This Web Page is Camp Construction

Construction of Camps.

Camp 1 was constructed to house German Nationals living in Australia at the outbreak of World War 2, it was completed and occupied in January 1940.

Camps numbered 2, 3, 4 and 13 followed on from a request from the British Government to accommodate up to 50,000 Internees and Prisoners of War, which that Government intended to be transported to Australia from Britain and other war zones.

Land in the more isolated areas was selected and acquired from the owners, and construction of the barracks, compound fencing and the necessary auxiliary services was carried out by local contractors, casual labour, all under the supervision of the work force of the State Rivers & Water Supply Commission based at Tatura. A supply depot was set up in the Tatura Showgrounds, and later at the Murchison Railway Station.

Each compound was enclosed by a double row of wire fencing 2 metres high, with coiled barbed wire in between. Guard towers were erected at the corners of the compounds, and the whole perimeter was illuminated during the hours of darkness. Prisoners were held in timber framed barracks with galvanized iron roof and walls, about twenty in each building. Kitchens, mess huts, shower blocks, laundries and latrines were all located within the compound. Each camp was divided into two or more compounds to facilitate as far as possible the separation of nationalities.