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Penni Fletcher-Hughes, Corporate Communications Manager Phone: 0419 942 278 Email: pennifh@rottnestisland.com
Latest News
Media update Buggy for Rottnest
City Beach resident Malcolm Hawke has donated a modified golf buggy to the Rottnest Island Authority to ensure disabled people can enjoy the island as much as he does. Read more
Good Life despite tough conditions
Acclaimed Australian artist Melissa Egan did not have to venture far for inspiration for her latest collection of evocative paintings. Read more
Secret Charms of Rottnest
There's this mottled slab on the horizon visible from Perth's coastline. Locals gaze at it dreamily, sighing as if thinking of a lost love, yearning to be reunited. "Ah, Rotto," they say with a gentle smile. "I wish I was over there again." Read More
Oliver Hill Battery
Editor Denise Cahill talks with Harriet Wyatt about new conservation and restoration works being done to the Oliver Hill Battery.
Click here to view the video on You Tube.
Rottnest relic restoration begins
02 May 2013
Denise Cahill, Western Suburbs Weekly
RESTORATION work has started on Rottnest Island’s H2 Gun and adjoining tunnels.
The WWII relic, built at the island’s Oliver Hill to protect Fremantle Port, will be ready for celebrations to mark 75 years of artillery history on Rotto later this year.
Rottnest Island Authority cultural heritage services manager Harriett Wyatt said work should be finished by next month in plenty of time for the November celebrations.
“It’s really auspicious that these works have come together this year,” Ms Wyatt said.
“For the past five years, we have been planning some really important conservation work that includes keeping the guns in good condition and restoring the paint work.”
The State Government provided funding for the restoration.
“The visitors who come up here really enjoy the experience and a lot of school groups come through,” Ms Wyatt said.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people are unaware that the guns, tunnels and tours are here.”
There are only a handful of the WWII guns, which have a 29km firing range, left in the world and two of them are at Rottnest.
Oliver Hill tours will be modified and trains will not run during the restoration that is expected to take eight weeks.
Highlights from Woodside Tour de Perth on Rottnest Island
For the latest news and information in the media about Rottnest Island, see the following links to various online articles published in March 2013.
Rotto winter campaign a winner - the West Australian. 
A campaign to attract visitors to Rottnest during winter was a winner at Australia's prestigious annual tourism awards night, WA's only success at Australia's prestigious tourism awards.
Perth visit inspires Irish author - The West Australian.
When one of Michelle Jackson's best friends announced her family was moving to Perth, the Irish author had no idea that would provide the inspiration for her next book.
The Travel show with Glenn Wheeler, featuring our very own shock jock - Peter Hill, Manager Holiday Services talking about Rottnest! Well done for being so coherent at 6.00 a.m. in the morning our time, Pete! Listen to The Travel Show: Jan 27
Repeat of Who Do You Think You Are episode on 19 February 2013 – SBS One.
Melissa George left her suburban Perth home at the
age of 16 to pursue an acting career in Sydney scoring early success as a regular on the TV soap series Home and Away. Now 35, she lives in New York and has an international film and TV career.
Melissa has a sense of a number of secrets being held back, of things not talked about, even a sense of some shame. Her journey takes her first to Rottnest Island to investigate a case of suspected abuse of a prisoner in a colonial gaol. Along another branch of her maternal family tree, Melissa seeks to uncover the truth behind the arrival of two of her great grandparents in Australia as child migrants. In both cases there are family myths of who was, and who wasn’t, an orphan. Melissa discovers the truth, learning how these myths have masked the grim reality of a tragic tale of heartbreak and abandonment.
“Their stories are revealing, sometimes shocking and always emotional” -Feast Magazine 01/03/12
Skipper Dylan (Rottnest Express) Living the Dream - Western Suburbs Weekly.
Did you know there used to be a roller skating rink on Rottnest? - Western Suburbs
Palmyra residents and former Happy Days Roller Skating Rink owners Gordon and Ivy Sayers at Rottnest.
Caroline Thomson Cabins made far cosier - Western Suburbs Weekly - Features our very own Accommodation Manager, Jonathan Mason.
