A memorial stone and plaque are now in place at the site of the secret internment camp at Western Creek. It’s been quite a twisting trail to get to this point – from writing about my grandfather being an internee there in Joe’s Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, after years of research and almost a detective hunt in putting together the information and many brick walls from authorities, some refusing to believe the camp that detained hundreds of innocent men during WW2 even existed (despite photographs and other clues).
Then there was the unexpected letter I received from Cecil Gibson, a Millmerran local who’d read my book, and who, together with other members of the Millmerran Museum and Historical Society, sought to also honour this, until then, mostly unknown local history. As I said, it’s been a twisting trail, especially in pinpointing the exact site, uncovering remnants of decades old testimony and even discovering the odd, old WW2 land mine left behind in the area (since cleared)!
I’m so pleased this has all come about, most of all for the young men interned, the army guards who treated them with respect and the women and children left to fend for themselves, many on farms, who did it tough in the absence of their men and workers.
Original post… Hidden history at Western Creek
Zoë Boccabella 