Back to search results » Back to search page »

Mount Disappointment Internment Campsites

Other Name

Forestry Camp No.1

Location

Allison Road Mount Disappointment, WANDONG VIC 3758

File Number

Original Hermes No: 110380

Level

Statement of Significance

Heritage Victoria
Statement of Significance
Heritage Inventory History of Site: This camp, and No 2 camp (D7923-0028), were set up during the later part of WW II to house alien internees and, later, Italian prisoners of war. At the end of the war, the camps were abandoned and all but on of the main huts were removed from the No1 camp.

Description: Large cleared area of about five acres. Terraced with evidence of buildings, the remains of a tennis court and cricket pitch. Now used as a picnic ground.
General References Historic Sites in the Melbourne East Study Area, Griffiths, T., Perham, G. & Supple, R., 1989, LAND CONSERVATION COUNCIL

National Estate
Nominator's Statement of Significance : Forestry Camps No 1 and 2 in the Mount Disappointment State Forest are associated with the outbreak of World War II and the Government's practice of internment for those considered aliens and for detaining prisoners-of-war in remote forest areas. Their labour was used for cutting firewood and forest maintenance. These sites are relatively uncommon in the region, and represent an important regional theme relating to use of the forests for camps during wartime. (Criterion A.4, Principal Australian Historic Theme 7.5.6)

It is possible that Indigenous cultural values of national estate significance exist in this place. As yet the Environment Forest Taskforce has not identified, documented or assessed these values.

Group

Military