Rottnest Island

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Rottnest Island
North coast in the east with lighthouse
North coast in the east with lighthouse
Waters Indian Ocean
Geographical location 32 ° 1 ′  S , 115 ° 31 ′  E Coordinates: 32 ° 1 ′  S , 115 ° 31 ′  E
Location of Rottnest Island
length 11 km
width 4.5 km
surface 19 km²
Highest elevation Wadjemup Hill
46  m
Residents 334
18 inhabitants / km²
main place Thomson Bay Settlement
Aerial view of the island from the west with the mainland on the horizon
Aerial view of the island from the west with the mainland on the horizon
Quokka

Rottnest Iceland , from the Aborigines of Noongar Wadjemup called, is a small island near Perth off the coast of the Australian state of Western Australia . It is 18 kilometers west of Fremantle . Rottnest Island is eleven kilometers long and 4.5 kilometers wide. There are 334 inhabitants on the island (2011 census). The main town is Thomson Bay on the east coast, also called Thomson Bay Settlement or often simply Main Settlement .

There are regular ferries from Fremantle to Rottnest Island. The island is very popular for day trips. Although it is open to tourists, motor vehicles are prohibited. But it is possible to explore the island by bike.

Rottnest Island is an important habitat for rare animal species as it has been kept free from predators such as foxes and rats . So the quokka , a small kangaroo, could survive there. On the island of rare birds can be observed such as the rock parrot (Engl. Skirt Parrot).

Surname

The name of the island comes from the Dutch explorer Captain Willem de Vlamingh , who gave it the name "Rotte nest". In the 17th century Dutch language, this was the name for a rat's nest. Willem de Vlamingh explored the island from September 29, 1696 for six days and he thought the numerous quokkas were large rats, which, however, are marsupials . He described the island as "a paradise on earth".

In the mythological ideas of the local Aborigines of the Noongar, their island name Wadjemup means "place across the water where the spirits are" ("German": "place above the water where the nature spirits are").

Origin and habitats

Rottnest Island is the largest island in a chain that also includes Garden Island and Carnac Island . The island chain rests on the Australian continental shelf off Perth, the islands consist of limestone rocks that are partly covered with sand. The limestone reef of Rottnest Island was created by the growth of corals, favored by the warm Leeuwin ocean current . The island rose above the sea surface about 100,000 years ago when it subsided by about three meters. The reef forms the basis for flora and fauna and for human life. The island is characterized by six habitats: coastal landscapes, salt lakes , brackish water areas, forest areas, dry and populated areas. Ten percent of the island is covered by salt lakes. Lake Baghdad , Lake Vincent , Herschel Lake , Garden Lake , Government House Lake, and Serpentine Lake do not dry out and are surrounded by beaches. Other salt lakes like Pink Lake , Lake Sirius , Lake Negri, and the two Pearse Lakes can dry up in summer.

history

Traces of human settlement by the Noongar Aborigines go back to an age of 30,000 to 6,500 years. They left the island about 7000 years ago when the sea level rose and separated them from the mainland.

The island has been sighted several times by Dutch sailors since 1610. Frederick de Houtman landed in 1619, the three ships Waekende Boey, Elburg and Emeloort in 1658. Willem de Vlamingh landed there on September 29, 1696.

From 1829/30, soon after the Swan River Colony was built, the island was surveyed. A town called Kingstown was to be established. The Thomson Bay is by Robert Thomson, named the largest landowners in the 1830s. Salt was extracted from the two lakes on the island. From 1861 to 1912/13 a specially built governor's residence was used for summer stays. The building has been a hotel since 1953.

In 1849 the lighthouse Wadjemup Lighthouse was built on Wadjemup, the highest hill on the island, which gave way to a larger new building in 1896. In 1900 the Bathurst Lighthouse was added to the northeast of the island . The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is responsible for operating the beacons .

