NEW DATABASE REVEALS HISTORICAL INCARCERATION OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE ON WADJEMUP

Wadjemup / Rottnest Island.  PC:Simone McGurk MLA

BY ASAD KHAN

A newly launched online database is providing insight into the historical incarceration of Aboriginal people on Wadjemup / Rottnest Island. 

The interactive resource enables descendants to trace family members who were sent to the former prison.

Years of research by Aboriginal History WA examined up to 8,000 records from 1900 to 1931, revealing new details about those imprisoned. 

Among the findings are the only known woman to have been incarcerated on the island and 35 previously unidentified men. The database contributes to Western Australia’s historical records and assists Aboriginal families in reconnecting with their past.

A related resource also tracks Aboriginal passengers who travelled on sailboats and steamships between 1850 and 1925, further expanding knowledge of Aboriginal movement and history in the region.

Aboriginal Community Education Officer at Aboriginal History WA, Duane Kelly, spoke to Ngaarda Media about some of the challenges encountered in the research process.

“Identifying where the records were located in the first place and tracking down each individual person to really confirm them being on the island [was challenging] because people had multiple names that were recorded in multiple [ways] and different aliases,”

“So it was really tracking down how we could confirm that people with all these different names were actually the same person and then finding out when they were on the island and why they were on the island as well,” he said.

The project represents a significant step in acknowledging and documenting this aspect of Western Australian history while supporting Aboriginal families in reclaiming their heritage.

Listen to Ngaarda Media’s Lead Journalist Asad Khan speak with Aboriginal Community Education Officer at Aboriginal History WA, Duane Kelly: