| Photographs: | None |
|---|---|
| List: | Register of the National Estate |
| Class: | Historic |
| Legal Status: | Registered (27/10/1998) |
| Place ID: | 14223 |
| Place File No: | 1/15/023/0009 |
| Statement of Significance: |
|---|
|
The Old Army/Internment Camp Group, Holsworthy, comprises surviving guard buildings and structures that were elements of an internment camp for Germans and other Europeans, from 1914-19. The internment of migrants in Australia followed Britain's foreign nationals policy during World War One and the Army/Internment Camp Group reflects Australia's strong defence links with Britain. The Old Army/Internment
Camp Group demonstrates Australia's fear of European immigrants during World War One and concerns that Australia's war effort and national security were threatened by spies and invasion. The Old Army/Internment Camp Group also reflects the impact of World War One on Australia's home front when men were interned and their families left to fend for themselves (Criterion A.4). The Old Army/Internment Camp Group is associated with Federation and the acquisition of its remaining buildings, in 1913, was part of the Commonwealth Government's major program of defence construction for Australia (Criterion A.4) (Historic Themes: 7.4 Federating Australia; 7.7.1 Providing for the common defence; 7.6.7 Enforcing discriminatory legislation). The Old Army/Internment Camp Group survives as evidence of the largest internment camp in Australia during World War One. The guard buildings and structures are rare in demonstrating the guards' section of a World War One internment camp in Australia and are also significant because they were constructed by the German and other European internees
(Criterion B.2).
The Old Army/Internment Camp Group has important associations for those who trained there during World War Two and who undertook National Service Training or permanent army service there more recently, during its use as military camp. It has similar associations for members of the World War One Light Horse Regiments and their families and descendants. It has strong but unpleasant associations for former internees. It has important associations for Australians as a reminder of a period of conflict and troubled national identity, involving a deep suspicion of non-British elements of the population (Criterion G.1). It is possible that Indigenous cultural values of National Estate significance may exist in this place. As yet, the Australian Heritage Commission has not identified, documented or assessed these values. |
| Official Values: Not Available |
| Description: |
|
The Old Army/Internment Camp Group, Holsworthy, is within
the Holsworthy Training Area, 25km south of Sydney. The zone known as the
Holsworthy Field Firing Range comprises its southern area and is an extensive
tract of open countryside, in parts very undulating and not fully accessible to
the public, dominated by a thickly wooded eroded plateau. Due to the area being
used as a firing range by the army, settlement is restricted to the Holsworthy
Army Camp, on the north edge of this zone. The remaining elements of the Old
Army Camp Group which were used as part of the internment camp are guards' camp
buildings, all built by internees after its establishment in 1914. There are
two stone buildings north of Artillery Road: the former sergeants' mess (or
corporals' club) and a powder magazine (used as a lock-up jail), both c 1916.
