Despite initial calls for restraint , the release in 1915 of the Bryce Report on alleged German atrocities , the sinking of the liner Lusitania by a German U-boat and the growing casualty lists from Gallipoli , all contributed to hardening attitudes against Germans and other former residents of the Central Power countries . As a precautionary measure suspicious enemy alien military reservists were incarcerated in Enoggera Internment Camp from September 1914 , while non-reservists were registered and released on parole . The process of internment was selectively widened to embrace Lutheran pastors and other influential leaders of the German community . The steadily growing number of internees ultimately led to the closure of Enoggera in April 1916 and the transfer of 325 enemy aliens south to Holsworthy on the outskirts of Sydney . They would be joined there by others as a curious social phenomenon took hold on the Queensland home front
sinking of the liner Lusitania
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
Enemy aliens in Queensland during World War I