It should have been raining by now, according to the weather forecast, but thankfully, is not. Across the grassy stretch to the camp kitchen, strains of 1970s and '80s music drifts at several decibels above tolerance level, and a small group of cap clad casually dressed folk are enjoying happy hour that was well underway when we returned to camp at about a quarter to four. I have faith, however, that the cold will drive them back to their own squats before too long, although I can see that they have managed to stoke up a good fire in the wood burner.
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| Remnants of No 16 POW Camp |
I do wonder what the older couple who have arrived in our absence think of it all. I did notice they were closing in their canvas awning area, perhaps in anticipation of the rain or perhaps constructing a psychological barrier from their neighbours.
Soon we will be shut up tight inside ourselves, watching the first rugby test of the year, that between the Wallabies and the British Lions. It will be the perfect end to a perfect day, no matter who wins.
And indeed, it has been a most perfect day. We set out for Dwellingup after breakfast, detouring a few kilometres short of our destination into the Marrinup State Forest, following signs that said ”POW Camp”. I had read in my preliminary research for this next stage south about this, although forgotten to which town it related.
No 16 Prisoner of War Camp was constructed here in the bush and took in its first prisoners in August 1943, operating through until April 1946. I found it quite amazing to consider where these prisoners came from; they were the German and Italian soldiers shipped from Libya and India. The War had produced a shortage of labour in Australia, particularly in the agricultural sector and so it was hoped that these prisoners would help fill the gap.
Because of the lack of work supervisors, there was a selection process; no escapees, passionate Nazis, super patriots, trouble makers or medically unfit were accepted at the camp. Most of the Italians were chosen for their rural working background and less troublesome nature, while some of the Germans were taken because of their skills as woodcutters. The Germans arrived after the Italians when camp construction was complete. They were professional soldiers who had served with the Luftwaffe, Afrika Korp or navy. Some had served on the “Kormoran” which sank the HMAS Sydney in 1941.
Three hundred German woodcutters worked in the forest and supplied Perth with 2,500 tonnes of firewood every week. This fuelled Perth’s power generators, water pumping stations and industry. Marrinup was able to provide half of Perth’s annual firewood needs.
Over 3,500 Italian prisoners passed through the camp on their way to unguarded work on farms or to one of twenty eight control centres throughout the south west of Western Australia. The majority of the Italian prisoners arrived after Italy’s surrender in September 1943. Most came from desert camps in Egypt or from overcrowded camps in India. They were grateful to come to camps in Australia that offered a greater chance of survival.
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| Lovely lichens and funghi |
Wandering around the remains of the camp, most of the construction materials having been sold off after operations ceased, now just a few concrete foundations and lookout posts left, signs alerting us to the whereabouts of “latrines”, “showers” and “KC Messes”, reminded me of the archeological programme we had watched on the television a night or two ago.
We have taken to watching “Time Team” during the dinner hour and very recently they dug over the first POW camp in Britain, that which played host to captured Napoleon’s militia. I would hazzard a guess and say that these here in Marrinup had a better time of it than those in Britain, mind you, there was almost one hundred and fifty years between the two events. In fact some had such a good time here in Marrinup, at least one hundred of the Italians returned as immigrants, some sponsored by their old “employers”.
The camp covered an area of nearly fifteen hecatres and was able to hold 1200 men.
Just up the road from the camp are the Marrinup Falls, although the walk was more enjoyable than the falls themselves which were little more than a trickle. This was definitely a case for the journey being more important than the destination. Although too early for the wild flower season, we did find some lovely flowers alongside the track, and were even more fascinated by the lichen and fungi as colourful and varied as coral on a tropical reef. It was our first bush walk for a while and all the more enjoyable for that reason. Wild fire had swept through the forest in February 2007 and even after all this time, regeneration of the vegetation was still evident; skeletons stood high above the regrowth like those protruding from a manmade lake.
We then drove on up to Dwellingup, which in the early twentieth century was a centre of farming, timber milling and railway sleeper cutting. It should be noted also that the jarrah timber raped from the surrounding hills made its way to many cities throughout the world as street cobbles.
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| WA's Murray River |
In January 1961, one of the worst summer months ever recorded, the State’s worst bushfire wiped out the town of Dwellingup and several surrounding mill towns overnight. Amazingly no lives were lost although fire destroyed seventy five homes and seventy two vehicles.
Today, with a population of about eight hundred and fifty, the town hosts tourists as they enjoy the Hotham Valley Railway, pause as they walk the very long Bibbulmun Track, call in as they head to the historical area of Marrinup or to enjoy the natural beauty of the Lane Poole Reserve. The Information Centre at the Railway Station has a mini-museum covering the fires and the POW camp, all complimenting the information provided out on site. The Hotham Valley Tourist Rail takes tourists from Pinjarra up to Dwellingup up through the countryside and through the forest by diesel during the summer and steam through the winter. I guess that has something to do with fire risk?
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| Lane Poole Reserve |
We continued on out to the Lane Poole Reserve, and drove up the east bank of the very scenic Murray River, pausing at the Baden Powell camp site where the river rushes through a narrow gap in the rocks, swirling and foaming like a washing machine, then undertaking the hour long Island Pool walk up through grass trees and jarrah trees.
The Reserve covers 55,000 hectares and was given its official reserve status in 1984, named after CE Lane-Poole, the state’s first Conservators of Forests and a devoted conservationist. The land surrounds the lovely Murray River as it flows down through the Darling Scarp. We were so taken with the area that we have decided to extend our stay another day and revisit the forest and surrounds tomorrow; although a severe change in the weather overnight could change our mind.
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