Their Stories

Wadjemup is a complex place for Aboriginal people across Western Australia.

The Traditional Owners of Wadjemup are the Whadjuk Nyoongar people. The island is their land, their Country. It has been a place of spirits and stories, a source of dreaming.

For many Aboriginal people across the state, Wadjemup is a place of sorrow and heartache. Many men and boys that were taken to the island and never returned to their Country. Their lives, and their stories, were lost to Wadjemup.

A history of injustice

Aboriginal men and boys were forcibly taken from their Country and their people, made to travel long distances to Wadjemup.

Their crimes were often insignificant, with most men receiving excessive sentences for spearing animals on their Country or absconding from places of forced labour. This was the continued injustice of colonial invasion and expansion.

Yathee Charley, from the lower Gascoyne region, was sentenced for three years in 1884 for killing sheep and stealing a pipe. When interviewed Yathee explained, ‘I was sentenced to 6 months for stealing a pipe from Mr. R. Shaw. I picked up the pipe and gave it to a native policeman. I did not know to whom the pipe belonged.’

In their own words

Following the growing population of prisoners on Wadjemup, the condition of the Aboriginal men and boys deteriorated. A commission was held to investigate prison conditions, with particular attention given to the site at Wadjemup. The resulting document, Report of a Commission to Inquire into the Treatment of Aboriginal Native Prisoners of the Crown in this Colony 1884, provides examples of the harsh realities at Wadjemup using the mens’ own testimonies.

“I do not like Rottnest. I am sick of it. I have been sick and do not eat much. I came in the steamer from Gascoyne and had a chain round my neck all the way to Champion Bay, when it was taken off. I expect to go to my own country soon and shall be very glad.”

— Yathee Charley, from lower Gascoyne region, 1884

Wenyie ‘Cockroach’,
taken from Roebourne

On 26 December 1897 Wenyie, alias Cockroach, with Marbyammarra and Mindim, used their free Sunday to escape Wadjemup. They took a visiting tourists’ boat and reached the mainland. The men travelled north-west, but the lack of water in the area forced Wenyie and Marbyamarra to surrender. They were taken into custody at Dongarra.

On 1 March 1898, Wenyie returned to Wadjemup and was sentenced to four weeks in chains. He wasn’t released for another 14 years.

Portrait of Aboriginal man Wenyie ‘Cockroach’ c. 1898. Courtesy Rottnest Island Museum, Rutherford collection of photographs of Rottnest Island 2014.11.

“I do not like Rottnest, it makes me ill. I have been two winters here. I came in the steamer. I had a chain around my neck all the way down. I was alright when I was in my own country...I get enough to eat of meat, [but here] the bread is too hard and too much cooked and makes me ill. The rice and tea are very good.

I am cold in winter, my blanket is no good, it is old. I do not know when I am going back, but I shall be very glad to go.”

— Johnnie Widgie Widgie from Ekacootharra, near Roebourne, 1884

(L-R) Portraits of Peter, Marengo, and a Nor’Wester at Wadjemup c. 1898. Rutherford collection of photographs of Rottnest Island 2014.7, 2014.19, 2014.10.

Strength through identity

On Wadjemup, prisoners were numbered and required to wear identification tags on their shirts or around their neck. Aboriginal men and boys were also given English names or nicknames by prison officials. Their true names were mistranslated or ignored.

Yet, the men continued to express their identity and strength through their own creations. Handmade name tags were found at Wadjemup, for ‘Matapan’ and ‘Buda’. These names weren’t recorded in official prison documents.