ABSTRACT
This chapter focusses on the 1883 Commission of Inquiry into the prison, which, unusually, included the testimony of seven Aboriginal prisoners: Benjamin, Bob Thomas, Brandy, Yadthee, Harry, Jumbo, and Weeti Weeti. These men, who hailed from different parts of Western Australia, represent a cross-section of the 3,670 Aboriginal people sent to the prison over its lifetime. All were convicted for either stealing or inter se crimes; one died in custody at Rottnest, and the others, upon their release, were absorbed into the colonial labour force, serving as guides, divers, shepherds, and general labourers. Their stories reveal the colonial aims of Indigenous incarceration: to assert colonial property rights, remove Aboriginal people from their land, extinguish legal pluralism by imposing British law, and ensure Aboriginal labour was easily accessible. Yet, significantly, through their testimony, we gain insights into Aboriginal perspectives on Rottnest Prison, from how they arrived there – for example, Benjamin was forced to walk “from Eyre Sand Patch to Albany naked, with a chain on my neck” before boarding a ship – to the conditions and treatment they experienced while incarcerated and into their aspirations for life after their release.
