioned the mural in 2011 for A$15,000. The Herald later used it to distinguish commissioned art from unauthorised graffiti. Fremantle Herald Checked
- The animal was a deliberate choiceCultural development coordinator Alex Marshall told The West that ROA chose the numbat because it was endangered. The West Australian Reported
- A roller came before the spray cansMarshall described a small roller used for the outline and broad areas, followed by spray paint for the fine detail. The West Australian Reported
- These photographs have a camera dateGnangarra photographed the wall on 24 October 2013. The two views show the same animal from different angles, with passing pedestrians providing a sense of scale. Gnangarra, photo 103 · Gnangarra, photo 104 Checked
- A photographic record before demolitionIn August 2022, developer Fiveight told Shipping News it had commissioned detailed photography and was exploring a reinterpretation. That was a proposal; it does not establish a replacement artwork. Fremantle Shipping News Reported
The wall at street level
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Former location: 19 Henderson Street, in Henderson Street Mall opposite Fremantle Markets. The city’s trail lists this address; contemporary art coverage identifies the Markets side. City art trail · StreetArtNews Checked
- 🧱
- The original mural cannot be visited: its wall was demolished in 2022. A 2025 inventory also records the work as decommissioned. FREOVIEW · WA Public Art Inventory Checked
- 🧭
- The map below marks the historical site. The linked city trail preserves the old entry and should not be read as proof that this wall survives.
Sightings
- 201129 Oct
StreetArtNews photo report
- 201131 Oct
City interview in The West
- 20131 Feb
Herald commission report
- 201324 Oct
Gnangarra photo · camera date
- 202213 Aug
Fenced, awaiting demolition
- 202229 Aug
FREOVIEW demolition report
- 202525 Aug
Inventory: decommissioned
The green stamp is a camera date. Other dates identify publications. The 13 August 2022 story shows the work behind fencing, before demolition. On 29 August, Roel Loopers reported from the site that the last wall had come down that morning. Red stamps record removal and its later inventory confirmation.
On the record
How the fur was painted
“He went back with spray cans to get the character and fine detail.”
Alex Marshall describing ROA at work.
Documenting the wall
“we have commissioned comprehensive photography to document the work.”
Fiveight’s spokesperson, quoted by Michael Barker while demolition was still ahead.
The mural is gone
“The beautiful Fremantle Numbat mural artwork in the Henderson Street Mall is no more.”
Roel Loopers’s on-site report includes photographs of the demolition and an interview with the site supervisor.
The facts
- Work
- Numbat, a black-and-white animal mural by ROA. The city trail calls it The Numbat. StreetArtNews · City art trail · Gnangarra, photo 103 Checked
- Location
- 19 Henderson Street, Fremantle, Western Australia; opposite the Markets. City art trail · StreetArtNews Checked
- Date
- October 2011 in contemporary coverage. StreetArtNews · The West Australian Checked The city trail labels the work 2012. City art trail Conflicting We follow the reports published while the mural was new, rather than the later trail’s year.
- Commission
- City of Fremantle; A$15,000. Fremantle Herald · The West Australian Checked
- Technique
- Roller and spray paint, according to the city’s cultural coordinator. The West Australian Reported
- Length
- 25 metres in The West; 21 metres in StreetArtNews. The West Australian · StreetArtNews Conflicting Neither report explains its measurement method, so we leave the length unresolved.
- Photographs
- Gnangarra, 24 October 2013, credited on the original file pages. Gnangarra, photo 103 · Gnangarra, photo 104 Checked The date records the photographs, not the painting. Both are licensed CC BY 2.5 AU; the mural and wall have not been altered in these images.
- Status
- Gone 2022. The on-site report dates removal of the last wall to 29 August 2022; the later inventory agrees the building was removed. FREOVIEW · WA Public Art Inventory Checked
- Afterlife
- Fiveight proposed exploring a reinterpretation before demolition. Fremantle Shipping News Reported A completed replacement is not established by these sources. Unconfirmed
Related
- Too Big to Cuddle (12 Photos): the SAU collection that includes this wall.
- ROA — A Street Art Collection: more of the artist’s animals.
- ROA’s alligator in Atlanta: another large animal, with its own Artwork File.
All sources (9)
Contemporary reporting and the city record
- StreetArtNews: ROA New Mural in Fremantle, Rom Levy, 29 October 2011. Illustrated report identifying the artist, street and Markets; gives the differing 21-metre measurement.
- The West Australian: Artist springs mural surprise in Freo, Joseph Catanzaro, 31 October 2011. Interview with Alex Marshall; source for technique and the animal’s selection.
- Fremantle Herald: Spin on graffiti, Carmelo Amalfi, 1 February 2013. Local policy reporting that specifically identifies the numbat and corroborates the city’s payment and 2011 commission.
- City of Fremantle: Street Art Trail (PDF), publication date not stated. Entry 20 supplies the street number but labels the mural 2012. This historical guide still includes the lost wall.
Removal and later status
- Fremantle Shipping News: Numbat no more, Michael Barker, 13 August 2022. Photos and a direct statement from Fiveight. Despite the headline, the wall was still standing when this was published.
- FREOVIEW: Freo numbat makes way for parking bays, Roel Loopers, 29 August 2022. First-hand account with demolition photos and a contractor interview; establishes that removal happened.
- WA Public Art Inventory: Numbat Mural, Reece Harley, 25 August 2025. Later decommissioned record. Its historical account cites earlier press, so it is not treated as an independent origin for those details.
Original photographs
- Gnangarra: Freopedia piccolo gnangarra -103.jpg, 24 October 2013. Own-work photograph and camera metadata; source of the hero. The share image trims sky and foreground to 16:9, keeping the complete numbat.
- Gnangarra: Freopedia piccolo gnangarra -104.jpg, 24 October 2013. Second view with pedestrians. Both files carry the photographer’s requested attribution and CC BY 2.5 AU licence; these are one photographic origin.
Artwork File · Last checked 13 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files