The facility in Tatura is part of the municipal cemetery. German
War dead from both world wars are buried there.
Description of the cemetery
A stone high cross more than three meters high and a simple memorial are characteristic features
Memorial are characteristic features. The bronze plaque on this memorial lists
the names of 22 German war dead from the First World War and five
From the Second World War who still rest elsewhere in Australian soil
rest elsewhere in Australian soil. The plaque also commemorates 129 Catholic and 45 Protestant
protestant German missionaries who were buried far from home.
Occupancy
During both world wars, many Germans were interned in Australia and New Zealand
Germans were interned or - if they belonged to the military - imprisoned as
Prisoners of war. This was particularly the case at the outbreak of the First
World War I, when Allied troops occupied the German protectorates in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean were occupied. The war dead were often buried in the vicinity of their
Places of detention.
There were seven internment camps in Tatura and the surrounding area. In
Prisoners of war there were also 318 surviving members of the crew of the
of the German auxiliary cruiser "Kormoran". In November 1941, this ship sank the
australian cruiser "Sydney" in November 1941, but then had to be abandoned due to severe damage
had to be abandoned.
In the late 1950s, the British Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) laid a central cemetery in Tatura
1950s, the British Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) established a central cemetery for German
World War I and World War II who died in captivity or in internment camps
internment camps. Originally they were buried in 25 different cemeteries
cemeteries.
in 1958, the CWGC had the remains of 60 dead from the Second World War removed from twelve cemeteries
World War II from twelve cemeteries in the states of Victoria, South West Australia,
New South Wales and Queensland in Tatura. On behalf of the
Federal Foreign Office and in agreement with the German War Graves Commission
Kriegsgräberfürsorge e. V., a dignified war gravesite was created, which was dedicated on
Inaugurated on Remembrance Day 1958.
191 Germans who lost their lives as prisoners of war during the First World War
soldiers, members of the German merchant navy and civilian internees
Civilian internees - were subsequently transferred to Tatura.
History
These additional burials made it necessary to expand the cemetery and
Redesign of the cemetery. The extended war cemetery
Tatura was inaugurated on Remembrance Day in 1961. The costs for the
Reburial of the war dead and all the work to expand the cemetery
and for the gardening and structural design of the site were borne by the
Federal Government.
Special feature
The Tatura "Irrigation & Wartime Camps Museum" uses many exhibits to illustrate the
exhibits the history of the internment camps for civilian and military
Military personnel in the city and its surroundings.
