HATE Rotto

Splash. Today was the big swim. The mainstream media were commendable in being organised and having stuff for people to read today. The West had a God-botherer doing the epic journey for the first time; The Weekend Australian's Magazine had an excellent Victoria Laurie item on Barbara Pellick, who's going across for the (gasp) 20th time. Struth. She has spent nearly 400km swimming to Rotto.

Our spies tell us Melissa Benson was the first lone swimmer to reach the latte-scented shore of Thompson Bay. First pair was Simon Huitenga and Rhys Mainstone. Barbara Pellick made it. Haven't heard about the religious guy.

It's the hardest way of getting there. An associate pointed us to these Travel Facts for Rottnest Island. No mention of the swim, funnily enough, of by flying machine. Rotto Bloggo has flown to the beautiful island, of course. Luxury darling. In a bizarre twist, our mother was once flown off the island when she was young and very sick.

Despite our excuse for not doing the swim - we'd prefer to be lying down - today hasn't been very recumbent. We went to the monstrous carbuncle that is Burswood to interview a celebrity gardener. He was at HATE: the Holiday And Travel Expo. While we were there we spotted the Rotto booth. Even in a tacky corner of Victoria Park there's a place that is Rottnest. We entered a competition to win $300 of Rotto time. Bet you we don't win.

back to Back

Some outstanding cricketers have been born in WA. Many saw the light of day in the city, but quite a few are from the regions: Kim Hughes was born in Margaret River, Brad Hogg came into the world in Narrogin and Bridgetown was the scene of Len Pascoe’s birth.

Rottnest cricketers? William Back (1856-1911) didn’t set the world on fire. He played two first-class matches in 1892/93 and scored 12 runs at an average of 4. His highest score was 7. No catches. CricInfo doesn’t say who he played for. But the important thing is he was born on Rotto. He died 97 years ago today, in Perth.

Who was William Back, apart from an ordinary batsman? Back is a prominent Rotto name, as any fule kno. We wonder if he was related to Edward Back, the Rottnest pilot from 1846 to 1857. The dates don’t quite make sense, though. According to this reminiscence Edward fell in love with his future wife on a ship (the Fanny) to Freo. Edward supposedly had eight children, it says here. One, William Mercer Back, lived from 1842 to 1910.

(Mary Curtis was the mother of the 1842-1910 William. The reminiscence says she “…was 96 when she died the oldest person in the colony. Her death was reported in the Perth Gazette; ‘Her death was not caused by disease or decay but from shock occasioned when a portion of her dress caught on fire.’ Her death certificate states ‘accidentally burnt’ and that she died at 5am 14 April in Fremantle.”)

It was Brad Hogg’s birthday last week (Feb 6) – we hope you sent him a card.

Today's pic is from Flickr user niki (da sempre)

moored in the e bay

The big swim is looming. Next Saturday hundreds of people will set off from Cottesloe and ingest a lot of sea water while looking longingly at the lighthouse. Rotto Bloggo would love to be part of it but recumbent commitments mean we won’t be able to show.

Someone on eBay is timing their item well: would you think of paying $499 for a ‘Rottnest Island Channel Swim SIGNED Shirt RARE!’? It has long sleeves, but $499?
‘All your favourite long distance swimmers are here!’ says the blurb (Shelley Taylor Smith, Shane Gould, Bronwen Whitehead, Susie Maroney and Mark Saliba have signed the back. ‘It is the perfect item for framing! Or if you want to wear it its a size XL. This item is in great condition. There is a mark on the front of the shirt but thats now where the signatures are anyway!’

Cheaper but not perhaps as interesting is this ‘Beautiful A4 print which will be printed on canvas effect paper and delivered first class in a hardback envelope’. A snip at around $6.51.

What about a couple of folding electric bikes? ‘I bought these bicycles to put on my boat and used at Rottnest but we have had a double addition to the family and won't be using them in the next few years so I have to sell them’. Hmmm…can you use them on Rotto? The seller says they cost around $1500, but they’re up at a (starting) price of $999.

