One noteworthy portion of Fyshwick, located between the railway line and Canberra Avenue, was built as an
internment camp during early 1918. It was known as the Molonglo Internment Camp, although it was also referred to as a
concentration camp. The site was intended to accommodate 3,500 German and Austrian nationals being expelled from China, however once the camp had been established in May 1918 these internees were no longer destined for Molonglo. Instead, the camp housed 150 internees transferred from the Bourke Camp in
New South Wales. The camp was closed in late 1919 after the internees were deported to Germany. Most of the camp's buildings were sold off, with the remaining buildings being converted to house construction workers, some of whom were unemployed returned servicemen. It was then called Molonglo Settlement. Gradually the camp buildings were moved to other camp sites around Canberra and the roads used to service the camp became the first streets of Fyshwick. The internment camp's hospital at what is now Tennant Street became the Molonglo Public School. This school closed in 1942 and then became a naval auxiliary wireless station. This operated until 1946. The station consisted of one wooden T-shaped building and a
fibro mess hall. This station operated the receivers for the strategic fixed radio links to Australia for
Whitehall,
Halifax and Bombay Fort. During this period 14
WRANS operated the equipment. Marion Stevens was a Petty Officer in charge of the station from 1943 to 1946. She was notable as the only woman in charge of a transmitting station. The station was part of the
Harman radio network, as was connected via a landline to the main Harman site. Equipment at the Molonglo station included
teleprinters for use when reception was good. During poorer
radio propagation periods morse code
radiotelegraphy had to be used. After the war the Molonglo station became a dog training school. In the early 1980s the buildings were demolished. ==Geology==