Rottnest Island

Rottnest Island ({{coor dm|32|00|S|115|36|E|region:AU-WA_type:city(0)}}) is an island located 9 nautical miles off the coast of Western Australia, near Fremantle. The island is 11 kilometres long, 4.5 kilometres at its widest point and the land area measures 19 km². It is a popular weekend holiday location for both locals and visitors. Approximately 500,000 people visit Rottnest Island every year. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for "Rottnest Island" is "Rotto".

History

Rottnest Island was inhabited by Aborigines since approximately 30,000 years ago, until rising sea levels separated the island from the mainland of Western Australia approximately 7,000 years ago. The island features in Nyoongar Aboriginal mythology.

Related Topics:
Aborigines - Nyoongar - Mythology

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The island was identified by Dutch sailors in 1610, and the name was bestowed upon the island by the Flemish fleet captain Willem de Vlamingh in 1696. de Vlamingh (or one of his crew) believed that the indigenous marsupial called a quokka was in fact a large rat ("rottnest" meaning "rat's nest" in the Dutch language).

Related Topics:
Dutch - 1610 - Flemish - Willem de Vlamingh - 1696 - Marsupial - Quokka - Rat - Dutch language

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Upon the establishment of the British colony in nearby Perth in 1829, the island was used for the next 70 years as a prison for Aboriginal convicts. It became more or less devoted to recreational use in the 1900s, aside from a brief period of exclusive military use during World War 2. Wartime cannon batteries and camouflaged sites are still in existence at various parts of the island.

Related Topics:
Colony - Perth - 1829 - Prison - Convict - World War 2 - Cannon

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One of the most little known aspects of Rottnest's history, even to Perth locals, is that was the home of an internment camp in both World War 1 and World War 2. In WWI it was used mostly for German and Austrian enemy aliens, but was closed towards the end of the war due to appalling living conditions. During WWII it was used exclusively for Italian enemy aliens. This too was closed about half way through the war, and its occupants were sent to various internment and work camps, with some finding themselves as far away as New South Wales. Many of the internees held at these camps had been law-abiding citizens of Western Australia for many years.

Related Topics:
World War 1 - New South Wales

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Another aspect of World War 2 for Rottnest, was the placement of large guns in the middle of the island for defence of the Fremantle port, and the construction of a railway between the jetty at Thompson Barracks at the eastern end of the island and the guns for the transport of materials for the guns.

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The railway was removed, and the guns and the buildings related to them were either removed or abandoned. In the 1990's the guns and the railway were extensively rehabilitated for use as a tourist attraction. However parts of disused military installations and older structures on the island have issues due to their being made of asbestos.

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