This could be perfect for the pool room: ‘AUSTRALIAN SOUVENIR-ROTTNEST ISLAND W.A. VINTAGE RARE KEY CHAIN / BOTTLE TOP OPENER. NO DATE STAMPED ON IT BUT, I WOULD GUESS 70'S.’ It’s in Yakima, WA (Washington, not here) so the postage will be a bit.

best paint name ever

Ever heard of a Taubmans colour called Rottnest Orange?

We saw this in an old copy of Meanjin, which is now the newest edition to grace the climate-controlled, high-security cabinets of Rotto Bloggo’s study bunker. The 1993 book is called Mabo and Moral Community: the contents include ‘Rottnest Island: Rust and Irony’ by Kim Dovey.

The essay begins with Kim hurling his breakfast overboard while on a morning ferry, and is about “…the transformations of place and meaning under successive regimes of power. It is about the ironies of a place of incarceration turned place of freedom and then privilege. Rottnest is a place of semantic inversions…”

There’s talk about the prison, and how once a flu outbreak killed a third of the Aboriginal population. The pub is described as “ostentatiously castellated”. There was pressure to privatize long before the gaudy WA 1980s: in 1917 pressure to take Rotto away from the public was rebuffed.

Dovey then delves into his younger memories about the place (he crawled along gun tunnels in the dark, long before they were tidied up and became a tour). He lashes out at boaties: “Out in the bays are the most up-market units of all, which disgracefully are permitted to discharge raw sewerage into the beautiful turquoise swimming water. Reefs have been illegally blasted to remove the natural barriers to exclusive morrings in some secluded bays…the waters that surround this public reserve are dominated and polluted by private privilege.”

There are mentions of some unforgettable WA names: Alan Bond, Laurie Connell and the Man in the Panama Hat. “Indeed the egalitarian character of Rottnest has been raised to the status of myth. The image of Brian Burke mixing with the Rottnest melting pot in thongs and T-shirt was a powerful foil for the realities of WA Inc. in the 1980s.”

Marvellous stuff. And it gets better when Kim talks about the ethos of the beautiful island. “Rottnest resists the excesses of industrialization and capitalism…while food prices on Rottnest are often outrageous and the ferry service appears to be a monopoly, the best things on Ropttnest are still free…the island satisfies a growing demand for places that are not products of the market.”

And the Taubmans shade is part of the ethos: “Places like Rottnest change most effectively when they produce more of the variety and richness that generated their identity in the first place…Rottnest is a valuable piece of national heritage and we should be very careful with its development.” Righteous.

underwhelming

Do you reckon Heath Ledger was ever on Rotto? Gosh we wish so. Being a Sandgroper, the odds of him visiting were pretty good.

Heath uncertainty aside, Aboriginals were definitely there. We've touched on indigenous issues before...Tentland being closed, and the fact there was one death every eight weeks for a time on the island.


More indigenous stuff on eBay: the item description is ABORIGINES - AUSTRALIA ORIGINAL REPORT OF 1844 + 6 MAPS.

After some squinting at one of the item photos, it says something like: ABORIGINES (AUSTRALIAN COLONIES)
RETURN to the ADDRESS of the Honourable The ?House of C?
Dated 5 August 1844 –far
COPIES of EXTRACTS from the DESPATCHES of the Governors of the AUSTRALIAN COLONIES, with the REPORTS of the PROTECTORS of ABORIGINES, and any other CORRESPONDENCE to illustrate the Condition of the ABORIGINAL POPULATION of the said Colonies, from the date of the last Papers laid before Parliament on the subject, (Papers ordered by The House of Commons to be printed, 12 August 1839, No 526.)
Colonial Office, Downing-street, 9 August 1844
G.W. Hope
(Mr Alden.?)

Most intriguing. (The Rotto angle? The item has a map, 334 x 405mm, which is a "Cooured (sic) plan of the native establishment, Rottnest Island".) Only 325 GBP (or around $730, according to eBay). With our reporter hat on we contacted the seller, vld5, asking if we could ask some questions, but no joy.

"No, but you are welcome to bid, and buy it if you are the winning bidder," Mr/s 5 said.

Someone at Museum Victoria was more effusive: "The response is underwhelming from a news point of view, I’m afraid.

