It has brilliant location

Young people today are so interesting!

Take MySpace user Silly silly Amy, for example: she’s 19, lives in Perth, likes “eating pineapple, chasing ducks and wasting time”, and had some recent strife on Rottnest.

“We started off just fine,” SsAmy says.

“It was boozy, cruisey and conviction-free.”

But then law enforcement – a policeman and two rangers – were suddenly in their “love den”, ordered against the wall and informed SsA and Co. were under arrest.

“It was fantastic,” sighs SsA.

There was a search in the love den (a tent? Villa? Caroline Thomson cabin?).

“When they'd gone through all our belongings, there were only four people left that remained under arrest.

“We watched as they were taken off in the paddy wagon.

“They later told us that they played rock/paper/scissors, took photos of each other and video taped themselves along the very short journey to the lock up.

“The police man (sic) didn't like that.”

It seems Ssa and the rest left the island on the next ferry.

“And Lewis will find out in a few short weeks if he's been banned for life from the island,” says SsA.

“The police man asked us all if we were happy with ourselves.

“My answer is yes. I am indeed.”

Young people!

In another Amy post, there’s another Rotto reference: in a post called ‘Short skirting my way to the top’, SsA says “random good looking man at work” might’ve offered her a job, and she dearly wishes she knew his name.

“This place might have a huge new contract with Rottnest. They find out in a few days. I've just been told that if they do win, they'll need 40+ more staff and that they'll 'definitely keep me in mind'.”

Goodness! Is it the Broadwater people? Rotto Bloggo might ask Amy.

It probably isn’t the ROTTO ISLAND DREAM BUSINESS that’s on WA Prestige Properties' site.

“IMAGIN RUNNING YOUR OWN RESORT ISLAND MONEY MAKING MACHINE..... THIS UNIQUE BUSINESS HAS BEEN CAREFULLY BUILT UP OVER THE PAST 6 YEARS BY THE SAME OWNER, IT ENJOYS A GREAT REPUTATION FOR FOOD AND COFFEE , IT HAS BRILLIANT LOCATION , SIMPLE SET UP , AND HEAPS OF POTENTIAL ..... WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR ????”

Better spelling?

It seems to be the Geordie Bay general store…Rotto Bloggo loves how the auto-generated map claims there are two train stations near Geordie Bay.

“THIS BUSINESS IS GEARED UP TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE HOARDS OF VISITORS, BOATIES , HOLIDAY MAKERS , AND RESIDENTS... TOO MUCH TO LIST HERE ..... PLEASE CONTACT THE AGENT FOR ALL THE DETAILS .......”

Hoards! Dear me…when you contact the agent, point him/her towards onelook.

board not bored

More ways of spending time on the island, both physically and imaginatively.

The Rottnest Society has organised two tree planting weekends: June 15-17 and August 10-12.

What a deal! Being on Rotto! Doing the environmental thing! A free ferry ticket! All it will cost you is $27 for accommodation (and what you have to spend on food, we guess).

"Rottnest Island pine, callitris preissii, and Rottnest Island tea tree, melaleuca lanceolata, seedlings will be planted, in areas fenced to keep quokkas out, once the winter rains have set it," says Post Newspapers.

Call Sue Folks at the Society on 9438 1413 or 0411 880 199 or email her at convenor@rottnestsociety.org.au

In other news, we’re sure you’ll want to put The Rottnest Island Game on your birthday/Father’s Day/Foundation Day public holiday gift list.

It’s on a website called Board Game Geek: Rotto Bloggo isn’t sure how it works, but here’s the blurb:

“This is an educational game, endorsed by the Rottnest Island Authority and (heavily) sponsored by Agfa Film. It’s a standard Roll and Move game with a single path and a start and end. The first half of the path is by boat from the mainland to the island, the second half is by bike on the island itself. The main theme, not surprising given the sponsorship, is photographing wildlife.

“As usual with these sorts of games, various points along the path cause things to happen, mostly drawing a card of some sort. You win by getting a photograph of a quokka and getting to the end of the path. There are a group of six quokka photo squares, such that you can't possibly miss it on the way through.

“The main educational content of the game is a small brochure with (tourist) information about the island.”

Sounds good to us. The pics of the game look great. But how do you get a copy?

that Rottnest colour

More Sketchbook gold: the island's early buildings and their origin.

