[lynx42]

I lived in Orbost Vic for a number of years and whilst I knew that there were many Italians in the area it was just recently that I came across this write up about the Orbost Prisoners of War. It was written by Helen Martin from Gippsland History group and I hope you enjoy it.

Regards Rick.

BETE BOLONG PRISONER OF WAR CAMP.

Bete Bolong POW camp was on the west side of the Snowy River, near Orbost; its official address is now 60 Deaseys Cutting Road and 611 Buchan-Orbost Road. The site is on south side of the Buchan-Orbost Road, 3km south-south-east of Bete Bolong.

Status: Indicative place on the Register of the National Estate. Listed on the Victorian Heritage Inventory under the Heritage Act, Victoria. Was on the interim list for the Victorian Heritage Register (1993). Assessed as of regional significance and recommended for Heritage Overlay protection.

This description is from the Australian Heritage Database (RNE citation) and dates from the early 1990s:
During the Second World War, first alien internees and then prisoners of war were used throughout Australia as labour for essential works, including in agricultural areas, where they worked as farm labourers, helping to harvest vegetables and grain for local farmers during the day.
From November 1943 to November 1945, Italian prisoners of war were based at Bete Bolong, cultivating maize, peas, beans and other vegetables on local farms. Unlike other 'farming' prisoners of war, those at Bete Bolong did not live with the farming families, but at a Prisoner of War Control Centre on Crown land overlooking the Snowy River Flats. About fifty Italian prisoners lived at the centre, along with an Australian Military Force staff of approximately seven people. The prisoners were driven to and from the farms each day. Three of them apparently simply swam across the river to work. They worked a six day week, with Sundays off.

Although they were provided with rations, both prisoners and staff maintained vegetable and flower gardens. They were also skilled at cooking 'anything' they could catch, and at making illegal grappa. Very few of the Italians were experienced farm workers. Some of them used their skills to make things for the families they worked for; a cabinet-maker made furniture, a cobbler made shoes, etc. They interacted with the local community and, although they were not supposed to go within one kilometre of town, some were found at local dances on Saturday nights.

As recreation the prisoners were allowed to walk along the road to the west of the camp. Local people from both sides of the river could hear them sing as they walked. The prisoners also helped to construct an 'ant bed' tennis court on a property adjacent to the centre. Although now overgrown, the site of the tennis court can still be discerned as a flat area above the site of the centre.

Prisoner of war camps tended to be far more substantial than those that had housed unemployed labour in the 1930s, or even 'friendly aliens' in the early years of World War Two. The Geneva Convention specified certain conditions for prisoner of war accommodation, so huts were provided, rather than tents. Two of the dormitories that housed the Bete Belong prisoners of war are still standing in the local area. One was sold to a local farmer and used as a hay shed, and another was used for some time as a local dance hall.

The site consists of a number of features including structural remains of buildings, building sites, garden features and an access track. They extend for around 170 metres along a SW-NE trending ridge; concrete features possibly associated with buildings also occur on the western slope of the ridge. Vegetation on the ridge is open woodland of black box and grey gum. There are numerous introduced plant species, including aloe vera, lilies and radishes. Deposits of alluvial gravel, largely quartz, occur on the higher slopes at the southern end of the ridge.

At a number of points along the ridge, linear and circular arrangements of quartz pebbles can be discerned. These are likely to be decorative edging for small garden plots and paths. Two distinct lines of eucalypt trees can be seen extending down through the spine of the ridge. These may flank a road or path which led through the centre of the camp towards the NE end of the ridge. Pebble edging is discernible at some points along this alignment.
The site contains the remains of fourteen distinct features: gravel extraction pits; a loading dock; two ablutions blocks; a septic tank; unidentified buildings remains; unidentified building footings; a brick mound; a garden; two areas of terracing; an earth ditch; an earth mound; and an access road.

Extra information from East Gippsland Heritage Study 2005 and background research for East Gippsland RFA: The prisoners of war were shipped from North Africa to Australia. The Italians were well regarded by many of the locals and enjoyed singing when being escorted to and from work.

The site is important as being one of few remaining prisoner of war camps within the region. It demonstrates an unusual activity in the region, with Italian prisoners of war being used to maintain agricultural production. It is also historically significant as a place which played an important role in farming within the region during WWII, and as a place which provided cultural exchange between the Italian Prisoners of War and Australians, prior to the post-war immigration period. This history and fabric of the site demonstrate a distinct phase of Australian history where prisoners of war were used to maintain agricultural production. (Criteria A.4, D.2)

The camp is unusual in that the Italian prisoners of war were contained within the camp rather than being billeted out onto individual farms, and is notable as one of the few remaining prisoner of war camps within the region. While the layout of the camp is indicative of its military function, the remains of the garden beds and paths demonstrate the cultural influences of the prisoners of war themselves, and the living conditions of the camp itself.