Rottnest Island History

History

There are signs of Aboriginal occupation on Rottnest dating from 7000 years ago, when a hill on a coastal plain became the island after being cut off by rising seas. It was, however, uninhabited when Europeans arrived. Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh claimed discovery of the island in 1696 and named it Rotte-nest (‘rat’s nest’) because of the numerous king-size ‘rats’ (quokkas) he saw there. The Noongar tribe knew it as Wadjemup.

The Rottnest settlement was originally established in 1838 as a prison for Aborigines from the mainland. Although there were no new prisoners after 1903, the existing prisoners had to serve out their sentences until 1920. The island is a sacred site to the Noongar because hundreds of their people died there.