Civilian Internment Camps.
Dhurringile Mansion nine miles south of Tatura was the first internment camp for German nationals living in Victoria. Nearby Camp 1 was constructed to accommodate these internees and other German civilians in other States. This Camp became the administrative headquarters for the Tatura Group of Internment Camps.
Camps 2, 3 and 4 were constructed, following a request from Britain to house internees from Europe, these included large groups of German families from Palestine, German professional men from Iran, and Germans and Austrian Jewish refugees brought to Australia on the infamous “Dunera”, and families interned from Singapore and Malaya.
Camp 4 was later the camp for Japanese Internees, some who had been living in Australia, others from the islands to the north of Australia.
These three camps held 1,000 each, and organization and operation within the camps were carried out by the internees themselves. This included cooking, all cleaning, minor hospital care, the schooling of the children, and young adults up to University entrance standard.