The former sergeants' mess is a Federation Bungalow, L-shaped building of rock
faced sandstone with a hipped roof clad in colour bonded corrugated steel,
north of the parade ground. The powder magazine is a single storey Federation
Bungalow building of concrete textured and coloured to resemble sandstone, with
a gabled, terracotta tiled roof and an exercise yard fenced by a block wall,
fronted by an iron palisade fence with a gate incorporating rendered piers
inscribed: 1914; 1916; and GCC. It bears graffiti dating to the World War One
internment period. There is a burned out ruin of a recreation hall, on the
western edge of the ring road around the central parade ground. There is also a
Federation Bungalow, comprising rock faced remnants of external walls, rendered
internal walls, two chimneys and a substantially intact portion of the lower
storey behind the main front wing. There are ruins of the railway terminus, the
railway siding and part of Military Road, east of the former jail, with
kerbing. It is possible that archaeological remains relating to these elements
survive, with potential National Estate significance; in the event of future
development proposals, this aspect of the place should be investigated. The parade ground area in the centre of the guards' camp remains, as do tree plantings from the internment period. As indicated by a photographic panorama taken between 1914-18 from the south eastern corner of the site, newly planted avenues of brush box (LOPHOSTEMON CONFERTUS) formed avenues along a section of Old Illawarra Road, through the camp along Artillery Road and around the stables to the east of the guards' camp. Of the more than 300 trees, only forty-one trees remain, all to the east of the guards' camp, flanking Artillery Road. Of the large vegetable gardens and ornamental garden beds of the internment period, a small grove of crab apple trees near the railway siding remains. (Mature pine tree species were planted in the 1950s-60s.) There is a pedestrian bridge used formerly as a railway bridge, comprising a painted steel framed walkway built over the remains of the earlier structure, consisting of concrete piers in the bed of the creek with the remains of iron fixings for the previous rail line (built 1917-18). There are no remains of the structures of the main compound south of Artillery Road due to extensive clearance. European settlement: |
| History: |
|
In 1794, six years after the arrival of the Europeans, the
colonial government issued land grants for the region south-west of Sydney and
for the more fertile lands west of the area along the Nepean and Hawkesbury
Rivers. In 1809, the first land grants associated with European settlement west
of the Holsworthy Training Area were made in the District of Minto. In 1810,
Governor Macquarie visited the district and established the adjoining town of
Liverpool. Holsworthy was named after the town in Devon, England, where
Macquarie married his second wife Elizabeth in 1807. By 1813, the districts of
Airds and Appin were created south of Minto which collectively now represent
the region of Campbelltown. In 1835 the rugged sandstone gorges of the
Holsworthy Training Area were surveyed and proclaimed as the Parish of
Eckersley. Under the Crown Lands Act (1884), the parish was opened for permanent settlement. The first settlers to take up an official selection with the parish were Frank and Harry Etchells in 1889, building a stone cottage. The Etchells grew fruit and vegetables, raised poultry and bees and distilled rum inside the rock ledges at waterfalls along the river. They were followed by other settlers including Nathaniel George Bull who also built a stone dwelling, with inground sandstone water tanks. The Freres brothers established a vineyard in the area in association with Charles Kelso. By 1890, the area supported nearly a dozen early settlers with orchards and vineyards including Isaac Himmelhoch's substantial Grodno vineyard. Sixteen years later most of the selections were abandoned in preparation for the proposed military reserve and selections like the Grodno vineyard were destroyed once the army arrived. According to Longhurst, there exist many buildings and structures relating to European settlement within the Holsworthy Training Area and today much of this evidence is considered integral to the heritage landscape of the Macarthur region. Military acquisition: Liverpool has long been associated with the military. As early as 1811, soldiers' barracks were provided in the township and from 1886, following the Sudan expedition, Artillery Hill, across the Port Hacking River from Audley in the then National Park was used for annual training. In 1906, 1907 and 1910, the army held manoeuvres in the Holsworthy area. (More recently, military establishments have been concentrated in this precinct.) As part of the new Commonwealth Government's major program of defence construction, two areas were acquired: 833 acres for the establishment of a Remount Depot and Veterinary Hospital and a further 16,868 acres at the site now known as Old Holsworthy Camp. The Commonwealth Government Gazette formally proclaimed the Holsworthy Training Area as a military reserve on 7 March 1913. Land acquired for a