Geordie’s fills a niche - Western Suburbs Weekly
Rottnest’s newest venture - Western Suburbs Weekly
Hoodoo Gurus at Hotel Rottnest - Western Suburbs Weekly
Swapping Shores - The Weekend Australian Magazine
Our nation is surrounded by Islands. Here, in our annual travel issue, is our selection of the best to visit… and of course Rottnest is one of them. See article on the Isle of Caprice. Sun, cycling and Singapore.
Swim team to stamp authority
FOUR Rottnest Island Authority employees have been spending their lunch breaks training for this weekend’s Rottnest Channel Swim, to raise money for the whale-saving vessel Sea Shepherd.
From Rome to Rotto - Western Suburbs Weekly.
Kirsty’s Rottnest Swim for Charity - Western Suburbs Weekly.
Gavin Pearce – double lung transplant set to swim to Rottnest - Western Suburbs Weekly.
Swimming for love of Findlay - Western Suburbs Weekly.
Coastal Protection and Rehabilitation Project at Henrietta Rocks, Rottnest Island
by Clinton Hull
The Rottnest coastline is Western Australia’s major tourism destination and valued for its outstanding bays, beaches, and the variety of recreational opportunities it offers in an A-class Reserve.
The popularity of its coast with visitors has led to the formation of ad-hoc access paths to the beach leading to coastal erosion and degradation. This issue was of particular significance at Henrietta Rocks, a popular snorkel site, as these tracks channelled surface water run-off and aggravated erosion at the site resulting in destabilisation of the dune system and damage to the natural native vegetation of the area. The resulting sand drifts need to be regularly removed off the adjacent road to reduce visitor risk safety issues... read more
Tributes for island treasure The West Australian via Yahoo!7 News - 11/12/12 01:11
Much-loved Rottnest priest Monsignor Sean O'Shea has died, aged 87, after more than 50 years of service on the island.
Old-fashioned service at new Rotto cafe
The West Australian via Yahoo!7 News - 18/12/12 01:33
After sitting idle and empty for two summers, Rottnest Island's Geordie Bay Cafe is ready to bounceback to life with a new owner, new menu and old-fashioned good service.
New wave of Kiwis call WA home The West Australian via Yahoo!7 News - 16/12/12 14:53 
A group of regular visitors from New Zealand have decided to move permanently to WA - and they have chosen Rottnest Island as their new home.
Rottnest adds Simmos to holiday line-up
Busselton Dunsborough Times via Yahoo!7 News - 07/12/12 14:07
Dunsborough's favourite ice cream maker, Simmo’s, is set to cater to more holidaymakers in WA, with a new store open on Rottnest Island.
Rotto kitesurfers rip into Leighton The West Australian via Yahoo!7 News - 15/12/12 18:14
Conditions were “perfect” for the third annual Red Bull Lighthouse to Leighton kitesurfing race, which was taken out by Mosman Park real estate agent Jonathan Keys.
WA's best beaches make a splash The West Australian via Yahoo!7 News - 05/11/12 08:54
With summer looming, WA beaches have again been put on the map.
Rotto swim entries hit record high The West Australian via Yahoo!7 News - 14/11/12 12:39
The 2013 HBF Rottnest Channel Swim has attracted the highest number of registrations in the event's history, including a record 237 solo swimmers.
Leavers stranded on Rottnest due to huge swell ABC Updated November 30, 2012, 8:58 am
ABC © The Rottnest Express ferry has been cancelled due to dangerous swell (file).Hundreds of West Australian school leavers are stranded on Rottnest Island after ferry services were cancelled due to dangerous weather.
Swells of up to seven metres are expected in waters between Fremantle and Rottnest today.Official leavers celebrations end today but those on the island may have to spend an extra night.
The Rottnest Island Authority's Paolo Amaranti says they will be taken good care of and parents should not panic.
"We're advising leavers to notify their parents that they are all ok, we're looking after them," he said.
"They can stay in their accommodation, there'll be no charge if they stay an extra night, but we will do everything we can to ensure they're still enjoying themselves while they're on the island."
Authorities will reassess the weather situation each hour.