By Eliza Laschon
Updated Sat at 1:05pm
PHOTO: After spending two decades of summers on Rottnest island, Cameron Henley is happy to take his family to Bali instead. (L-R Daniel Gunning, Sharon Gunning, Cameron Henley and Cameron Gunning.) (ABC News: Eliza Laschon)
RELATED STORY: Like quokkas? Rottnest Island wants you to like 'glamping' too
MAP: Rottnest Island 6161
Cameron Henley spent Christmas holidays with his family on Rottnest Island for two decades.
"It was a great place to grow up," Mr Henley said.
"I had three brothers so there was six of us.
"I can remember Mum saying it used to cost $72 a week for a small bungalow."
For a working class family in the 1960s, the island was an affordable paradise.
"Mum would start saving her 50 cent pieces and that would be her spending money each year at Rottnest," Mr Henley remembered.
But in the decades that followed, Mr Henley has not taken the ferry journey to the island because the price was "just too expensive".
"It seems to have gotten out of reach for the average household, it's more like the rich man's paradise," Mr Henley said.
Instead, the family would rather fly to Bali where Mount Agung threatens to erupt at any minute, forcing over 100,000 people to be evacuated to makeshift shelters, because the price is right.
The pull of a $2 Bintang, poolside service and surf is too strong for Western Australians who, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, made about 400,000 trips to Indonesia last year.
With all of the other cheap South-East Asia holidays on offer, there are hundreds of holidays that draw travellers, and their cash, out of WA.
Meanwhile, Rottnest Island, less than 20 kilometres off Fremantle, was described as "a jewel in the crown of Western Australia's tourism offerings" this week by Tourism Minister Paul Papalia.
"We need to make sure that we improve, increase and change what people can experience out there to attract back West Australians," Mr Papalia said.
"Get people to visit who may not have been for a while and who may have not considered going there as one of their alternatives for their holidays."
Many would not have to dig deep for a family memory on the island, like Mr Henley's.
PHOTO: The quokka selfie tourism campaign lured more visitors to the island. (Flickr: Eirik Luka)
Learning to ride a bike, a morning swim at the Basin or those uncomfortable movie deck chairs.
Clear water, no cars, and the occasional mission to get a quokka out of your accommodation. The island has been a beloved holiday destination.
Although it does hold many more memories than just those of holidaymakers.
Tentland, where families camped for years, is the largest deaths-in-custody site in Australia and the largest-known burial ground of Aboriginal people.
Today, Rottnest Island is a popular holiday spot, though few realise the island's dark past as a prison for Indigenous men.
But over the decades, Rottnest forged a new identity and Mr Papalia said it had attracted more than 645,000 local, interstate and national visitors over the past year.
It is a significant jump in visitor numbers compared to slow growth at the start of the decade.
It was a strong Rottnest Island Authority (RIA) "quokka selfie" campaign in 2015/16 that helped boost the numbers.
If you wanted to get to the island today, it would cost a family of four $270 return on the Rottnest Express.
But from Sunday, in a bid to attract more tourists, the Rottnest Express is allowing kids under the age of 12 to travel to the island for free.
Accommodation varies from a basic cabin for six during peak times that will cost around $150 a night — to a luxury couples retreat for over $400 a night — or if you are willing to rough it, a $38 campsite.
Add in the cost of bike hire and groceries on the island that have to travel from the mainland — and the Henley family said their budget would not stretch.
"I thought about surprising him for his 50th with a trip to Rottnest because it was something from his past, but every time I look at it, I just think it's so expensive, I just can't do it." Mr Henley's wife, Sharon Gunning, said.
The Henley family said they spent $750 per person on flights and accommodation for 10 days in Bali.
It leaves not just them, but many WA families ready to risk Bali belly, rather than spend their cash.
RELATED STORY: Like quokkas? Rottnest Island wants you to like 'glamping' too
MAP: Rottnest Island 6161
Cameron Henley spent Christmas holidays with his family on Rottnest Island for two decades.
"It was a great place to grow up," Mr Henley said.
"I had three brothers so there was six of us.
"I can remember Mum saying it used to cost $72 a week for a small bungalow."
For a working class family in the 1960s, the island was an affordable paradise.
"Mum would start saving her 50 cent pieces and that would be her spending money each year at Rottnest," Mr Henley remembered.
But in the decades that followed, Mr Henley has not taken the ferry journey to the island because the price was "just too expensive".
"It seems to have gotten out of reach for the average household, it's more like the rich man's paradise," Mr Henley said.
Instead, the family would rather fly to Bali where Mount Agung threatens to erupt at any minute, forcing over 100,000 people to be evacuated to makeshift shelters, because the price is right.
The pull of a $2 Bintang, poolside service and surf is too strong for Western Australians who, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, made about 400,000 trips to Indonesia last year.
With all of the other cheap South-East Asia holidays on offer, there are hundreds of holidays that draw travellers, and their cash, out of WA.
Meanwhile, Rottnest Island, less than 20 kilometres off Fremantle, was described as "a jewel in the crown of Western Australia's tourism offerings" this week by Tourism Minister Paul Papalia.
"We need to make sure that we improve, increase and change what people can experience out there to attract back West Australians," Mr Papalia said.
"Get people to visit who may not have been for a while and who may have not considered going there as one of their alternatives for their holidays."
Many would not have to dig deep for a family memory on the island, like Mr Henley's.
PHOTO: The quokka selfie tourism campaign lured more visitors to the island. (Flickr: Eirik Luka)Learning to ride a bike, a morning swim at the Basin or those uncomfortable movie deck chairs.
Clear water, no cars, and the occasional mission to get a quokka out of your accommodation. The island has been a beloved holiday destination.
Although it does hold many more memories than just those of holidaymakers.
Tentland, where families camped for years, is the largest deaths-in-custody site in Australia and the largest-known burial ground of Aboriginal people.
Today, Rottnest Island is a popular holiday spot, though few realise the island's dark past as a prison for Indigenous men.
But over the decades, Rottnest forged a new identity and Mr Papalia said it had attracted more than 645,000 local, interstate and national visitors over the past year.
It is a significant jump in visitor numbers compared to slow growth at the start of the decade.
It was a strong Rottnest Island Authority (RIA) "quokka selfie" campaign in 2015/16 that helped boost the numbers.
If you wanted to get to the island today, it would cost a family of four $270 return on the Rottnest Express.
But from Sunday, in a bid to attract more tourists, the Rottnest Express is allowing kids under the age of 12 to travel to the island for free.
Accommodation varies from a basic cabin for six during peak times that will cost around $150 a night — to a luxury couples retreat for over $400 a night — or if you are willing to rough it, a $38 campsite.
Add in the cost of bike hire and groceries on the island that have to travel from the mainland — and the Henley family said their budget would not stretch.
"I thought about surprising him for his 50th with a trip to Rottnest because it was something from his past, but every time I look at it, I just think it's so expensive, I just can't do it." Mr Henley's wife, Sharon Gunning, said.
The Henley family said they spent $750 per person on flights and accommodation for 10 days in Bali.
It leaves not just them, but many WA families ready to risk Bali belly, rather than spend their cash.
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