The interior of The Quod

From 1838 the island was placed under the British Crown, which expropriated the landowners in return for compensation. In July 1838, the first six Aborigines were transported to the island as prisoners, who were initially allowed to move and hunt relatively freely. Later the plan arose to build a prison, an octagonal building, on the island. This has been achieved. The Aborigines who had to build the prison had to live and work in a quarry . In the period from 1838 to 1931, around 4,000 Aborigines were incarcerated in tiny cells measuring 3.0 by 1.7 meters. The living conditions and circumstances for the Aborigines were inhumane, they were severely punished by prison staff, they became ill and received no medical help or care. In winter they froze in the small stone cells. Many of them died early. They were buried on a site that was later used as a campsite. One of the largest Aboriginal cemeteries in Australia with the bones of 373 people was recently found there. It is now estimated that around 700 Aborigines died in captivity and were buried on the island. The Aborigines in Western Australia strive to preserve the historical memory of the historic sites. The original prison building, called The Quod , was converted into an apartment building for tourists, with three prison cells being combined into one apartment. In January 2015 it was announced in the press that this building will no longer be used to accommodate tourists.

During the First World War , the Rottnest Island internment camp for opponents of war and prisoners of war was set up on the island from 1914 to the end of 1915 . The first internees were housed in stone buildings and later in tents that had previously been used by tourists for short stays. There was no communal kitchen and no appropriate sanitary facilities. Interned were Austrians, numerous supporters of the Triple Alliance , Australians of German descent (including mine workers) and German prisoners of war. In September there were 989 prisoners in the camp, including 848 civilians and 148 prisoners of war. In November 1915, the approximately 1000 inmates were relocated because of the poor accommodation and poor sanitary facilities. They were first sent to the internment camp on Garden Island and then to the Holsworthy internment camp near Sydney in New South Wales .

Administration of the island had been exercised by a Board of Control since 1934 , which was responsible to the government of Western Australia . A military base was expanded by 1937. The installed batteries were dismantled beginning in 1945 and ending in 1953. Purely military use did not end until 1960, however. The Kingstown barracks were used to a small extent for training purposes until 1984.

During the Second World War , the island was again placed under military control and an internment camp was set up again. This time too, the accommodation had hardly been prepared. Between January and September 1940 Italian civil prisoners arrested across the state after Italy entered the war were interned. In June the officers of Remo, captured off Fremantle, joined them as prisoners of war. Again, the accommodations were poorly prepared. In August 2008, a plaque was unveiled to commemorate the sufferings of the inmates.

literature

  • Neville Green: Far from home - Aboriginal prisoners of Rottnest Island, 1838-1931 . Nedlands, Western Australia 1997, ISBN 1-875560-92-0 .
  • Anthony Splivalo: The home fires. Fremantle, Western Australia 1982; ISBN 0-909144-53-2 [First World War Concentration Camp].

Web links

Commons : Rottnest Island  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Celeste Liddle: Wadjemup (Rottnest Island): the internment camp turned favorite holiday destination, without debate , on nationalunitygovernment.org. Retrieved May 15, 2017
  2. ↑ a b Essential Guide. (PDF) In: rottnestisland.com. Rottnest Island Authority, accessed May 14, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics : Rottnest Island (State Suburb) ( English ) In: 2016 Census QuickStats . June 27, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  4. ^ A b Ann Jones: Birds vote on success of ecological restoration on Australia's Rottnest Island on revitalizationsnews.com of September 15, 2016, accessed on May 18, 2017.
  5. ↑ Our History. In: Visit Rottnest Island Authority. Retrieved on April 20, 2019 (English, subpage “Colonial Settlement”).
  6. ↑ Australian Encyclopaedia; Sydney 1958, Vol. VII, p. 501.
  7. ^ Rottnest Island: Black prison to white playground. Today Rottnest Island, off Fremantle, is a popular holiday spot, but few realize the island's dark past as a prison for Indigenous men , October 25, 2016, on Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2017
  8. ↑ An Island in Denial (English), from 2010, on wadjemu.blogspot.de. Retrieved May 15, 2017
  9. ↑ Rottnest Lodge redevelopment: Former Aboriginal prison The Quod to no longer be used for tourist accommodation , of 24 January 2015 on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved May 15, 2017
  10. ^ Rottnest Island, Western Australia (1914-15 and 1940) , on naa.gov.au. Retrieved September 2, 2017
  11. ↑ Splivalo, Anthony; The home fires; Fremantle, Western Australia 1982; ISBN 0-909144-53-2
  12. ↑ Spivalo (1992), chap. 9-11
  13. ^ Australian Encyclopaedia, p. 501.
  14. ^ History and Culture - Military Functions ( Memento of August 21, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  15. ^ Plaque marks Rottnest's dark wartime history , in: Western Australian, August 19, 2008