"The expert’s feeling is that the item is likely to be already represented in public holdings (likely National Library or other state libraries), and is not something the Museum would be interested in. We also can’t think of anyone else to refer you to for further advice on the specific document."

The item ends on Friday...no bids so far.

luvverly painting guv'nor

More politicians and art on Rotto. We’re indebted to the WA Constitution Centre for these morsels of information about Admiral Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford, who was our Governor from 1903 to 1909.

Fred was born in 1838 and joined the Royal Navy when 14 (no nonsense about being in cotton wool until he’d finished his education). ‘His family name was originally Tubb but his grandfather changed the family name by Royal licence upon inheriting property from his uncle, Dr Thomas Bedford’, says the ConCen.

Fred waged war far and wide: ‘He took part in many battles and was awarded the Crimean, Turkish and Swedish medals.

‘Sir Frederick was appointed ADC to Queen Victoria in 1888. It is said that his exceptionally high talents were responsible for his appointment as a Lord Commissioner of Admiralty. In 1892, Sir Frederick became Commander-in-Chief at the Cape and during this commission was "engaged in strenuous active naval work which he carried out to a brilliant and successful conclusion".’

A Rottnest name crops up, although it was some distance from the beautiful island: ‘In 1894, he conducted operations at Bathurst on the River Gambia for the punishment of a rebel slave-trading chief. Further action finally saw him promoted to Lord of the Admiralty in 1895. In 1899, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the North American and West Indies Station, a position he held until his appointment in 1903 as Governor of WA.’

Fred knew how to play to the audience: ‘In his welcome speech, Sir Frederick said that "if he did not open bazaars and make nice speeches properly at first, he would probably improve with practice". During his appointment, he opened the Geraldton Town Hall and took many trips around the State.’

He was ‘very fond of children’ and was keen on the School Amateur Athletics Association; he unveiled the marble statue of Queen Victoria in Kings Park; and then there was his painting penchant: ‘Governor Bedford was also known for his artistic abilities and he and his wife spent a lot of time at the Governor's residence at Rottnest painting and sketching. If he was there on Sundays he would often read the lesson at the Rottnest Island Chapel.’


Amazingly, this old warrior was one of the state’s first greenies. We kid you not. ‘In 1905, there were plans to sell off 300 blocks on the island but Governor Bedford protested and, in fact, it is due to his intervention that Rottnest eventually became an A class reserve. He held this office until 1909 and despite encouragement from locals to allow himself to be nominated for another term, he declined, pointing out that he had for 57 years been at work in the service of the Crown.’

His work done, he went back to the Old Dart until his death in 1913.

The image is from Snell and is a Fred effort circa 1903.

feeling blue

‘Other MPs revealed the incident likely happened at a Liberal Party gathering at Rottnest about two years ago.’

Cheating at Scrabble? Fishing from an anti-angling area? Tossing rocks onto someone’s roof? No, the incident referred to in today’s The Sunday Times is what Katie said about Troy.

"(Mr Buswell's comments) were of a sexual nature. Involving me. He had been drinking. It was offensive enough for me to indicate to the party room that I wouldn't tolerate that behaviour any more. In no other workplace would that be acceptable behaviour."

Where did the Libs gather for their love-in? Was there a lot of snorkelling on the trip? Is this (a pic on Image Dump titled ‘Troy the Conqueror: The Western Australian Leader of the Opposition, Troy Buswell’) a happy snap from the island idyll? Questions questions.

Enough of the questions. Time for stimulation of a soothing nature. Today’s pic is from Ted Snell’s ‘The Artist’s Rottnest’: Rottnest Lighthouse and Salt Lake. Elise Blumann, 1947, oil on cardboard. Owned by UWA (as is much else in this glorious state).

pinky period

Much excitement in the Rotto Bloggo fortified compound this week: another primo boffo publication was added to the special-interest bookshelves.

Ted Snell’s ‘The Artist’s Rottnest’ was published in 1988 by Fremantle Arts Centre Press and has oodles of Rottnest art. The cover of this softcover has a Guy Grey-Smith oil called – what else – Rottnest. This has never been one of our favourite Grey-Smiths (the lurid primary colours recall how Tom Ripley was repelled by Dickie Greenleaf’s Mongibello daubings) but the Wadjemup lighthouse is recognisable in the background.

