The Hampton Road Angel

On Christmas Eve 2022, we made the move to Fremantle. It had to be the perfect scenario for us to leave our previous happy home, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. The surprising alignment of events that brought us here, continues to astound us.  Simply put, it was fate. However, this article is not about that specifically, though the subject of synchronicity will certainly weave its way throughout. Some could conclude that the house is the heart of the tale. The house is where I’ll start.

Built during the mid-1800’s, and later inherited by a 14-year-old Mary Dunne, there is no denying that the limestone walls hold the stories and feelings of all those who breathed within them.

The facts that are well known are iconic Freo lore: Mary Dunne’s addition of the ballroom circa 1903. Adam & Gordon “Snowy” Fleet’s extension at the rear of the house, completed around 2005. Almost every lover of Fremantle history is familiar with the connection of The Easybeats’ band to the house. The memories of that time are not just romanticised musings but are literally set in stone, with an autograph etched into the mortar. To top off this unique renovation, they took advice from the well-known Western Australian architect, Brian Klopper. The gravity defying curved brick-vaulted ceilings are tell-tale of that fact. This is not just a house; this is a testament to history, innovation, and cultural significance.

Then there is the leading lady of this tale, the angel. A 10-foot statue at the entrance of the property. She too is iconic and oft discussed but with this story I intend to blow her up because as it turns out, there is more to her than meets the eye. Here is where I credit the artist; Roderick Browton and now I will tell you about her. I’ll explain why I consider her so important to the house’s story and just as iconic as the rest of it.

She is the reason we ended up here. Cindy, my mother-in-law, was drawn to this house because of her strong belief in angels and their power. The statue is not ethereal or supernatural in her form but human-like. Real, curvaceous and with phoenix wings. A true Earth Angel. Since we have been in the house, we’ve witnessed the full moon rise between those wings and it is impossible not to feel something big stir within you in those moments.

One day last year, I sat in my office, which is a limestone structure in the front yard. On this day, I had the front barn-like doors open for some reason. They are usually closed to block out the road noise. People are often walking by and many stop to look at the angel or the house. But on this day, with the doors open, I noticed a couple at the gate and felt compelled to say “hi” to them. Also, something I never do.

The woman was beautiful, and when I asked her if she was interested in the house, or the angel she revealed herself as the muse behind the statue from 20 years ago. My heart stopped, for a moment. A sharp intake of breath and a swift gathering of my thoughts enabled me to introduce myself properly to her and have an actual conversation before she went on her way. I even took a photo to share with my family and to reassure myself of the reality of the encounter. It was the first time she had seen the angel since she posed for it two decades ago.

I was totally shook.

Feeling optimistic…. or spiritual rather, I decided to research some of the things she said during our brief, and bizarre encounter. I found her. A lot about her. Which I would later learn was because she lectures on the importance of building a web presence, a digital footprint in the new media environment and luckily for me, she did this very well for herself and I found her as if I were following breadcrumbs home.

I emailed her at a university email address where I thought she worked. I didn’t believe it would reach her. If it did, I didn’t think she’d care. But I did it anyway. And she replied straight away.

Her side of that story was that her brother had said he had recently driven past the angel. Her partner would then ask her to take him to see it. And this became the moment our paths crossed. Her name is Laura Glitsos. The angel muse and in my opinion, the only possible muse for the angel.

As I said earlier, she is beautiful in a classic timeless way. A pretty, open face. Eyes you could get lost in. A woman’s figure. Curves in all the right places, is how I’ve heard it described. Apparently, this is why the artist chose her. The original work was to be a reimagining of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, but this wasn’t suitable for the block of stone. Why an angel, Laura didn’t know but right now…. here today…. we know it couldn’t have been anything but.

We arranged an “interview” during which, she painted me a picture of that time. She appeared wistful, even unsure of her feelings, as she reminisced – portraying a very different version of herself, now a distant and probably buried memory. Even so, she transported me right there. The artist/ musician scene, navigating womanhood and her role as the front woman of a rock n roll band. She longed to be Of the World, yet also craved escape from it. Amidst the wild partying and confusion, she struggled to define her identity. Laura found it ironic that the statue was of an angel, as she was no angel. I love this, an angel forged from the harsh realities of life.

She was 18 or 19, working at the bar of the Newport Hotel when the artist spotted her and asked her to be his muse. Adam Fleet, through his construction company, was renovating the house and commissioning the statue. And get this, Snowy Fleet, which is Adam’s dad and drummer of The Easybeats’, used to watch Laura’s band Purrvert jam sessions in Fleet studio! It sure sounded like a fun time… at times and it sure feels like much of that colourful history has embedded itself in the house and the angel.

She initially felt embarrassed of the statue and intimidated by the image she had projected into it. However, when she finally saw the angel, she described a feeling of having endured, of having made it through it all.

Laura has a tattoo of a phoenix, which represents triumph. A phoenix rises from the ashes… maybe even a little bit angry too (as mentioned earlier, the angel’s wings are very phoenix-like). She said to me, “If you’re not a little bit angry in this world then you’re probably not paying attention to it.”

Laura discussed about feeling strangely connected to something outside yourself. She doesn’t know if angels exist, but she likes to hope so. She quoted Ram Dass “We’re all just walking each other home.” Maybe we are all angels, here to aid and steer one another through this chaotic existence. What a lovely idea – finding positivity and meaningful connections giving importance to this life.

Doctor Laura Glitsos is not your average academic – she’s also a published writer and musician based in Perth & Amsterdam.

Back in 1999, she formed the band Purrvert and they released two EPS whilst Glitsos was living in Paris and working in radio. Oh, and in 2001 and 2002 she won two WAMis for most popular Female Original vocalist!

After getting her Honours in Communications and Cultural Studies at Curtin Uni, she went on to complete her doctoral research degree – based on a thesis examining the relationships between technologies, bodies, and music.

Amongst all this and other accolades, Dr Glitsos returned to the stage in 2015, with a Rage Against the Machine tribute band for the purpose of protesting the Abbott Governments tertiary education policies and platform asylum seekers.

She now lectures at ECU and Curtin in Arts & Humanities.

To conclude this special Freo story and personify the statue using the voice of the artist’s muse – I asked her, if she could give the angel words to speak to a young child gazing up at her, what would her message be?

Never forget that you are an expression of the divine, however you define that. Speak to yourself with love and be gentle on yourself.

{Update: this article is being featured in the Fremantle Herald newspaper over 2 weeks ☺️ Bit cute! View it online here, page 8: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64d22e024aa7055241a02b6e/t/662b24934386332d25876714/1714103497090/fremantle.pdf}