er the superintendence of Mr. Welch and a small military force: Helia for murder; Buoyeen for assault; Mollydobbin, Tyoocan, Goordap and Cogat for theft. All six escaped shortly after their arrival by stealing Thomson's boat. Helia drowned during the crossing, but the others apparently survived.
The Colonial Secretary Peter Broun announced in June 1839 that the island would be "converted to an Establishment for the Aborigines", and between 1838 and 1931, except for the period 1849 to 1855, Rottnest was used as an Aboriginal prison. Henry Vincent, the Gaoler at Fremantle, was put in charge of the establishment. A quadrangular shaped building was constructed in 1863-64 and generally referred to as "the Quod". It is used today for tourist accommodation. There were about twenty prisoners there in 1844 and by 1880 there were 170. Vincent retired in 1867 after complaints regarding cruelty to prisoners and he was replaced by William Jackson. In the early 1880s an influenza epidemic struck, killing about sixty inmates.
Some 3,700 Aboriginal men and boys were imprisoned there during the life of the establishment, and it has been estimated that there may be as many as 369 inmate graves on the island. One writer suggested 95% of the deaths were from influenza.
Boys reformatory
A reformatory for boys was opened on 16 May 1881. The reformatory buildings were adjacent to the Quod and included a workshop, a kitchen, two large dormitories, a school room and four small cells. Carpenter John Watson constructed the buildings and became Reformatory Superintendent for the life of the establishment. Watson taught the boys carpentry, joinery and gardening.
In May 1898 two boys disappeared, apparently drowned, after escaping from the reformatory and stealing a dinghy.
After twenty years of operation, the facility closed on 21 September 1901 when the remaining 14 inmates were transferred to an industrial school on the mainland.