"Nowhere else in Australia, except in Tasmania, will you find such a complete surviving colonial settlement as Rottnest. Yes, with its long, yellow-ochre sea-wall and squat, blockhouse like cottages overshadowed by huge, dark Moreton Bay fig trees, it looks more like a Spanish military outpost than anything of Australian origin."

This is, say the Sketchbook, thanks to Henry Vincent, a "tough old soldier from Wellington's wars" who went from being Fremantle Prison jailer to Rotto in 1839.

"Apart from the Hostel - completed in 1881 by a contractor for a European Boys Reformatory - Vincent built all the crude, picturesque old cottages, walls, buttresses, and stairways that give Rottnest its unique character."

Vincent's workers were, of course, Aboriginal prisoners. In one of his monthly reports to Government House he said they were: "Getten stan and lime, Belden barn, garden, cotten fier wood and fishen."

Readers of another great Rotto book, 'All The News In A Flash', will recall author John Moynihan quoting an excerpt from a Vincent letter to the Colonial Secretary's Office:

"Sir, I am out of flour non to issue to solgers nor men I served out the last of my one stock this morning I light one fire Monde night Wensde two fires..."

"Vincent's spelling and punctuation left much to be desired," Moynihan noted.

Vera, Celia and a duck

More gold from the Sketchbook.

And a Flickr image to go with it.

“From a first glance at a modern map of Rottnest it would appear that the Nomenclature Committees of the past have been influenced by the Isle of Girls fable, for many island features bear girls’ names.

“We find Mabel Cove, Marjorie Bay, Lade Edeline Beach, Charlotte Beach, Catherine Beach, Joan Island, Henrietta Rocks, Vera Rocks, Nancy Cove, Mary Cove, Celia Rocks.”

You bet Celia rocks. The Sketchbook hypothethises Sir Gerald Strickland (WA Governor 1909-1913, who had an eventful life) started the trend as he had plenty of women around him: his wife Edeline and daughters Mabel, Mary, Cecilia and Henrietta (poor old Constance seems to have missed out on having something named after her).

Mind you, names change, appear and disappear. The map in the Sketchbook drawn by Riggers shows King Head between Mabel Cove and Eagle Bay, but it’s not on modern maps. Likewise with Point Clune, just west of Longreach and Fays Bay.

The superb image is from Flickr user Sonja Rainer…in which of Rotto’s “63 beaches and 20 bays” (RIA) are we?

more Rottnest sketching

Kirwan Ward isn’t a glosser-over: he covers the sad indigenous stories about Rottnest.

“…for much of its recorded history it has been associated with extremes of human misery,” he notes on page 19.

“…in fact, the only glimpse of happiness we have, from the days the Rottnest Native Prison was closed in 1904, are provided by Mr L G Timperley’s accounts of the corroborees that used to be held in the prison yard.”

Timperly: a real Rotto name. So Rotto that a cottage is named after it.

“Timperley was a boy at Rottnest when his father, the late W H Timperley, ISO, was Superintendent there from 1883-1890, and he has left one of the best and most literate desriptions of life on this grim, penal colony…”

There were corroborees. But “…the commoner early sounds were the dragging chains of the work gangs, the coughing of the chronically sick and, in the early days, of the lash lacerating a naked back.”

Rottnest Island Sketchbook

Tremendous excitement on the weekend: Rotto Bloggo received a copy of one of the great Rottnest books.

Rottnest Island Sketchbook is by Paul Rigby (drawings) and Kirwan Ward (words).

It’s art and literature of the highest standard. It's hard to know where to start. The book is full of gems, insight, fact and nostalgia.

“In the course of my researches for this book I was shown – through the good offices of Mr Lewis Jones, superintendent of mapping in the Lands and Surveys Department – what is probably the oldest existing land map of Rottnest.”

The good offices! No-one says that any more (the Sketchbook was published in 1969).

And how about this: “A logical progression of Rottnest development will be the establishment of new settlements. The one on top of the Board’s priority list is that which is at present referred to as the Geordie Bay plan but which, in fact, will probably be more in the region of Longreach.

“The plan here is for a small settlement, dependent in some ways on the main shopping area, but with its own general store, and possibly a Board officer to act as supervisor. The programme calls also for a similar village complex at Stark Bay and Parker Point.”

