Photograph: Philip Gostelow/The Guardian
Rottnest Island is best known for its clear waters, undulating sandy dunes and friendly quokka, a furry marsupial about the size of a cat. But few visitors acknowledge its violent past.
Situated about 20km off the coast of Perth in Western Australia, the island was originally known as Wadjemup – or “the land across the seas where the spirits lie” – by the Whadjuk Noongar people, its custodians for tens of thousands of years.
Beneath this touristy haven lies Australia’s biggest deaths in custody site. Hundreds of men and boys were incarcerated there for almost a century and were buried in unmarked graves.
Their deaths are finally being honoured as Indigenous people gather from all over the state for a sombre commemoration.
Between 1838 and 1931, at least 4,000 Aboriginal men and boys were forcibly sent to the Rottnest Island Aboriginal Establishment. There, children as young as seven and men in their 80s suffered ill-treatment, disease and neglect.