Gaythorne Internment and Prisoner of War Camp

Enoggera (Gallipoli) Army Barracks

The Gaythorne concentration camp was established during WWI, initially to hold the crews of German merchant vessels arrested at the outbreak of war. The camp was adjacent to the existing military camp at Enoggera. It was closed in 1915 but was re-established at the same location in 1940 by the Australian military authorities.

Place information

Location

Bliss and Newman Streets

Gaythorne, QLD 4051

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Place type

Internment/POW facility

History

Enlarged by 1942 to accommodate 1800 internees, the Gaythorne camp was comprised of five compounds. While many of the camp’s original occupants were civilian nationals of Germany or Austria, others included Indonesian, Finnish, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese and Albanian citizens.

From early 1943 Chinese internees at southern camps were being transferred to Brisbane to work on dockyard construction. There were still 87 Chinese at Gaythorne in August 1944, though the following month their release was ordered. Their release was comparatively slow and there were still a number being released from Gaythorne in February 1945 to work as labourers at the US Army...

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