Roll of Honour - Blackboy Hill Officers' Mess

On 17 August 1914, just 12 days after war was declared, the first volunteers arrived at the newly formed Blackboy Hill camp at the foot of the Darling Ranges, east of Perth. It was the birthplace of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in WA and over 32,000 men passed through the camp before heading off to war. By 21 August, The West Australian newspaper reported: "The military encampment at Blackboy Hill is now firmly established as a going concern. The various corps are in active training and squads of men are to be seen on all sides going through their drill.". By 29 August 1914, a post office opened at the camp and, after a storm destroyed all the tents recruits were living in, a more permanent camp with huts and cook houses was built. Following World War 1, the camp was used as an isolation hospital during the Spanish Flu pandemic; then in the 1930s as a camp for unemployed men during the Great Depression.