The earliest artistic rendering in the book is Victor Victorszoon’s coastal profile ‘t eylant ‘t Rottenest: a watercolour and ink on paper he dashed off when he was on the Geelvinck with de Vlamingh.

The wreck of the City of York in 1899 attracted the attention of an Aboriginal prisoner: the pencil, watercolour and gouache effort on paper is in the WA Museum collection. Around about the same time Henry Charles Prinsep did a much more cheerful watercolour, Rottnest Along Thomson’s Bay, c1890s.

Some of the artists could paint the same thing today. Iris Francis’ Rottnest from 1950 is a view of a fig tree on Vincent Way.

As with Flickr photos, so too with art. Lots of people have a go at Thomson Bay or the view from a villa window or life on the rocks. But not all of them. The Snell book is a must.

Our favourite? Ashley Jones’ Vacant Implacement, a 1978 acrylic on canvas. It has a touch of the Smart about it. As Snell says: “A well-known Western Australian ‘photo-realist’, Jones has produced a number of paintings and drawings that investigate the lure of Rottnest and its less immediately recognised rituals and pleasures.”

in the sun lie

We almost choked on our latte this morning when we saw this Rottnest artefact online.

Body on the Rocks is a novel set on Rotto. It’s two audio CDs for German kids learning English. The story promises “adventure, friendship, fantasy and mystery” – so it’s a typical Rotto time.

We fired up the trusty Babelfish to turn the Deutsch into something we could understand.

‘Rotting nest is a small island before the coast of west Australia - an ideal resort with mediterranem climate and wonderful dream beaches. In this idyllische atmosphere the corpse of a man is found, and sees itself suddenly complicated into the clearing-up of a strange death to Becky, which did not want anything, as to bathe and in the sun lie. Does the murder of a 16-jaehrigen of girl have to do something more than 40 years ago with history? Who is the man with the red-blue cap, which Becky pursues obviously? And which role plays the 18-jaehrige Alex, which seems to be more than a harmless holiday-maker?’

Wow! Clive James once remarked punning on Chinese names is a very low form of humour. He would also doubtless say making fun of computer-translated language is nearly as low. But nonetheless: the corpse sees itself! But any publication about Rotto – fiction or non – is welcome news.

We saw this book on eBay. Haven’t been able to find any further information on author Denise Kirby. This is the translated bit from a German Amazon page: ‘The "Hueber readings" bring back that which youngsters aged 15 to read: adventure, friendship, fantasy and mystery. This is the perfect incentive to learn English. The combination packages (book and audio CD) is suitable both for single reading and for the incorporation in the class association. Target audience: students from 15 years in the Second Level I. Level B1 level of the European framework.’

We need to write to Mark McGowan and ensure he puts this on the WA school curriculum zofort. Body on the Rocks can be yours for EUR10.50, which is about $17.39.

still in his pyjamas

Do you remember the armoured personnel carrier that careered through the ‘burbs and the city nearly 15 years ago? Rotto Bloggo was overseas at the time: we learned about this epic tale a couple of weeks after it happened. The Americans we were with were pretty sanguine. Stuff like that happens with somewhat more frequency on the mean US streets.

A bloke stole the 11-tonne vehicle from an army depot. First stop was a fence at the Wembley cop shop: he crashed through it at 0440. A police car arrived and he bingled them. The behemoth hit the city at 0515 and dropped in to Police HQ, the East Perth lockup, the Central Law Courts, the CIB on Beaufort Street and finally Parliament House.

“…TRG officers managed to drop a tear-gas grenade into the vehicle through the loose hatch, which also gave them entry, finally arresting the offender who resisted arrest violently at about 6.15am. It was then discovered that the vehicle was not carryying ammunition for its guns,” this police document reminisces.

Exciting stuff. Rottnest can’t really offer anything comparable, but we did find this charming tale on Flickr of all places. Let’s go back to April 7, 1959…

‘A stolen 72ft seaward defence boat which was chased to sea to the north of Rottnest yesterday morning was taken by and 18-year-old youth.

‘The Fremantle Harbour Trust pilot boat Lady Mitchell caught the runaway boat and HMAS Fremantle towed the stolen SDB1325 back to port.' (The kid planned to go east and sell the thing).

