Blackboy Hill was named after the Australian native "black boy" plants,

Xanthorrhoea preissii ''Xanthorrhoea preissii'', known as balga, is a widespread species of perennial monocot in Southwest Australia. Description The form of the plant resembles a tree, with very long and bunched, grass-like, leaves that emerge from a central bas ...

, which dominated the site which is now absorbed into Greenmount,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Originally a military camp, the facilities and adjacent structures were on the hill that is now used by St Anthony's Primary School and Church, and Greenmount Primary School. The remaining land (which has been left as a memorial to the troops who used the training camp) is known on official documents and maps as the Blackboy Hill Commemorative Site, but local signage tends to refer to the location simply as ''Blackboy Hill''.

First World War

During the troop build up for the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the site was a military training camp used to house large numbers of Australian Imperial Force (AIF) troops before they left for the various battlefront locations in Europe and the Middle East. Facilities were moved from other parts of the metropolitan area to improve facilities which were quite basic. Troops were transported to the adjacent Helena Vale Railway station and marched across to the camp, so as to not interfere with the working of the Eastern Railway. Blackboy Hill Post Office opened on 29 August 1914 and closed on 30 November 1918, defining the period of occupation of the site. An office of the same name was opened from 1929 until 1932, when it was renamed Greenmount Hill. Around April 1919, following the end of hostilities, the Imperial forces camp was turned over to the Health department to act as a fever hospital, treating

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...

. In the 1930s unemployed relief workers utilised the camp area. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the site was also used extensively by the 2nd AIF and other Australian military forces.

Railway station

''Blackboy Hill'' was a named railway stopping place between

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

and

Swan View Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

between the 1940s and 1960s, it was not related to the training camp or first world war troop movements.

Publication

The ''Camp Chronicle:the soldiers paper'', was a locally produced newsletter recording details of life in the camp before disembarkation for overseas service.

Blackboy Hill Commemorative Site

The commemorative site is a small 0.5 hectare site on the southern edge of the former camp site, adjacent to Innamincka Road, Greenmount Hill. It is bounded by a public park to separate it from the adjacent schools and residential area. In recent times, the main annual event at this site are the Anzac Day commemorations, which centre on a memorial named after the location. The Anzac memorial is on a segment of ground that is between the two primary schools. It is maintained by the Mundaring Council, and has a committee that oversees management of the site. The sunset service and the dawn service – as well as an all-night vigil – are maintained by the Bilgoman District of the Scout Association of Western Australia and the

Returned and Services League of Australia The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. Mission The RSL's mission is to ensure that programs are in place for the well-being, care ...

. Most of the original larger site is now covered by housing development, but up until this began in the early 1990s, remnants of the army camp and many associated rubbish pits were visible.

Centenary revived interest

At the approach of the centenary of the usage of the site (2014-2015), renewed interest in the site and its functions emerged in Western Australian media. There had been accounts much earlier that give understanding of the importance of the site — such as in 1937 in the Western Mail, with the story preceded by verse about Battalion Eleven which had formed at Blackboy: Having been written in a time when returned troops would have been still alive to share stories and anecdotes about the camp, the 1937 era reminiscences had material which are not so easy to find in the 2013/2014 reporting of the site.

Book

The 2013/2014

Lotterywest Lotterywest was established in 1932 as the Lotteries Commission of Western Australia, to run the lottery in Western Australia. It is referred to in the legislation as the Lotteries Commission. It distributes profits to a number of community bene ...

funded project to produce a book was being conducted by Valerie Elliott and Shannon Coyle from the

Katherine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre Prichard may refer to: People *Alan Prichard (1907–1986), New Zealand aviator * Bruce Prichard (born 1963), American professional wrestling personality * Caradog Prichard (1904–1980), Welsh poet and novelist *Gwilym Prichard (1931–2015), Wels ...

A considerable number of people contributed to the volume, including local military historian Paul Bridges, then of the ''Guildford Historical society'', formerly of the Mundaring and Hills Historical Society. who wrote the introductory chapter ''Overview: BlackBoy Hill Training Camp''. The contents include chapters by a range of over ten authors, including research done by pupils of the adjacent Greenmount Primary School.

Commemorations and events

In August September October 2014, numbers of events were planned for the centenary.

Centenary train

In October 2014, a centenary train, travelled from Midland to Fremantle, commemorating the travel to departing ships of the troops who had trained at Blackboy Hill and went off to fight in the war.

Archaeology

Shane Burke of Notre Dame University in Fremantle has overseen archaeological work in the 2000s on the area and has worked with students to ascertain what can be discovered, despite considerable urban development and changes in the area.

Notes

External links

{{cbignore, bot=medicClaire Gregory (2013) ''Blackboy Hill is calling''

Gallery

Blackboy Hill seat plaque.jpg BlackboyHillAnzacDay2010flowers.jpg BlackboyHill facing east 2010.jpg Blackboy Hill WA looking toward primary school.jpg SunsetAnzacEveBlackboyHill2010.jpg History of Western Australia Military camps in Australia World War I memorials in Australia World War I sites in Australia Military installations in Western Australia Greenmount, Western Australia State Register of Heritage Places in the Shire of Mundaring