Thomson Bay Settlement

Thomson Bay is named after Robert Thomson, one of Rottnest's earliest European settlers. The buildings in the Thomson Bay Settlement are some of the oldest in the country and, Vincent Way is the oldest intact streetscape in Australia. Mr Thomson surrendered his holdings of land on Rottnest in 1839, and no land has been privately owned on Rottnest since that time. Many of the historic buildings were built during the period when Henry Vincent was Superintendent (1839 - 49 and 1855 - 67), and most were built by Aboriginal men imprisoned on the Island under his supervision. However, every age has added something to the Settlement.

For a full rundown of all the buildings in the Settlement, check out the Official Rottnest Island website.

Oliver Hill Battery

Oliver Hill, named for a prison warder posted to Rottnest in the 1860s, is home to a Battery which is believed to be the only remaining example of an underground complex of H1 gun in the world. The two 9.2 inch guns are the last of this type in such intact condition. As part of a Commonwealth decision to increase and improve coastal artillery defences, two defence gun batteries were located on the Island in 1937: the Oliver Hill and Bickley Batteries. The primary function of these was to protect the port of Fremantle and prevent enemy vessels from entering the south passage.

The Rottnest Island Board of Control acquired the guns in 1963, when Coastal Artillery was completely disbanded in Australia. Virtual Tour: The Battery comprises of two 9.2 inch breech loading guns manufactured in 1901 and 1902, together with a concrete gun emplacement, an underground magazine, an engine room, plotting rooms and concrete observation posts. The structures were built to Army specifications in 1937 by civilian Army contractors, for the Commonwealth Department of the Interior.

Aboriginal Sites

For almost a century Rottnest Island served as a prison for Aboriginal people and some 3,700 Aboriginal men and boys were imprisoned on Rottnest. A man who was serving a long sentence might see more than 200 prisoners come and go. Often he would have no idea when he was to be released, or even if he would make it through the next winter.

Rottnest was a severe, forbidding prison: the work was drudging and hard, cells were cramped and over-crowded, and the winters harsh on the poorly dressed and blanketed prisoners. A further hardship was the separation, often by thousands of kilometres, of the prisoners from their families and cultures. There is no common Aboriginal language or set of customs, and as the colonial settlement expanded from the Swan River region into the rest of the state, so Aboriginal men were brought to Rottnest from a variety of regions and cultural groups. Prisoners came from as far away as Wyndham, Halls Creek and Broome in the north of the State, Kalgoorlie and Eucla in the east, and Esperance in the south.

The offences for which Aboriginal people were imprisoned often appear minor now. Spearing cattle or livestock, absconding or leaving their place of work, petty theft: all of these were enough to warrant imprisonment on Rottnest. Moreover, crimes which should more properly have been dealt with through tribal or customary law were often unduly punished. Between the years 1838 and 1931 over 370 men died. While most deaths were caused by disease, five men were hanged on Rottnest Island.

A number of sites on Rottnest Island have particular significance to Aboriginal communities, both as products of their labour and as places of incarceration. The Quod (slang for Prison) was built in 1864. It is octagonal in shape, with a well at the centre. Up to five prisoners were housed in each 2 metre by 3 metre cell, and diseases such as measles and influenza took a terrible toll amongst the inmates.

All of the landmarks along the route taken by Aboriginal people when they arrived on the Island are significant: the jetty area, the sea wall, the holding cell, and the path to the Quod. Also of great significance is the Wadjemup Aboriginal Cemetery, located to the north of the Quod. Approximately 364 Aboriginal men are buried in the Cemetery. Between 1903 and 1984 the Cemetery was unacknowledged, and the area was used for a number of purposes, including recreational camping. Following 1984, when the extent of the burials was recognized, and as a result of discussions with representative Aboriginal groups, the road and houses on the site were removed.

Kingstown Barracks and the Bickley Battery

As early as the 1880s, when there was a belief that war with Russia was imminent, attention was focused on Rottnest as a look-out point for shipping in the Indian Ocean. It was not until World War One, however, that there was any significant military involvement on Rottnest. The Island had been used infrequently as a training area and rifle range, but during the War it became a Prisoner of War camp. Then, in September 1934, the Western Australian Premier was officially informed of Commonwealth intentions for a defence programme on Rottnest.

On 30 July 1936, land at Bickley was acquired and paid for by the Commonwealth. Work had already begun on the Island in 1935 with the lengthening and strengthening of the old jetty and the construction of a light narrow-gauge railway. This railway ran from the jetty to the batteries at Bickley and Oliver Hill to facilitate the installation of guns and the erection of fortifications. Kingstown Barracks, named after the original Kingstown site in the vicinity, was designed in 1936 by the Department of the Interior Works and Services Branch in New South Wales.

