Projects

Current project

An illustrated history of German internment at Trial Bay Gaol was commissioned for this project. The history also covers the experience of German communities in Australia after the declaration of the First World War in 1914 and reveals how they were rounded up and victimised in the name of British nationalism and 'doing your bit' for the Australian war effort. Many Australians of German descent were forced to move to gaols and camps in urban and rural New South Wales.

Some families anglicised their names to hide their past, show their patriotism and avoid racial discrimination as thousands of men were put under surveillance or interned at Trial Bay Gaol, Berrima Gaol or Holsworthy Military Camp at Liverpool. Women and children too were sent to Bourke and a camp at Molongolo.

Based on this research, an illustrated visitors' booklet will be published on the experiences of German internees at Trial Bay Gaol. It will also highlight the Gaol's ruins and fascinating movable heritage collections located in Trial Bay's picturesque surrounds within Arakoon State Conservation Area near South West Rocks on the NSW north coast.

The booklet will be available for sale at Trial Bay Gaol in mid-2006 and a Migration Heritage Centre online exhibition will be installed there, strengthening the Gaol's role in regional tourism.

The history will inform future interpretation strategies and enable assessment of the cultural heritage significance and conservation requirements of Trial Bay Gaol's movable heritage collections. These collections will also be showcased in the Collections Australia Network and the Centre's forthcoming Objects through Time online exhibition.

Trial Bay Gaol is a Migration Heritage Centre partnership project with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW). The history on German internment was contracted to Associate Professor Gerhard Fisher, German Studies, University of New South Wales and researcher, Nadine Helmi.


PROJECT CONTACT:
Cath Ireland, NPWS Macleay Area Ranger, Trial Bay Gaol

Address:
Arakoon State Conservation Area
Cardwell Street
Arakoon NSW 2431

Tel: 02 6566 6621
Email: cath.ireland@npws.nsw.gov.au