‘The episode began shortly after 6am when a naval dockyard policeman noticed the boat moving away from the naval boatshed at East Fremantle. The youth, who later said he had no naval training, slipped the moorings of the luanch, started the twin-diesel engines and headed out into mid-stream.

‘Twice he ran the boat, worth about $20,000, aground on sandbanks, and the mast broke off when he passed under the railway bridge.

‘The boat’s port engine seized outside the harbour and the Lady Mitchell was able to draw alongside the SDB1235 (sic?). Still in his pyjamas the skipper leapt aboard and took control of the stolen vessel. The youth offered no resistance.’ (From The West, the day after).

More nautical news: another article on the Lissa says it’s been asked to be the VIP vessel for the Rottnest Island swim.

broken

We were idling through Flickr photos today when the site prompted us to search for photos with the phrase rottnestisland instead of the bog-standard rottnest. Up popped a user called Rottnest Island. The pics are very nice. Some (like this one) have been used in official Rotto marketing.

A call to the Rottnest Island Authority ensued. They weren’t sure who it was, but wondered if it was Chris Gosfield. Her work has been in the quarterly RIA publication Rottnest Islander. She also had a lovely image from inside a bungalow in Post Newspapers late last year.

Using Flickr to promote tourism is a good idea and an increasingly popular one. Our very own WA Tourism Commission does it, as do many other tourism bodies. The WATC uses Flickr to promote the Red Bull air race.

Putting rotto into Flickr gets you a mix of Rottnest pics, Italian images (rotto is Italian for broken) and and assortment of other stuff.

Today's pic isn't by Chris Gosfield, or us, or an Italian: it's by brilliant WA journo Victoria Laurie.

revenge of the quokka

Rotto’s short, cute gregarious relatively small-headed macropods are no doubt still high-fiving each other over the departure of Western Force boss Peter O’Meara. After some of his players abused quokkas, “...O’Meara was criticised at the time for not rushing back to Perth to take charge during the quokka crisis”, The West notes today.

Of more interest in today’s media is a story in the Busselton-Dunsborough Mail by Rob Bennett about the Lissa, a former icebreaker/freighter that recently lobbed into Busselton. It used to be the vessel of Chris Packer, who got into strife in Bali over guns. We had a hard time finding decent photos of the Lissa: the best we could come up with is this and this.


The Lissa’s new owner is one Mark McCormack: “Mr McCormack bought his first boat shortly before being made aware Lissa was for sale and until his trip to Busselton had only sailed it to Rottnest in the 12 months he has owned it”, the Mail reported.

Mr Packer’s brother Ron was reported as having said Lissa was “hardly a luxury boat” as there were no ensuites on it when they had it and the cabins and living quarters were the same as they were originally”, the Mail said.

“However, an inspection by the Mail last week showed it had everything anyone would want on a vessel. All the cabins are timber lined and the toilets and bathrooms would do justice to a four star hotel.”

rupture of the deep (fried)

One of Rotto Bloggo’s associates was sounding off about the State Government today, and for a moment we perceived a future Rottnest angle in her angst.

She was as cross as a frog in a sock about Health Minister Jim McGinty’s labelling of fast food as verboten in the future: see this Perth Now story for the details, but essentially it’s ‘…a ban on all deep-fried food, as well as soft drinks that exceed 300kJ a serve – such as a can of Coca-Cola. Chocolate bars and other confectionary exceeding more than 600kJ a serve, including crisps and corn chips, will also be forbidden. The closest a visitor, health worker or patient will get to a chocolate bar will be a fun-size Freddo Frog.’

The ban comes in at the start of next year in public hospitals. “As if adults can’t decide for themselves what they want to seat,” our associate seethed after buying a bag of chips. We delighted in reminding her that Mr McGinty participates in an annual orgy of fat-enriched, high-salt, meat-heavy baking: the lasagna cook-off in the South Freo street (pretty close to Rottnest) in which he lives.

As the State Government runs Rotto, why don’t they get serious, be consistent, and ban fast food on the beautiful island. No more Red Rooter or Subway. Why ban it in hospitals, and not on A-class reserves? The absence of fast food litter would be good (but no doubt some would keep littering anyway).

