Far from Home: Aboriginal Prisoners of Rottnest Island Dictionary of Western Australians Volume X

(Not ex-library!)

Identifies more than 3,600 Aboriginal Prisoners who served time on Rottnest Island. Some were associated with historic events such as the battle of Pinjarra (1834), the Flying Foam massacre (1868), the jandamarra uprising in the Kimberley (1892-94) and the Forrest River massacre (1926). Some traveled with the explorers John Forrest and Francis Gregory, and others, while on parole, served on the frontiers as police assistants, pearl divers and guides for the telegraph surveys.

Accompanying the biographical listing of prisoners is a historical account of the Rottnest establishment and prison life, describing the experiences of men who were separated from their families and sent to a cold and dreary island off the coast of Western Australia. For more than 350 it was a one-way journey, and today, denied the recognition they deserve, they lie in unmarked graves far from home. ABORIGINAL STUDIES