NO. 8 PRISONER OF WAR LABOUR DETACHMENT
FROM NO. 13 CAMP, VICTORIA
LOCATED AT KARRAKATTA ARMY BASE
NEAR CLAREMONT, PERTH, WA

NOTE:-  Some records have incorrectly referred to this camp as being Wembley POW Camp. 

LOCATION - Karrakatta Army Base, Perth metropolitan area, near Claremont.

DATES - May 1942-November 1946

CAPACITY - 160 Italians, later numerous recaptured escapees after July 1946 and 13 German Merchant Seamen allowed to remain in WA as permanent residents (June-November 1946)

No OF COMPOUNDS - 1 General purpose POW compound, fully fenced with guard tower, lights and perimeter patrols

COMMANDANT - Capt Geoffrey Holgate-Browne, May 1942-July 1943

Later various officers posted as required

2IC/ADJUTANT - Lt Foster, May 1942-July 1943 

MEDICAL OFFICER - Capt Ken Morrison, later 110 AGH Hollywood

GUARDS - No 8 POW Guard Platoon until July 1943, drawn from No 5 Garrison Battalion, strength 40 (all ranks) Later sent from No 16 camp as required

CAMP FUNCTIONS - Provide labour to Karrakatta and other army bases in WA

CURRENT STATUS - Area now adjacent to Karrakatta Army Base and part of Shenton Bush land Park. Only some artefacts remain, no structures or foundations and some outlines of a road network are identifiable.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I'd like to thank Ernie Polis for his kind assistance with information for this and many other pages about POW and Internment camps in Western Australia.

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 18 January 2002

This page last updated 15 January 2020