Perhaps such a ban was mooted by a Rotto tripper in that Synovate document ‘Evaluating the Rottnest Island Experience (Final Report)’ that the Rottnest Island Authority won’t release to Rotto Bloggo. We dunno. If you gave Red Rooter their marching order, would the bakery be persona non grata as well?

don't let your fingers dangle

Did you see the photo in The Age Online that a New Zealander supposedly took of a big shark? ‘Gary Porter said he asked friends to hold him by the ankles from their small boat as he dunked his upper body in the water to snap the four-metre predator less than two metres away’, the article says.

Lordy. This happened a mere two days ago near Kapiti Island, which is near Wellington. “I've got a few regrets about not hopping in with it and having a good swim with it”, Gary is quoted as saying.

Rotto Bloggo has been thinking about sharks lately. You would have the video on Perth Now of a 3.3m monster in water near Cathedral Rocks, by Rotto’s west.
The 3.3m shark was filmed in September, in 38m of water near Cathedral Rocks at the island's western tip. We love how the tropical fish in the foreground aren’t concerned at all about the prowling sharp-toothed terrifying stuff-of-nightmare giant beast.

Another shark of sorts was also around the island last week: relatives of Rotto Bloggo had their dinghy stolen while they were on land. They came back to their boat near the YHA and it was gone. Probably taken by someone else who didn’t want to get wet on the way back to their boat. Would a yachtie do that? They are capable of such behaviour, say our yachtie rellies.

Lee Paxman from the Salt Rock Spearfishing Club says bronze whaler and mako sharks aren’t uncommon in Roe Reef, while Swirl Reef is the go for bronze whaler, mako, hammerhead and the odd tiger shark. Lee says he still holds the state spearfishing record for the largest yellow tail kingfish taken from Thomson Bay: 34.25kg. A man that accomplished should be believed about sharks.

Rottlist

A few things in life are certain: the righteous dominance of the Australian cricket team. Strife in the Middle East. 98 per cent of the world loathing Vegemite. And end-of-year lists in the mainstream media.

Notable op/eds in the New York Times this year – see here. The worst of 2007 sport, according to the Sydney Morning Herald – see here. Google’s annual Zeitgeist list of most popular terms and words used in searching (Rottnest didn’t get a mention) – see here.


So of course Rotto Bloggo has its list of 10 most noteworthy island events for the year that’s about to expire. We’ve interrogated People In The Know, Rotto identities both known and anon., filtered news events from the past 365 days and thrown darts at the board. Only a couple of these have been invented.

10: in January, the Rottnest Society gives both barrels to the State Government over the new hotel due to be erected at Mt Herschel: “The government has let us all down in not keeping a written commitment to allow the Western Australian public to comment via a properly constituted public comment process on the concept plans for the proposed new hotel at Mt Herschel”.

9: in July, a known union troublemaker stubs his toe while fishing off the rocks at Little Armstrong Bay, a notorious public relations operative is nearly violently ill on the ferry over to the island, the state’s top reporter makes her famous eggplant moussaka, and Mrs Rotto Bloggo thrashes Rotto Bloggo at Scrabble.

8: On Anzac Day the West reported on a Union Jack lots of blokes from the 2/28th Australian Infantry Battalion signed in WW2. One of the signees was Leonard Allan Wilkes, who was born 1 November 1913 in Kununoppin. He enlisted in 1940 in Claremont – and his “locality on enlistment” – where he lived – was Rottnest Island.

7: the Geordie Café was up for sale after having been in the hands of a woman called Emily for six years.

6: Scott Fava (we can quote from the SMH article above): “The say it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog - but that doesn't apply to quokkas. The Western Force backrower threw around a member of the protected species during an end-of-season trip. The biggest lower? Fava. The quokka is still running wild on Rottnest, but Fava was fined $11,000 and publically declared he had an alcohol problem.”

5: June: a French traveller called Dede described Rotto as “paradis sans voiture”. Exactement.

