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A 20 yearROTTNEST ISLAND vision MASTER PLAN ria.wa.gov.au CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2 Master Plan Scope and Structure 3 2. THE SITE AND CONTEXT 4 3. THE PLACE 7 1. Main Settlement 8 2. Bathurst and Thomson Bay North 13 3. The Basin and Surrounds 17 4. Geordie and Longreach Bays 21 5. Thomson Bay South and the Airport Precinct 25 6. Kingstown and Bickley Point 28 7. Oliver Hill 32 8. Signal Ridge and Wadjemup Lighthouse 35 9. The Reserve 38 1 INTRODUCTION Rottnest Island has been a holiday and The sense of common ownership of the island is one recreation destination for the Western held dearly by Western Australians and has established Australian community since the early Rottnest as a low-key, low-impact and much-loved 1900s. This tradition continues today holiday destination. with a range of short-stay holiday Rottnest’s biggest challenge is to provide the range of accommodation available on the island, services, accommodation choices and visitor facilities complemented by extensive off-shore to meet the needs of visitors from WA and further mooring areas, camping grounds and a afield, while also protecting the natural environment small hub of commercial activity. and cultural heritage. Rottnest Island, or Wadjemup, has a rich social and There is great potential to enhance and protect the cultural history that adds greatly to visitors’ experience island landscape, while offering a wider choice of of the Island. holiday experiences to attract more visitors and to spread visitation more evenly throughout the year. Rottnest Island is located 18 kilometres off the coast More people staying longer in an environment that of Fremantle. It is unique in WA in being a holiday offers greater choice will also assist to improve the settlement with no private land ownership and being economic viability of the island. largely free of motor vehicles. The island is an A-Class reserve managed by the Rottnest Island Authority This master plan aims to guide an imaginative and (RIA). The Authority funds the maintenance of the landscape-scale response to the unique environment island’s diverse natural and cultural heritage through and cultural heritage of the island and advance the admission fees, revenue from the operation of holiday economic sustainability of the island while meeting accommodation and associated activities, and special the expectations of Western Australians and all purpose funding provided by the Western Australian other visitors. Government. 2 ROTTNEST ISLAND MASTER PLAN SCOPE AND STRUCTURE Rottnest Island is a unique and highly visible Many of the ideas, strategies and images in the master community asset. Control and management of the plan are conceptual and are subject to RIA’s internal island, including 1,859 hectares of land and the and published development policies, mandatory surrounding waters, is governed by the Rottnest Island assessments and applicable third party approvals. Authority Act 1987. As concepts are developed, their implementation will In 2014, the architecture, design and urban planning be guided by the following principles set out in the group HASSELL was commissioned to produce a draft Rottnest Island Management Plan 2020-24: 20-year master plan for the island. » RIA will manage the Island as a strategic State The scope and direction of the plan was developed asset that has important community significance. through consultation with RIA staff and Board, site RIA will invite, foster and promote partnerships visits, workshops and document review. » that support the identified vision, plans and The master plan has been updated for public strategic priorities. release in conjunction with the draft Rottnest Island The community will be consulted where Management Plan 2020-24, and provides a renewed » significant changes or impacts may be felt on vision for the period to 2040. The revised master the island from implementation of proposed plan incorporates updates to proposals and strategic initiatives. directions that have emerged through a process of review by the Board, and a staff workshop. Finalisation » Implementation will be guided by an ongoing of the master plan will be informed by public comment commitment to principles of sustainable on this draft. development and will reflect the best internationally recognised environmental The main aim of the master plan is to develop management practice associated with world- a direction for the future and a road map for class visitor destinations. the development of the places and spaces of Rottnest Island. A 20 year vision - MASTER PLAN - AUGUST 2019 3 THE SITE AND CONTEXT Rottnest Island has a diverse history, preserved in The Swan River Colony was established in 1829 and many respects by its physical isolation from the in December 1830 Benjamin Smyth surveyed the