Rottnest Island Attractions

The Quad, an octagonal limestone building with a large inner courtyard, was built in 1864 as a prison. The cells, after renovation, are now holiday apartments. The nearby Rottnest Hotel, also built in 1864, was originally the summer residence of the governor of Western Australia; the hotel is popularly known as the Quokka Arms.

The Rottnest Museum, housed in a barn and threshing mill of 1857, has collections of historical material and relics of shipwrecks.

Most of the little limestone houses round the harbor at the east end of the island were built by convict labor. They are among the oldest buildings in Western Australia.

The island has good surfaced roads and walking trails and a range of sports facilities (tennis, golf, bowling, bicycle and boat hire). Safe swimming and fishing in the shelter of the offshore reefs.