Aboriginal presence, war and the reuse of the Camp Columbia landscape
Long before the establishment of Camp Columbia during the Second World War, Aboriginal people lived in and moved through the Wacol–Goodna area for thousands of years. Archaeological work shows there were several Aboriginal camps in what is now Wacol – one opposite the current railway station and one on the site of the Queensland Correctional Services Academy. Much of the area was later heavily altered by military construction and post-war redevelopment.
In his book Aboriginal Campsites of Greater Brisbane historian Dr.Ray Kerkhove documented traditional Aboriginal camps across the Brisbane region, including a campsite in the Goodna area, but since more archaeological work has uncovered more camps in the area. This research situates the Camp Columbia area within a broader Aboriginal landscape rather than as an isolated site.
In parallel, personal interviews conducted by Camp Columbia researchers with Aboriginal Elders identified the area that later became Camp Columbia as part of a wider cultural and economic landscape. According to this Aboriginal knowledge, the land was used for hunting across the plains leading down to the Brisbane River, where fishing also formed an important part of subsistence and seasonal movement.
Following the end of the war, Camp Columbia and its surrounding sites entered a new phase. Former wartime accommodation was repurposed to address Brisbane’s acute housing shortage. The Wacol Housing Camp was managed by the Queensland Housing Commission, accommodating a mixed population that included migrants, Aboriginal families and economically marginalised Australian-born residents.
Contemporary newspaper archived in Trove (see below) reporting confirms Aboriginal residence at Wacol during this period. In October 1953, the Courier-Mail reported on Mr Cyril Richards, identified as living at the Wacol Housing Camp, who spoke publicly about the difficulties faced by Aboriginal people attempting to enter urban employment and civic life. His experience illustrates the challenges faced by Aboriginal residents navigating post-war Brisbane under assimilation-era policies.
The Richards Family at Wacol
| Contemporary newspaper reporting preserved in Trove confirms Aboriginal residence at Wacol during the early 1950s. In October 1953, the Courier-Mail reported on Mr Cyril Richards, identified as living at the Wacol Housing Camp, who spoke publicly about the difficulties faced by Aboriginal people attempting to enter urban employment and civic life. His experience illustrates the challenges faced by Aboriginal residents navigating post-war Brisbane under assimilation-era policies. The Richards family was one of several Aboriginal families living at Wacol during this period. Family recollections indicate that a number of relatives were connected to the camp, reflecting broader patterns of extended family networks adapting to post-war housing conditions and limited access to mainstream accommodation. Cyril Richards emerged as a particularly visible figure within this context. His willingness to speak publicly about the conditions faced by Aboriginal residents was unusual for the time and reflects the pressures experienced within the camp environment. His advocacy appears to have been shaped in part by personal circumstances, including significant caring responsibilities within the family. Cyril was not the only member of the family at Wacol. His younger brother, John Richards, also resided at the camp with his family after returning from military service during the Second World War, including service in Papua New Guinea. His experience highlights a broader contradiction of the post-war period: Aboriginal servicemen who had contributed to the war effort often found themselves excluded from adequate housing and social support on their return. Family accounts record that John Richards found it distressing to witness his parents and relatives living in camp conditions after the war. His experience reflects the broader reality faced by many Aboriginal families in post-war Brisbane, where military service did not translate into social equality or secure housing. The presence of both Cyril and John Richards at Wacol underscores the camp’s role as a place where Aboriginal families negotiated the difficult transition from wartime contribution to post-war marginalisation. These details are drawn from the book of his great niece, Aboriginal author, Chrissy Hansen-Doherty—A Forgotten History, Moorooka Aboriginal Camp. |
Assimilation policies and Aboriginal life at Wacol
By mid-1954, Wacol had also become the focus of organised assimilation initiatives. A Brisbane Telegraph article described a “special project to assimilate aborigines, much the same as New Australians are assimilated”, operating directly at the Wacol Housing Camp. The project involved Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children and parents, and the Housing Commission made a large hut available on a permanent basis for Aboriginal residents, to be used as a library and indoor recreation facility.
The language used in this reporting is revealing. Aboriginal integration at Wacol was explicitly framed in the same terms as migrant assimilation. This confirms that Wacol functioned as a shared post-war integration space rather than as separate facilities for different groups. It also explains why Aboriginal oral histories, including that of Aboriginal elder Aunty Theresa Williams, refer to living at the migration camp. The terminology may have shifted over time, but the place itself did not.
Aboriginal families at Wacol were living in former military huts originally intended to last only a few years. Conditions were often poor, and residents occupied a marginal position within post-war housing policy. Over time, as Wacol became more strongly identified as a migrant centre, Aboriginal presence faded from public memory, despite being clearly documented in contemporary sources.
This history adds an important post-war dimension to the Camp Columbia story. While Camp Columbia is rightly recognised for its wartime role as a major Allied staging area, its physical legacy continued to shape lives well into the 1950s. Wacol stands as a place where the social consequences of war were lived out on the ground, through housing scarcity, migration and the ongoing marginalisation of Aboriginal people.
Recognising Aboriginal lives at Wacol restores an essential part of the Camp Columbia landscape. It highlights continuity rather than rupture and ensures that Aboriginal experience is understood as integral to the post-war history of the site, not as an afterthought.
Paul Budde, Dr. Ray Kerkhove, Aunty Chrissy Doherty