24 September 2010
Cocos (Keeling) gets the name from Captain William Keeling who first came to the islands but it was John Clunies-Ross, a Scotsman, who settled the islands and even today one of his descendants is still living on West Island. The name 'Keeling' was given to distinguish them from other Cocos Islands elsewhere, ie. in the Seychelles. There are three main islands in the southern group, unpopulated Direction Island, the only place where yachts are permitted to anchor, Home Island which supports a Muslim Malay community of 500, and West Island, where the airport, hospital and government buildings are. There are 100 people living on this island, all Australians and employed by the government. 99% of their food has to be flown in and they a now trying to encourage the islanders to cultivate what will grow in the sandy soil. They are totally beautiful coral atolls, in the shape of a horseshoe, dotted around a large lagoon with colours ranging from the deepest blue, to the palest turquoise. The water is stunningly clear, probably the last time we shall see it like this. I have to say the weather has been terrible during our time here. I spend the day opening the hatches to entice a cooling breeze through the stuffiness of the cabin, then rushing to close them as rain squalls sweep through the anchorage, but despite all that it is a jewel, a real gem of a place. No hotels, no high rise, just a tiny community surviving in a very remote part of the South Indian Ocean. We feel incredibly lucky and privileged to be here and take a peek into their extraordinary lives.
Driftwood Donation at Direction Island
Paul and Suzana arranged for police, customs and immigration to come to what is known as the "Yachtsman's Shack". This saved a long and rather convoluted trip over to their headquarters on West Island. We stepped ashore our feet sinking deep into the creamiest soft sand. Pieces of driftwood carved with the names of passing boats decorated the surrounding trees. Naturally we added Voyageur's to the collection, along with such famous names as Mari Cha 11, and Wanderer 11. We were able to bring our rubbish ashore where they remove it and bury it. It seems a great shame to do this but we did not relish the prospect of four weeks of trash on the boat, especially in this heat.
Home from Home.
From where we are at anchor on Direction Island it is a 30 minute dinghy ride over to Home Island. It is a wet and windy trip indeed so instead of taking our own dinghy we took the ferry which comes here twice weekly. From there it is possible to get to West Island, the service operating on a daily basis. We booked an "eco tour" on Home Island. There was not a great deal to see but Azi, our guide, gave us a very interesting history of the place. The people living here are of Malaysian extract having been imported in the time of John Clunies-Ross to work on the large copra plantation. Then there were as many as two thousand, but because the island could not support those numbers, they were sent to Christmas Island and Malaysia reducing the population to 300. Home Island derived its name because after the islands were evacuated of so many people, many eventually sought their way back having missed them so much. They felt they were coming "home". Headstones in the tiny cemetery bore the names of many Clunies-Ross family members. The Muslim graves have a style of headstone for women shaped like a thistle, the men's, like the point of a spear. They bury their dead within 24 hours, facing west to Mecca. The location at the far north end of the island had stunning views out over the lagoon.
The Cocos Islands are a protectorate of Australia and with nothing to export, and unemployment running at 67% they rely totally on handouts from the government. Every family has a vehicle and at least one boat! But there are initiatives in place to try and re-vegitate parts of the island. A nursery has been started to propagate plants that will grow in the sand. The sandy streets were laid out in grid pattern and each house we were told housed up to four families. The Muslim faith requires that the youngest son must stay with his parents to after them in their old age, even if he is married with his own family. Everywhere looked so neat and tidy with not a trace of litter. We were impressed to see that they were provided with three bins to separate their waste. In the tiny museum and taking up more than half the space were two original Shetland boats, made and engraved by Clunies-Ross. The rest was mainly devoted to Australia's naval victory during WW1, the attack of SMS Emden by HMS Sydney at North(Keeling Island), where the wreck now lies in its watery grave just offshore. The islands have adopted Scottish influences it said in their music. Azi told us that there is a wedding here next week. What a pity that we shall not be here, it would have been so interesting to hear and see. The centrepiece of the village was a huge cyclone shelter, built up on steel beams so that the water could pass underneath. What a terrifying experience that must be. I cannot imagine it. Oceania House, built for the Clunies-Ross family, was situated in a prime location at the south end of the island with sea views from three points of the compass, and a beautiful piece of architecture. All the brickwork was imported from Scotland and although in the colonial style, I thought it almost had a Rennie Mackintosh influence.
The one and only supermarket on Home Island is pretty basic and really only able to support the local community so the rally organised a comprehensive provisions list which we completed in Bali. Then it was ordered from Perth, Australia and flown in. No doubt it will be horribly expensive as everything else here is, but with two weeks at sea we have little choice.
Susan Mackay