mainland. This history has been conserved, restored island and drew up plans for a township to be known and interpreted through the efforts of RIA staff and as Kingstown. Robert Thomson and William Clarke numerous volunteer workers. took up town lots. Thomson, who gives his name to Thomson Bay, was a major landholder and, in 1832, An appreciation of the history of the island is central his family took up a farming allotment on the southern to understanding Rottnest in the present, appreciating edge of what is now Lake Vincent. The island’s soil was its significance to Western Australians, and gaining Port. Most of the military heritage infrastructure that never suitable for farming and by 1838 their efforts insights into how best to plan for its future. can be found on the island today is the remains of the were discontinued. extensive infrastructure developed before and during Rottnest Island is known to the Whadjuk Noongar From 1838, the island’s isolation made it the WWII, including the 9.2 inch gun battery at Oliver Hill. people, the island’s traditional custodians, as chosen site as an Aboriginal prison. Throughout the Wadjemup or ‘place of spirits’. The whole of the In 1917, Rottnest Island was declared an A-Class penal settlement period, which lasted until 1904, island has strong and continuing significance to Reserve and the Rottnest Board of Control was approximately 3,700 Aboriginal men and boys the traditional custodians and to Aboriginal people formed. It was replaced by the Rottnest Island were imprisoned, with almost 400 dying on the throughout Western Australia due to the Island’s Authority in 1988. island. The Quod prison building and the associated association with the Aboriginal Prison era of the Wadjemup Aboriginal Burial Ground are two of several The island’s present-day use as recreational reserve nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Artefacts Department of Aboriginal Affairs-registered sites on has been the dominant use for the past century. older than 6,500 years have been found at sites on the island. the island. In 1914 and 1915, the island was commandeered for The earliest recorded European visitors to the island use as an alien internment and prisoner-of-war camp. were Dutch navigators in the 17th century and the first During this time, the camp held 989 prisoners of Europeans on the island are believed to have landed in German and ‘Austro-Hungarian’, or Croatian origin. 1658. The next recorded European visitor was William de Vlamingh in 1696, who named the island ‘Rottenest’ The island’s location and geography has meant it after the abundance of “rats” (quokkas) found on the has had an important part to play in the history of island. maritime navigation. During war time it had a pivotal role in the defensive strategy for Perth and Fremantle 4 ROTTNEST ISLAND Figure 1. A 20 year vision - MASTER PLAN - AUGUST 2019 5 ATION 50 UP ,0 C 00 C - O 7 L ,0 A 0 N 0 I Y G I E R A Houses in the Thomson O R RECREATION S Bay Settlement made avail- B A A able for use. The opening Approximately 200 Italian internees G O season was 1911. were sent to the island to carry out 10 Aboriginal prisoners were repairs and renovations brought to the island in August 1936 the Commonwealth 1838. purchases land at Bickley From 1902 ferries Point and begins An artillery maintenance Sea level -130m SETTLEMENT PASTORAL construction of the ‘Rot- detachment remained on the June 1839, Colonial Sec- carried tourists to lower than tnest Island Fortress’. Island until 1960 Sea level at today’s retary announces that the Rottnest on todays level level island will become a prison weekends. for Aboriginal boys and men. The crown resumes all land 1800 on the island. 1900 2000 approx. 6,500 years ago 1940 1907 130,000 years ago 1830 1917 The Aboriginal prisoners 1914 1911 1902 1839 1838 constructed a large number of 1945 1936 1960 buildings and structures on the Rottnest Island was Sea level at its island. Although the prison was 4,800 years ago declared an A-Class highest. Wadjemup officially closed in 1904, prisoners In 1907 a scheme for Reserve under the likely submersed were used to build roads and other 18,000 years ago transforming Rottnest June 1940 the island is under water Permanent Reserve works until 1931. Island from a penal declared a prohibited Sea level rises. Wadjemup December 1830, Benjamin Act and the Rottnest Smyth surveyed Rottnest Island. settlement to a rec- Board of Control was area and all recreational seperates from the mainland. reation and holiday activity ended. The local Aboriginal people’s A plan for the Kingston township formed. island as drawn up. inhabitation of the island end- was developed and lots made ed with the sea level rise. available to the public. William There are 17 sites on Rot- Clark and Robert Thomson take 1914 -1915 the island was used as up town lots and pasture land.