military barracks, a training area and an artillery range totalled 80,000 acres. At the time the land consisted of both large and small holdings, many of which were still undeveloped. Some of the land was planted with fruit trees and there were market gardens in the area. Within this, the site chosen for the barracks had been a large orchard, completely surrounded by thick bush and scrub. The transfer was made on 25 October 1914. By April 1915 permanent barracks had been constructed there. The Anzac Rifle Range was completed in August, 1916. The small holdings which eventually became the area known as the German Concentration Camp were owned variously by James and Andrew Cowan, William Leane, E A McNeil and Giratamo Tome and varied in size from 41 acres to 43 acres. However, the area occupied by the camp and associated activities was never clearly defined. The camp itself, including the main barracks areas, the armed forces barracks, the playing fields, guard barracks and facilities and the hospital occupied an area which measures about 1.5km by 1km. Wooden barracks were erected, each housing sixty men with a company commander of their own nationality who was responsible for administration. About a quarter of this total area was enclosed to form some five compounds which existed for the period of the camp: Compound 1, main barracks, south of Artillery Road and including playing fields, along its south and west sides; Compound 2, of unknown purpose, located some 200m north of Artillery Road; Compound 3, recalcitrants compound (Sing Sing), south-east of the complex; Compound 4, military barracks for prisoners of war, north-east of the complex, north of Artillery Road; and the hospital compound, north-east of the complex. Other elements included a stables complex, eastern guard post, guards' camp, (north of Artillery Road and including the recreation centre, jail, guard barracks), bakery, kitchen and cloth store. Accommodation for internees consisted of tents. As a result of the increase in numbers, work began to prepare an area which would later become the permanent camp. The camp also had a saw mill and a sandstone quarry where stone for the jail, the recreation area and the sergeants' mess was extracted. The principal part of the main compound was constructed on gently sloping land south of the newly constructed Artillery Road, which ran almost due east from Illawarra Road, now the Old Illawarra Road. Over 100 individual barracks were located there, each holding fifty men. As well there were cafes, a post office, stores, a theatre, latrines, laundries, a bakery, kitchen and mess halls. The guards' barracks and the associated infrastructure were located on the north side of Artillery Road and eventually nine barrack buildings were constructed, by the internees, along with the railway station, goods store, a headquarters building, the recreation hall, sergeants' mess, jail, guardhouse and a number of ancillary buildings. A branch railway was built during World War One, by internees, to service the army camp near Liverpool, the artillery range, ordnance (mounted guns and cannon) and ammunition stores (two miles from Liverpool), the remount depot (three miles) and the veterinary depot (four miles) and the Holsworthy Internment Camp (five miles). Traces of the railway include the terminus in the guards' camp and a bridge across Harries Creek which has been modified and is now known as the Holsworthy Pedestrian Bridge. Holsworthy Barracks was used as an Internment Camp during World War One and World War Two. During World War One, German, Austrian, Hungarian, Croatian, Czech, Bulgarian and Turkish people were interned as well as Australian internees from Australia, South Pacific and Asia. German people were regarded as enemy aliens and were interned. Other groups regarded as being of less threat to security were also watched by Australian guards. The main compound was where German and Australian civilians were interned. However, there were some prisoners of war, including many of the survivors of the German cruiser Eden which was beached at Cocos on 9 November, 1914. There were a further three compounds holding other prisoners near by. It was the largest internment camp in Australia in World War One holding over 6,000 internees. There were in excess of 210 buildings on site at the height of the camp. One of the survivors of the Eden, George Boyne, wrote to his wife that it was 'a dreadful place' housing 'sailors, merchants, bushrangers, doctors, mine labourers, farmers, beachcombers'. There were riots at the camp and extortion gangs preyed on other internees. However, apart from the overcrowding, the living conditions at the concentration camp were not much worse than those of the soldiers in Australian Imperial Force camps that surrounded it. Escape attempts were common, for example a number of prisoners escaped through a 120m tunnel and one stowed away on a ship bound for Kava and was never caught. The camp held cabarets and theatre, movie nights, choirs, lectures and sporting competitions. Along the Kaiserwilhelmstrasse there was a bath house, cigar stands, bakery, sausage factory, pawn shop, barber and two cafes. The German Concentration Camp was closed in mid-1919 with