4: A journalist from upstate New York, Aaron Munzer, puts Rotto on his top ten list about Australia. Rotto Bloggo pointed out he’s put it only at #7, which prompted this reply from Mr Munzer: “A grotto, in addition to being "a small cave, usually with attractive features" is also a cave that floods often during high tide. So, while my usage of it might not be entirely accurate, I thought it got the point across. I just wanted to clear up the record: I didn't number the places; Rottnest was not my number seven. It should have been higher. Also, the WWII forts I visited on the island were definitely ruined. Just an observation. I'm sure there are guns in 'superb nick', but they must hide them very well. I guess that like the drop bears, the ruins are just for Americans.”

3: October: Sheila McHale peers into a fridge, drinks champagne on the jetty, and gives news on unit refurbishment progress. The crowd goes wild.

2: sometime in August, the number of images on Flickr tagged with Rottnest exceeds 10,000. The Internet, blogosphere and Web 2.0 go wild.

1: the Rottnest Island Authority refuses to release the whole Synovate document ‘Evaluating the Rottnest Island Experience (Final Report)’ to Rotto Bloggo. A whole lot of extra work is instantly created for someone in the Freedom of Information office.

no sex toys on Rotto

It would've been nice to have been on Rotto on the stinking hot Boxing Day: the most it got to was 38.1C, considerably cooler than the 43.2C or 44.1C or whatever it was around Perth. Hawaii was very temperate, too: it was always in the low to mid 20s with the odd sunshower and about 30 rainbows a day.


What's been the most unusual thing you've found in your Rottnest bungalow? Rotto Bloggo once left a boombox there: when we remembered we called the RIA and it was safely returned to us at Barrack Street via a late ferry. As the pic shows, when we arrived on our last trip our window had a delightful egg stain. But we've never found sex toys in the place - unlike Hawaii.

When we got to our timeshare on Oahu, at the Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club, we settled in and unpacked. Our friends found something deep in a drawer, though: a plastic bag containing a number of sex toys - two were surprisingly large - and a range of accompanying lubricants.

What to do? We put them to one side, then a bit later reception rang: the previous guests had left "something" in the rooms, and could a member of staff come up and look for it? "The sex toys?" we asked. There was a stunned silence on the other end. "We don't have any need for them - come up and get them."

The staffer who knocked on the door looked a bit apprehensive. We handed the bag over. "Heavy aren't they?" we remarked. Later there was another call from reception: a gift basket was on the way up to reward us for our honesty and no doubt compensate us for the gruesome discovery.

last minute Lodging

Looking for last-minute Xmas accomodation on Rotto? Check out eBay user 8616elaine: s/he has something at the Lodge: “Dec. 24-27 Lakeside apartment queen/ single/+ Inc. breakfasts xmas lunch” for $900. she says it’s legit: “the Lodge has Ok'd a transfer. We will be on the Island and would meet you at the Lodge on 24th to collect payment, book you in etc”.

While you’re there you could hang your latest art acquisition on a wall: here’s another eBay link to a print of a Rotto scene: looking into the mall. “If this is a place where you have visited in the past and rebember how really beautiful this place is and always wished you got a picture to remember it by then this is for you”, says nobbyyabe. “I am not sure who the artist is however I have photographed his signiture for you experts. We purchased this limited edition for $350 approx 8-9 years ago in Perth. It no longer fits the decor of our house so reluctantly we have decided to pass it on to someone who really appreciates it. Starting bid $280”.

Rotto Bloggo is back from Hawaii. We had a magic time. The snorkeling and snubaing! The mountains and hiking! The pools and beaches! Pearl Harbour (although they spell it Harbor). It’s – this is a big call – almost as good as Rottnest. There are windfarm windmills on Maui, like Rotto, and accommodation with sea views, like Rotto.



Important research into oceanography and seismology happens on Hawaii – and something botanically important may be happening on Rotto, too. Flickr user Frogga Hops has a couple of dozen pics up of boffin-like people investigating something (the accompanying pic is titled ‘study site’) but there are few clues as to what they were working on. Frogga Hops also has a pic of a man with a condom on his head, and the image is titled ‘dinophysis’ – Dinophysis norvegica, of course, is an armoured, marine, planktonic dinoflagellate bloom-forming species associated with DSP events and commonly found in cold neritic waters. The mystery deepens…

aloha

Rotto Bloggo is off to Hawaii for a couple of weeks, so there will be a brief interregnum between news of the beautiful island. We'll be comparing the Basin with Maui, the Bakery with Starbucks, the Wadjemup lighthouse with a volcano and Rottnest Society T-shirts with Hawaiian shirts.

