Part of Australia’s largest World War II prisoner-of-war camp is for sale
Part of the former Camp No. 13 site in Murchison, Australia’s largest prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, has been put up for sale. The camp, located 35 kilometres southwest of Shepparton in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley, held Italian, German and Japanese prisoners between 1941 and 1947, ABC News Australia reports.
After the war, the land was returned to private ownership. Shane Pruckner, the son of a former prisoner, called for the site to be preserved so visitors could learn about the camp’s history. His father, Rudolf “Rudi” Pruckner, was an infantryman in a tank division stationed in Greece. After being captured, he was sent to Australia and arrived at Camp No. 13 in 1941, on his 21st birthday.
According to Shane Pruckner, his father spoke positively about the treatment at the camp. During the war, he escaped with the help of guards who provided him with a uniform, transport and a place to hide. Rudi Pruckner hid for about six weeks on a remote farm near Lake Condah, after which he was captured and returned to the camp. At the end of the war, he returned to Austria but later emigrated to Australia with the assistance of a former camp sergeant and the family that had sheltered him.
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Memorial and gun emplacement
The site being sold retains a memorial to German sailors from the raider Kormoran and a gun emplacement. Murchison Historical Society representative Kay Ball said that Kormoran sailors were taken to Camp No. 13 after coming ashore on the coast of Western Australia. Kormoran was involved in the sinking of HMAS Sydney II, with all 645 people on board killed.
The gun emplacement was installed to guard Japanese prisoners transferred to Murchison after the mass escape from the Cowra camp in 1944. Real estate agent Natalie Kay reported interest in the property from potential buyers considering turning it into a tourist attraction. The property has been listed in the range of 650,000 to 680,000 Australian dollars, while historical land-use restrictions apply to a significant part of the land.
