Rottnest Island, Western Australia (1914–15 and 1940)

World War I

Rottnest Island is located off the coast of Western Australia near Fremantle. The island had been used as a prison and then a tourist destination before the Commonwealth Government took it over at the outbreak of World War I for use as an internment camp. A large number of those interned at Rottnest Island were Slavs. Since their lands were under the control of the Austro-Hungarian empire, they were technically citizens of the empire and therefore enemy aliens. Other internees and prisoners of war were German, Austrian and Italian. Many of the interned men had been miners at Kalgoorlie.

A group of musicians at Rottnest Island camp, c. 1915
NAA: PP14/1, 5/15/3

The first internee arrivals to Rottnest Island lived in stone houses. Later arrivals had to make do with the tents originally erected for short tourist stays. Sanitation in the camp was poor, food supplies could be insufficient and internees were required to do their own cooking at their tents as there was no camp kitchen. The records contain complaints about these conditions and also about mistreatment by guards. Despite this, the internees made efforts to make their time in the camp more enjoyable. They formed a band, held lectures, opened a café and enjoyed the beach and the sea.

The Rottnest Island camp held almost 1000 men prior to its closure in late 1915. The internees were transferred first to Garden Island camp in Western Australia and then to Holsworthy in New South Wales.

Rottnest Island Football Club, 1915
NAA: PP14/1, 5/15/3

World War II

Rottnest Island was used to house Italian internees between January and September 1940.

Records

The National Archives holds records about the Rottnest Island camp. A selection of these is listed below.

Collection references

This Prime Minister's Office file concerns a store run by internees in the Rottnest Island camp.	1915	A2, 1915/4050
The conditions and treatment of internees at Rottnest in 1915 are discussed in this Prime Minister's Office file.	1915	A2, 1917/3501 Part 3
This very small file from the Commonwealth Military forces concerns the prisoners at Rottnest Island, 1915.	1915	PP14/2, PF/651
This Commonwealth Military Forces file includes intercepted letters from internees held at Rottnest Island, 1915–16.	1915–16	PP14/1, 5/15/3
An inquiry into the treatment of internees at Rottnest is the subject of this Department of Defence file from 1915.	1915	MP367/1, 567/10/378

'Aliens and others': World War ll internment project

The National Archives of Australia is a partner in an Australian Research Council project titled ‘Aliens and others: representing citizenship and internment in Australia during World War II', headed by Dr Ilma O'Brien of the Victoria University of Technology.

As part of the project, Dr O'Brien is interested in collecting personal memories of World War II internment in Australia. If you have personal or family memories, photographs or documents about internment you would like to share, further information about the project can be obtained from Dr O'Brien at ilma.obrien@vu.edu.au.