World War II internee, alien and POW records held in Adelaide

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Internment in South Australia and the Loveday camp

During World War II internment of prisoners of war and enemy aliens in Australia was administered under the National Security Act 1939. The Act provided for civilian internees and prisoners of war (POW) to be accommodated in internment camps.

The main internment camp in South Australia was located at Loveday near Barmera, on the River Murray. It was supported by control centres at Bordertown, Clare, Lameroo, Maitland, Mount Gambier, Mount Pleasant, Morgan, Murray Bridge, Naracoorte, Tumby Bay, Willunga and Woodside (1943–45) and a transit camp at Sandy Creek near Adelaide (1944–46). Italians deployed as farm labourers were administered from these centres. In addition Italian and Japanese internees were detached as paid labour to harvest wood at Katarapko, Woolenook and Moorook West, and 300 Italian internees were employed as railway workers at Cook on the Trans–Australia line.

The Loveday Internment Group accommodated German, Italian and Japanese internees from the various states of Australia, and internees and prisoners of war from the Netherlands East Indies, the Pacific Islands, New Zealand, Britain and the Middle East. The camp comprised six compounds and accommodation for personnel of the 25/33 Garrison Battalion who provided the camp guard. The maximum number of internees (3951) was reached in March 1942. Of those in internment in 1942, 528 were Japanese subsequently repatriated to Japan.

One POW and 134 internees died at Loveday. Many of the deaths were due to illness and infirmity brought on by old age, although there were several deaths by suicide, and at least one homicide. A further two POWs were killed during an escape attempt whilst being transported to Loveday.

Records held in Adelaide

The National Archives Adelaide Office holds a range of records dealing with internees, aliens and prisoners of war during World War II. They include:

  • name indexes to internees
  • Loveday camp internee case files
  • Italian consulate records seized in 1941
  • records of the use of internees and prisoners of war as a labour source
  • case files of the Investigation Branch (Attorney-General's Department).

Investigation Branch files often reveal evidence of a subject having been under surveillance for many years before the outbreak of war. Internees had a right to have their cases reviewed and the conduct of appeals is sometimes documented on the Investigation Branch file. Details of major holdings are provided in the tables below.

Selected records of World War II internment held in the Adelaide Office

Investigation Branch South Australia (CA 905)
Title or description of record Date range Series number
Investigation case files 1910–87 D1915
Fritz Homburg – Australian internee released 1916–46 D1915, SA2813
Control of German adherents outside Germany 1932–43 D1915, SA22393
Pastor JW Juers – 4th generation Australian – surveillance 1939–55 D1915, SA15585
Enemy aliens property seized: O Seger, P Starke, et al 1942–62 D1915, SA19912/1
Loveday camp intelligence reports 1945–46 D1915, SA21667
Nominal index to Investigation Branch files 1920–59 D1902
Investigation case files 1928–47 D1919
FW Schulz – internment and release – seizure of property 1940–47 D1919, SS827
Italian consulate records seized by Security Service 1929–41 AP501/2
Loveday camp internee case files 1939–46 D1901
Nominal index to internees at Loveday 1939–46 D4028
POW and internee nominal rolls and censorship extracts 1942–45 D1920
Register of Italian POW employed in South Australia 1943 D2285

Headquarters, 4th Military District Commonwealth Military Forces (CA 3207)
Title or description of record Date range Series number
Security classified correspondence 1942–46 AP613/1
Internees education/correspondence courses 1941–43 AP613/1, 90/1/124
POW labour detachments on Trans-Australia railway 1942–45 AP613/1, 90/1/36
Nominal rolls of released internees 1943–44 AP613/1, 90/1/141
Security and War Establishment – Loveday camp 1943–45 AP613/1, 150/1/56
Security at Prisoner of War camp – Cook 1943 AP613/1, 162/1/36
Attempted escape – P Eichneger at Loveday 1943–44 AP613/1, 90/1/44
Japanese transferred Loveday to Hay 1943–45 AP613/1, 90/1/201
Employers of POW labour 1944 AP613/1, 130/1/25
Sandy Creek POW camp and PW Control Centres 1944 AP613/1, 196/1/450

Australian Customs Service, South Australia (CA 802)
Title or description of record Date range Series number
Correspondence files 1871–1962 D596
Carl GH Bulau – German deserter from SS 'Aller' – internment camp 1940 1937–40 D596, 1937/2530
Monies credited to enemy subjects account 1939–44 D596, 1948/1931
Memorandum – internee's cables 1943 D596, 1943/679

Commonwealth Railways Commissioner (CA 265)
Title or description of record Date range Series number
Correspondence files 1913–78 B300
Administration POW labour Trans-Australia Railway 1942–43 B300, 8247 part 2
Employment of enemy aliens – part 1 1943 B300, 8352 part 1
Employment of enemy aliens – part 2 1943–44 B300, 8352 part 2
Employment of enemy aliens – part 3 1944 B300, 8352 part 3
Employment of enemy aliens – part 4 1944–67 B300, 8352 part 4

For more information

As internees were sometimes moved between camps located in different States you may find it necessary to consult records held in more than one office of the National Archives.

Immediately following World War II, a committee of officers and ORs, appointed with the approval of Brig. HC Bundock, the then Commander 4th MD, prepared the publication Internment in South Australia: history of Loveday, Loveday internment group, Barmera, 1940-1946, Adelaide, Advertiser Printing Office, 1946.