Construction of the complex was commenced in 1937 and included accommodation for four warrant officers or sergeants, and 72 rank and file personnel. The buildings were completed in 1937-38. The complex also included a small hospital, Officers Mess, canteen, engine shed and store, workshop, and single and married officers' quarters. In addition were two smaller brick administration buildings designed in 1937 which, together with the Barracks, enclosed a central parade ground.

As part of the Commonwealth decision to increase and improve coastal artillery defences, two defence gun batteries were located on the Island. The primary function of these was to protect the port of Fremantle and prevent enemy vessels from entering the south passage. The battery at Bickley on the south-eastern tip of the Island was armed with two six-inch Mark XI guns. During the Second World War, defence facilities at the Battery were increased to include anti-aircraft defences, concrete gun emplacements, battery emplacements, battery command and observation posts, and night searchlights. Also at Bickley were two mock guns and a dummy railway line built from old sleepers.

At the end of the war, much of the military defence equipment was removed. The guns, which had never fired a shot in anger, were placed in combat storage in 1946 and removed in 1963. Following World War Two, the army used the Barracks for a training base until 1984. In 1985, the former Barracks were vacated and handed over to the State Government to be placed under the protection of the Rottnest Island Board of Control.

Historic Shipwrecks off Rottnest Island

A small island, skirted by reefs, and situated 19 kilometres offshore, must be a prime hazard for ships. Rottnest has been called "the brick on the doorstep of Fremantle" which trips up any drunken or careless ship's captain. There are six wrecks in Thomson Bay alone, and the anchors of two further Rottnest wrecks (The City of York and The Mira Flores) can be seen next to the main jetty.

The first ship known to have been wrecked off Rottnest Island was the 124 ton wooden schooner Transit. She was wrecked on Duck Rock on the night of 15 May 1842, rounding Rottnest on a voyage from Port Leschenault (Bunbury) to Fremantle.

The 52 ton cutter Gem went down with all hands after striking Phillip Rock whilst approaching Rottnest on the morning of 15 May 1876. She had come from Port Irwin (Dongara) with bags of wheat and disappeared while in sight of Fremantle.

Lady Elizabeth, a composite (wood and iron) vessel was wrecked on the night of 30 June 1878, bound for Shanghai from Fremantle with a cargo of sandalwood. For four days the ship battled heavy gales and Captain Scott finally decided to return to the safety of Fremantle. She struck Dyer Island and was wrecked.

The 562 ton steamer Macedon was wrecked on 21 March 1883. She was carrying 50 passengers including a survey party containing Alexander and John Forrest. The vessel struck a reef after towing a smaller boat closer to the Island, but sank with no loss of life.

The Mira Flores ran aground on Horseshoe Reef in the early hours of 30 January 1886. An iron barque of 500 tons, the captain attempted to sail the sinking vessel on to the shore. The crew and much of the cargo was saved when she went down on an even keel.

Janet, a 211 ton jarrah built schooner was, at the time, the largest vessel built at Fremantle. She was wrecked on the night of 11 December 1887, whilst in-bound from Colombo with grain, Ceylon-made furniture and other goods. The Denton Holme was a 998 ton iron barque on a voyage from Glasgow, which was wrecked on the night of 25 September 1890. The vessel was seen by the lookout on Rottnest and a pilot boat was sent out, but she sailed straight past and on to Transit Reef, where she stuck. The next day a storm destroyed her.

The Raven, a 3-masted wooden barque of 343 tons, was wrecked with no loss of life on 11 March 1891, whilst on a voyage from Fremantle to Bunbury. The skipper was found to have been drunk and, after the vessel struck the reefs surrounding Dyer Island, the crew returned to Fremantle in the ship's boats.

The City of York was an iron barque who was lost with all hands in rough weather on the night of 12 July 1899, in the bay which now bears her name. The lighthouse keeper, unsure of the vessel's intentions, fired a flare from the centre of the Island. The captain mistook this for the 'safe water' signal flare of a pilot boat, and sailed directly for the light.

The hopper barge Shark was wrecked on Henrietta Rocks in 1939. According to once source, the vessel broke free from moorings at Fremantle and drifted on to the rocks and was wrecked. The remains of the Shark lie offshore, immediately below Lookout Hill.

The 74 year old 188 ton auxiliary schooner Uribes was wrecked in June or July 1942, laden with shells for the guns, and stores. The motors cut out near Phillip Rock and, with anchors dragging, the vessel drifted and was wrecked near the base of the natural jetty.

DIVE SOME OF THESE WRECKS WITH MALIBU DIVE!

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