03/06/2026
Hochberg Prize on Display at
Tatura Museum
In 2018 a friend of Dunera Boy, Fred Hochberg, generously bequested funds to the Dunera and Queen Mary Assn. In memory of Fred, his brother Gustav and their father Isaac, all whom were interned in England and then in Australia.
It was designated by the donor that the funds were to be used, ongoing, to educate future generations about the legacy of internees.
The inaugural Hochberg Prize project was delivered at Sacred Heart Primary School, Tatura in 2025. The principal and teachers fully embraced the idea of incorporating this learning into their curriculum, aligned to the need for learning about history, focused on the shaping of Australia as a nation in post 1900, in terms of community, cultural diversity, social structures and the experiences of different groups.
Sixty students in years 5 and 6 at Sacred Heart School, Tatura, were given the name of an internee who was brought out to Australia, as enemy aliens, in WW2, on either the HMT Dunera or the Queen Mary. They were asked to do a poster and verbal presentation about this persons life before the outbreak of war, their internment journey, internment in Australia and life after internment.
The students did a wonderful job researching these internees and presenting these posters and verbal presentations. The students were judged on their verbal presentation and posters with the top three, being able to choose books for their school library. Sixteen of these posters are now on display at the Tatura Museum.
The Dunera and Queen Mary Assn. will be reaching out to other schools in the area who are interested in learning about the internees who were brought out to Australia from England during WW2. If any schools are interested please reach out to Michelle at [email protected].