*Pic from page 54 of the Sketchbook: Riggers lights up the pipe after a safe landing on Rotto.

the attractive Rotto reserve

The language of bureaucrats is a thing to behold.

Witness this verbiage from the Rottnest Island Authority's 2005/06 annual report...it's on page 22, under the heading 'Indigenous Heritage':

"Aboriginal people refer to Rottnest Island as Wadjemup. This year the impacts of the post colonial Aboriginal prison era have been proactively addressed in a sustainable manner by the Authority. The Authority created a new position to engage with Aboriginal Community from across the State in dialogue to develop a Strategy to go forward with the desired outcomes of repair of the Burial Ground physically and spiritually and development of quality Aboriginal Cultural ecotourism product."

Impacts...proactively...engage...dialogue...the language is dying! George Orwell (who knew a thing or two about islands) is thinking 'I told you so'.

Rotto Bloggo thought of this annual report perissology after seeing a media release from the State Government last week.

'People who obstruct Rottnest Island rangers from doing their job or refuse to leave the island will face higher penalties under changes to the Rottnest Island Authority Act,' it said.

"People value Rottnest as a safe, relaxed holiday environment - it is essential we ensure the Rottnest ethos is maintained," said Tourism Minister Sheila McHale (love that word ethos, too).

Obstructing rangers or refusing instructions to leave Rotto means you can be slugged $10,000 instead of $1000.

But this also caught our eye in the release:

Ms McHale said another feature of the Bill was the creation of the Rottnest Island Wadjemup Conservation Reserve.

“The new reserve is intended to raise awareness of the value of the A-Class Rottnest Island reserve,” she said.

“The name Wadjemup means ‘land across the water’ and highlights the indigenous history of Rottnest, and seeks to increase the island’s attractiveness to visitors and tourism markets.”

We're not sure how the new reserve will increase attractiveness: it's already there.

What is the Rottnest Island Wadjemup ConservationReserve?

According to the Act:

(3) In subsection (2) —
“Rottnest Island Wadjemup Conservation Reserve”
means —
(a) that reserve —
20 (i) as shown on Deposited Plan 52582;
or
(ii) on a diagram or plan notified under
subsection (4)(a); or
(b) a part of the Island declared under
25 subsection (4)(b) to be the Rottnest Island Wadjemup Conservation Reserve;...

But where exactly is it?

This from the Act's explanatory memoranda:

'The creation of a new conservation park in the area west of the settlement requires an amendment to the definition of the Reserve. The Rottnest Island Wadjemup Conservation Reserve is created in recognition of this area’s status as an environmental ‘icon’. The creation of a new conservation reserve is intended highlight the value of the reserve. This will make the Island more attractive to potential tourism markets assisting the Island’s drive towards financial self-sufficiency.'

There's that more-attractive thing again. Call Rotto Bloggo gormless, but we're still not sure exactly where the new Reserve is, or why it's needed, or what it really means.

sky spectrum...

...or a path between earth and heaven?

More great Rottnest images courtesy of a Flickr member.

delcond has a lovely selection of Rotto photos: we love 'A Part of the Rainbow'.

It seems as though the pot of gold is somewhere on Parker Point Road.

"After thunder, lightning and rain we got this view when departing from the island," delcond says.

"It's just beautiful."

Rotto Bloggo went to Wikipedia to remind ourself exactly how rainbows work, and we read this: 'Rainbow fringes can sometimes be seen at the edges of backlit clouds and as vertical bands in distant rain or virga.'

(Virga, of course, being falling rain that evaporates before reaching the ground).

delcond has some other excellent photos, including several of intense rain on the island.

medical procedure off Rottnest

This footy story with a Rotto mention caught our eye on the weekend.

Western Bulldog Ryan Hargrave told Adelaide Now a story about pulling staples out of his stomach using scissors while on a boat.

"It is cringeworthy and slightly mad but, in a way, it sums up the under-rated Western Bulldogs defender," AN said. "If you want to talk about toughness and defying the pain barrier, Hargrave is your man."

"I was having a few beers with mates just a couple of weeks after the operation and we were on a boat heading to Rottnest Island," Hargrave says.

"I had staples in my stomach and when I started to get sea-sick the staples were rubbing, so I got some scissors and took them out."

