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Interned: Torrens Island 1914-1915
In August 1914 war broke out across Europe. Within months hundreds of men - 'enemy aliens' - were interned on Torrens Island, in the Port River estuary near Adelaide. Sailors taken off enemy ships, foreign nationals living in South Australia, and even some naturalised British subjects found themselves behind barbed wire.
Wartime censorship meant people outside knew next to nothing about internment or life in the camp. The camp commandant's brutal behaviour was revealed only years later.
Today, the observations of two internees survive in the diaries of professional boxer Frank Bungardy and the compelling photographs of Paul Dubotzki. These extraordinary sources, brought together in Interned, tell the little-known story of South Australia's 'enemy within' - a story as timely now as it has ever been.
Peter Monteath teaches history at Flinders University and writes about modern Australian and European history. He has a particular interest in German history and how over the last two centuries it has intersected with Australia. Wakefield Press published his collection of essays Germans: Travellers, Settlers and Their Descendants in South Australia in 2011.
Mandy Paul is Senior Curator, Exhibitions, Collections and Research at History SA. She has published on aspects of Australian cultural history, South Australian Aboriginal history and the intersection of history and law in native title practice, and is particularly interested in Indigenous history and South Australian social history. Her most recent exhibition is: Interned: Torrens Island, 1914-1915.
Rebecca Martin completed a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in history) and Laws (Hons) with a Diploma of Languages in German at the University of Adelaide in 2013. Rebecca currently works as an educator in the museum sector in Canberra and her interests include social history, military history and international law.
Wartime censorship meant people outside knew next to nothing about internment or life in the camp. The camp commandant's brutal behaviour was revealed only years later.
Today, the observations of two internees survive in the diaries of professional boxer Frank Bungardy and the compelling photographs of Paul Dubotzki. These extraordinary sources, brought together in Interned, tell the little-known story of South Australia's 'enemy within' - a story as timely now as it has ever been.
Peter Monteath teaches history at Flinders University and writes about modern Australian and European history. He has a particular interest in German history and how over the last two centuries it has intersected with Australia. Wakefield Press published his collection of essays Germans: Travellers, Settlers and Their Descendants in South Australia in 2011.
Mandy Paul is Senior Curator, Exhibitions, Collections and Research at History SA. She has published on aspects of Australian cultural history, South Australian Aboriginal history and the intersection of history and law in native title practice, and is particularly interested in Indigenous history and South Australian social history. Her most recent exhibition is: Interned: Torrens Island, 1914-1915.
Rebecca Martin completed a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in history) and Laws (Hons) with a Diploma of Languages in German at the University of Adelaide in 2013. Rebecca currently works as an educator in the museum sector in Canberra and her interests include social history, military history and international law.
- GenresHistory
128 pages, Paperback
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April 25, 2018
This is a story we should be remembering on Anzac Day. It sheds more light on the war years 1914-19 Australia, specifically how we treated those of enemy alien birth or descent. The majority were of German ancestry. They suffered years of isolation, in terrible conditions on an island off the coast of South Australia. These days we celebrate the German heritage of the Barossa etc, make money from it. It's hard to believe how badly we treated theses men. Quite a lot were born here, some of second or even third generation .
The book has fascinating personal stories of individual men, with photos and documents. There's a narrative history of the purpose, set up and administration of the camp. The book is the product of an exhibition mounted by three academics so it's well documented. Photos large and small make the most impact, they were taken by one of the inmates. I found it really interesting, very sad but we do need to know about our war history in broader terms than military heroism.
The book has fascinating personal stories of individual men, with photos and documents. There's a narrative history of the purpose, set up and administration of the camp. The book is the product of an exhibition mounted by three academics so it's well documented. Photos large and small make the most impact, they were taken by one of the inmates. I found it really interesting, very sad but we do need to know about our war history in broader terms than military heroism.
Displaying 1 of 1 review