About this Event
When Australia declared war on Germany in 1914, many Germans living in Australia were interned in camps across the country. Among them were 89 German mariners who were sent to the decommissioned Berrima Gaol in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.
Join author and artist Wendy Hamilton as she explores the remarkable story of the Berrima Internment Camp, which became known as Australia's "show camp" where compassionate guards and detainees fostered a spirit of cooperation and peace during a time of conflict and prejudice. It is one of the few positive stories to emerge from the Great War and remains a unique chapter in Australia's history.
Wendy will also present an exhibition of nine artworks inspired by photographs taken at the Berrima camp between 1915 and 1919, offering a glimpse into the daily lives of those interned there.
Signed copies of Wendy's book, The Spot the War Forgot, will be available for purchase on the day through the Memorial Shop.
The talk and exhibition will be held in the Memorial's Auditorium on the Lower Ground Floor. Please enter via the Liverpool Street entrance.
A hearing loop is available in the Auditorium, and the venue is fully accessible.
About the Author
Wendy Hamilton writes creative nonfiction stories that record events that are important to nations and people groups from the early 1600s to World War 1. She is especially interested in the founding of Australia, New Zealand, and America. Her books include:
The Spot the War Forgot (The WW1 German internees and POWs at the Berrima J*il)
Fisher's Ghost (Australia's most famous ghost legend)
A Rough Ride to Plymouth Plantation (The American Pilgrims' journey to America and their first year)
Treachery and Trouble at Plymouth Plantation (The American Pilgrims' story, from 1621 to 1623)
Shipwrecks and Bush Felling (The memoir of George Richard Meredith, born in 1834, who went to sea at age eleven, worked in the Bendigo goldfields, and became a New Zealand pioneer)
To Own a Fig Tree (A story of assisted immigrants from the Shetland Isles who in 1884 settled in Karamea, a remote region in New Zealand)
Cain's Killer (The story of Timaru's wife poisoner, considered in 1886 as New Zealand's most vile criminal)
Wendy is also a capable artist who has drawn and painted since childhood.
Event venue & nearby stays
Anzac Memorial Auditorium, Lower Ground Level. Enter via the Liverpool Street entrance., 126 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, Australia
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