Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

Western Australia. Rottnest Island. Kingstown. Searchlight, 1960

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Subcollections

Fortress Fremantle and the Defence of Western Australia

Overview

Remains of searchlight position at Kingstown / Bickley Point

Historical information

After war broke out in 1939, Wadjemup was declared a prohibited area in June 1940. All recreational activity ended. A declaration that was intended to last three months, this continued for a further five years until June 1945. The island was occupied by military and naval personnel only during this time, with the two gun batteries manned 24 hours a day.

Accommodation was needed for further personnel on the island, so WRANS House was established for the signallers operating the Signal Station. They worked in shifts of four hours on, and eight hours off, and rotated duties between Rottnest Island and Fremantle. The first signallers arrived on the island in 1943, and stayed until the Signal Station closed in 1945.

And yet, despite the impending threat to Western Australia’s shores, the guns were never fired at an enemy vessel.

As the country’s military focus moved north, the fixed defences at Rottnest Island were reduced. Peace came once again to the island — but the guns, the gun emplacements, the tunnels, and the buildings and infrastructure required for war still remained.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-MIL 2002.173

Themes

Buildings > Military
War and Conflict

Keywords

BUILDINGS

Military

Searchlights

Geotag

-32.003090474531, 115.55607799754

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