It was good to see the two Western Farce players have been fined more money, and that the RIA may also slug them some cash...

Also in the SMH, someone says the beautiful island has a funny name: "...right up there with the Bungle Bungles in terms of unfortunate place names". But the writer then distinguishes himself when he describes Rotto as "an absolute gem" and a "sumptuous playground"...

Enjoy the Perth World Cup this weekend...it's Australia's richest surf ski racing event...

While you're on Rotto, look out for James and Laura, who seem to be working in the pub and living on the island. Bliss!

TWOPpo Rotto

What’s the crème de la phlegm of the beautiful island? The expensive goodies from the bakery? Red Rooter? The ridiculous rules at the pub? (no jugs of beer, for example).

Rotto Bloggo has been scratching its bonce pondering this during the last week as we’re big fans of superb local blog The Worst of Perth. If you need a laugh-out-loud moment thanks to cheeky writing and arresting images, TWOP is a must-read.

Historically there are plenty of worst Rottnest items. Many dead Aborigines, for example. Schoolies? We don’t think so. Arrogant yachties? They’re no more arrogant than anyone else. The new four-and-half-star hotel at Mount Herschel? It hasn’t even been built yet. People who jump the queue at the liquor store?

Someone just suggested the delapidated mini-golf course (torn green carpet, lots of bird poo) is a Worst Rotto feature. But Rotto Bloggo things the course is quirky, and its faults are merely a challenge for a keen mini-golfer.

If you asked one of the passengers on the Macedon, the Uribes or the Shark how they enjoyed their introduction to Rottnest, you wouldn’t get a favourable response. Today's pic shows someone in the midst of the old ferry heave-ho on the way to the beautiful island.

Anyway, we’ve sent a photo we ran last year to TWOP in order to get some Rotto coverage. If all goes well Rotto Bloggo will become TWOP’s international correspondent.

* Some people find the trip across to Rotto the worst, but they feel better after staggering down the jetty and having a restorative coffee at Dome.

leavers, Lana and a Lodge

A lot of people who come to this blog are looking for information about Leavers Week: they put things into Google like ‘rotto leavers 07’ and ‘rottnest island pinky's news night’ (the latter string only gets posts from last year, though).

The beautiful island has endured another wave of schoolies. There weren’t many dead: eight were evicted early last week, according to the ABC, and the Thin Blue Line was generally happier than they were last year. The frenzy was condensed into four weekdays this year, instead of a longer period that included a weekend.

"We're just not seeing the levels of intoxication we've seen in the past, we're not seeing the drug taking we've seen in the past, and overall the leavers period on Rottnest has been a great success so far," Sgt Paul van Noort told Aunty.

One Ash Blackwell told The Sunday Times the four-day frenzy meant for a more-concentrated imbibation.

"Most of us are cramming two weeks of drinking into a few days'', the 17-year-old was quoted as saying. Much like any adult, really! Do we need to fuss so much about kids on Rotto? Many adults do the same, or even worse. The jetty is still there, the lighthouses haven’t fallen over, Brett Heady’s Family Fun Park is still open for business (keep the rugby players away from the quokkas, though).

Rotto Bloggo interviewed Australian Idol contestant Lana Krost recently. She was going to Rotto for Leavers, and seemed very nice. One of her favourite things is a white dwarf bunny named Pancakes: she got him a few weeks ago after she returned from Sydney and Idol. Lana thinks he’s the “cutest little thing ever”. She’s also got about 10 birds at home and a dog called Pippin.

It’s not just schoolies who were on Rotto last week: Belle Taylor at The West tracked down the new owner of down-south’s Cape Lodge, Peter Larsen. But Peter was about to have a dip and didn’t want to chat.

“I’ve just arrived at Rottnest over here, it’s not good timing and I would prefer not to comment if you don’t mind…I’m about to have a swim,” Dr Larsen told Belle.