the last man leaving on 5 May, 1920. It would appear that almost all of the buildings associated with the internees were ephemeral in nature and when hostilities ceased the camp was razed. None of the former concentration camp structures in the area of the internees (main) compound south of Artillery Road remains. The only evidence of the camp exists in the three stone buildings (sergeants' mess/corporals' club, burnt-out recreation hall and jail/powder magazine) in the former guards' camp, north of Artillery Road, the railway siding and its associated permanent way and some of the road and kerbing surrounding the former parade ground, a flat grassed area. It is understood that a quarry exists in the area. The powder magazine has been little modified with the exception of signs and possibly its steel plate doors being fitted. Planting comprises areas of informally arranged trees adjacent to the main buildings, native trees planted in straight rows and small areas where bushland has been retained. Mature exotic trees, mostly pines, are scattered around the site. Of the four identified periods where buildings were constructed on site, practically nothing remains as the site remediation which followed each phase removed practically all evidence of the previous occupation. The main north-south camp road has been covered by successive periods of occupation. All other existing fabric on the site dates from the period after 1930. A new ordnance depot was built after World War One and the former internment camp was used for militia camps; the stone buildings erected by the internees were used for permanent army units. The Darwin Mobile Force was established at Holsworthy before being relocated to the north. In 1938 a further 33,860 acres were added to the Holsworthy Training Area, the development of which was directly related to the earlier army camp. From 1939 the Anzac Rifle Range was converted to a prisoner of war camp and 6,780 Australians, mostly of Italian origin, were interned in the camp. In 1942 an Armoured Fighting Vehicle School replaced the remount depot. In 1958 Holsworthy became the home of the 1st Infantry Brigade Group. By 1990 the Liverpool Military Area contained thirty-five army units and 5,000 personnel. The training area has also been used as a firing range for small firearms and artillery. With the exception of the Holsworthy Barracks, the airfield and small weapons ranges, other developments in the Holsworthy Training Area have been limited to small networks of roads, culverts, bridges and fences. Other military establishments which have been developed in close proximity to the training area include the Liverpool Military Areas of Moorebank and Ingleburn which both represent important historical connections going back to Federation. Although the Holsworthy Training Area was used extensively in the past for artillery practice, it remains a relatively undisturbed natural landscape with a limited number of roads, firing ranges and vehicle harbour or staging areas. Today the training area remains of considerable value to the army. After World War Two, the consolidation of military bases continued to exert pressure for housing to accommodate its personnel and Holsworthy Village, established in 1952, exemplifies this process. Holsworthy Village was characterised by rows of modest cottages of similar architectural form set in wide, tree lined streets. Originally of fibro with timber sash windows, the houses have recently been comprehensively refurbished with modern cladding and aluminium windows, effectively destroying their significance as a post war housing group. |
| Condition and Integrity: |
| The former powder magazine/jail is generally in good condition and is still being used. The mess (former corporal's club) is externally in good condition having recently been renovated by the army, but the interior is somewhat dilapidated. The recreation hall comprises burnt out remains of wall footings but with a small portion of the lower storey of the main wing substantially intact. Much of the pedestrian bridge's original fabric has been removed, but concrete piers and iron fixings remain. The former parade ground and some tree plantings survive from the internment period. |
| Location: |
| Artillery Road, Holsworthy, comprising: former Sergeants' Mess (Corporals' Club); Powder Magazine (Gaol); Recreation Hall ruins; Parade Ground; former Railway Siding; former Railway Bridge; Brush Box plantings along the road to and around, the former stables complex; and the grove of crab apples near the Parade Ground. |
| Bibliography: |
|
Doak, F Australian Defence Heritage, 1988 Godden Mackay (1995) First Field Hospital Site Holdsworthy V.1-3 Liverpool City Council, State heritage Inventory Public Presentation Report, Ref. nos. LP0068-LP0072. National Trust of Australia (NSW) Draft Register Listing, Holsworthy Landscape Conservation Area. Neustein and Associates, Liverpool Heritage Study Part 1 &2, Liverpool City Council, 1992. O'Keefe, B. and Pearson, M., Federation: A National Survey of Heritage Places, Australian Heritage Commission, 1996. Sharp, R. G. (1994) The cultural heritage potential of Army training areas in Australia. |
Report Produced: Tue Feb 9 23:14:44 2010