The historic convict-built prison warders' cottages in Fremantle are a community landmark in the city centre currently undergoing redevelopment — but what was it like to live there back in the day?

Built in 1851, housing for their jailers was among the first construction projects the convicts were given, along with the nearby prison itself.

Despite having almost unlimited space, authorities instructed the convicts to build the only kind of housing they knew — narrow, double-storey terrace houses with small rooms.

The warders' cottages in Henderson Street in 1985. ( Supplied: State Library of Western Australia )

Until 1991, when the prison closed, the warders and their families lived in these small, terraced cottages.

This week those families were invited back to the place they once called home, where they remembered fondly a life of fun and adventure at the centre of the port city.

A humble home among the hustle and bustle

Doreen Taylor lived in what is now the redevelopment's show cottage.

Doreen Taylor lived at the Fremantle warders' cottages in the '60s and '70s. ( 720 ABC Perth: Emma Wynne )

It boasts a modern kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms — a far cry from the rundown dwelling Ms Taylor shared with her husband, seven children and one grandchild in the 1960s.

Asked how they all squeezed in: "We had bunk beds," she recalled, laughing.

"At first it was a bit strange because we didn't have a toilet, we had to go down the back, but then we got used to it.

"We had a pool there for the kids and upstairs we had table tennis on the balcony.

"All in all we had a great time."

The cottages on Henderson Street were and remain flanked by the Fremantle Football Oval and the markets at the back, the Town Hall and shopping district at the front, and beach and fishing harbour within walking distance.

Ms Taylor's daughter Sue Radford, who was 13 when they moved in, recalled a teenage life surrounded by activity.

The Taylor kids outside number 7 Henderson Street in the 1960s. ( Supplied: Taylor Family )

"Fremantle was really a hustle and bustle place because there were no massive suburban shopping centres then, everyone shopped in Fremantle," she said.

"At the weekend it was busy with the shoppers and ships coming in and the football in the wintertime.

"We just loved it. We used to create havoc on the balconies with all the passers-by."

$1.53 a week rent

Ron Baker worked as a prison officer in Fremantle for 25 years.

Ron Baker worked as a prison officer at Fremantle jail for 25 years. ( 720 ABC Perth: Emma Wynne )

He and his family moved into one of the Henderson Street cottages in 1967.

He remembered a modest cottage with few modern conveniences.

Inside the restored warders' cottages, historic detail has been retained while modern conveniences have been added. ( 720 ABC Perth: Emma Wynne )

"We had a chip heater — you put wood in it to get a shower, and you had to watch it didn't get too hot or you'd get scalded," he said.

"The toilet was a bit of a nightmare at night time with spiders and whatnot."

The washing was done in a copper pot in the backyard and air-conditioning was unheard of, Mr Baker said.

"I enjoyed it here. Those were the good old days — Fremantle is a lot different now."

And while the cottages were modest, so was the rent — Mr Baker paid only $1.53 a week.

"Later someone realised they hadn't altered the rent since about 1855 and they gradually increased the rents after we left here," he said.

"$1.53 — it did save you money."

The changing face of Fremantle

Mr Baker's son, also named Ron, was 14 when the family moved in.

"There were four kids in our family and the house was small, but in those days everybody had a small house so we didn't really notice," he said.

Terry Baker, warder Andy O'Brien, Caroline Baker and Ron Baker at 15 Henderson Street in the '60s and in 2016. ( Supplied: Terry Baker, 720 ABC Perth: Emma Wynne )

"There were a million things for kids to do.

"Fremantle then — the fishing harbour was brand new, it was just a bay so we used to swim there all the time.

"The only coffee shops were for the old Italian men; Papa Luigi's, they used to gather down there and play cards and drink coffee."

And while few of the former residents said they would want to move back to the street now, they were delighted to see the cottages coming back to life.

"It's great to see them restored," Mr Baker said.