Rottnest Island held prisoners from 1838 until 1932, Aboriginal prisoners being replaced on the whole by Caucasian at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1848 the majority of prisoners were transferred to the mainland but in 1855 the Rottnest Establishment was reopened. Rottnest closed as a native prison in 1903. It was proclaimed a gaol on 8 January 1904. Inmates were transferred from Fremantle or some other gaol and Rottnest, like Hamel depot, was considered to be an integral part of Fremantle Prison. It was an outstation of Fremantle until it closed in 1932.