Rottnest Island, Wadjemup
By Cartographers
This weathered map of Rottnest Island off the coast of Western Australia shows the island as it appeared in the 1870s. The cartographer has carefully traced the coastline's irregular contours and labeled key features in delicate script, with "Wadjemup" noted beneath the European name. This dual naming hints at the island's deeper story, as Wadjemup was the Aboriginal name long before Dutch explorers arrived and mistakenly called it "Rat's Nest Island" after spotting quokkas, small marsupials they confused for large rats.
The map's faded sepia tones and visible wear give it an archival quality that speaks to both preservation and the passage of time. Simple lines indicate settlements, bays, and coastal features, while the interior remains relatively sparse, suggesting limited development during this period. What the map doesn't show is the island's darker colonial history as a prison for Aboriginal men, a fact that adds weight to seeing both names present on this document. Today, Rottnest is known for tourism and those famously photogenic quokkas, but maps like this remind us how places carry layered histories beneath their surface geography.