"The operation he was talking about was major surgery to remove an abscess the size of an orange from his bowel and have half-a-litre of puss drained from his abdomen", said AN.

(Rotto Bloggo is sure they mean pus).

Ryan Hargrave has played 102 games, kicked 26 goals, and been suspended by the tribunal for a total of six weeks.

Rottnest secrets

The admirable Subiaco Post has a front-page story today that mentions Rotto.

The main gist of the yarn is something about HMAS Sydney.

The protagonist, 86-year-old Julius Ingvarson, was a 20-year-old signalman in Fremantle in November, 1941.

“At that time he worked office hours, nine to five on weekdays, but all that changed after the Pearl Harbour attack on December 7,” the Post reports.

“He worked a straight 30-hour shift, and it was another long shift that saw him kicked out of signals after he fell asleep.

“He was later made a courier for top-secret documents between Fremantle and Rottnest Island, travelling on the ferry Zephyr.

“He recalls the Zephyr being held up in autumn 1942 by the anti-submarine boom between the North and South moles, and seeing a navy corvette dropping exploding depth charges several miles south-west of the harbour mouth.

"I was sizing up the distance I would have to swim if something happened to the ferry," he told the Post.

Secrets being couriered between Freo and Rotto! And on the Zephyr, no less.

There’s a picture of the Zephyr on page 140 of ‘All The News In A Flash’ (which is, as any fule kno, the second-best book about Rotto).

The pic shows a very small jetty, the Zephyr beside it, and passengers strolling to Rottnest Board of Control charabancs.

(The pic at the top of this post can be found in the island’s movie hall).

The vessel gets a few mentions in ATNIAF: one is it transporting techies to the island when the first PMG phone exchange was opened on 1 April 1936.

'Rottnest Morning - 53 x 82'

More Flickr fun about Rotto.

Seascape artist Julie Silvester has some Rottnest images here.

We especially liked ‘Rottnest Morning – 53 x 82’.

“I have been painting in watercolours since I was 30 and in 1999 changed to pastels due to their vibrancy, immediacy and the fact there was no drying time,” Julie says on her website.

‘Coastal Invite’ looks like Parakeet Bay.

A nice present for Mother’s Day.

Society speaks

The Rottnest Society has had a look at Rotto Bloggo's posts about FOR and emailed us.

"At this point we do not know a great deal about what they are planning to do except fundraising," says the Society's Sue Folks.

"We see this as a good thing, as Rottnest has been unable to access various grant funding because of the way it is constituted, so it would be very helpful to have funds raised for dedicated purposes in the area of environment and heritage works.

"However, as you have pointed out it is not clear how independent in its thinking this organisation will be from the RIA - although it is a separate organisation.

"The Society is also urging the Premier and the Opposition to commit to Community Service Obligations (CSO's) particularly to fund on a regular ongoing basis environmental and heritage conservation and maintenance, as well as a component of the cost of utilities. We believe that this is important for this 'A' Class Reserve if we are to ensure that it does not succumb to unsuitable development."

The Society does NOT oppose all development on Rottnest - "as anyone could discover by reading our website," Sue says.

"Indeed we kept an open mind about the Mt Herschel development until the concept plans were released by the Minister in January. Close inspection led us to believe that this would be a totally inappropriate development for Rottnest."

"We also discovered that the RIA had not done anything about amending the Rottnest Island Management Plan (RIMP) in several places (as they are required to do under the Act) to pave the way for such a development - which is why the RIA subsequently proposed a number of amendments to the RIMP (public comment closed 23rd April).

"We raised many valid questions about the development with the Minister, the Premier and the RIA - none of which have been satisfactorily answered to date. We therefore did encourage people to object to the proposed changes to the RIMP - and this is being interpreted in some quarters as opposition to all development, which it isn't."

The Society would be happy with some extra accommodation which catered for some of those Western Australian people who can't get accommodation in summe. It sees there's some call for "suitable accommodation" for singles and couples.

"We do not believe that Rottnest is the place for 'high-end' expensive accommodation with spa baths, swimming pools etc. We also believe that there are many, many people in the general population who care deeply about Rottnest and its future, many of whom do not want any development of any kind."

which way is the right way?

Let’s have a tiny bit of time-out from discussion over the demogorgon that might be FOR.

The latest nifty image plucked from Flickr (don’t say that too quickly) is a nice black and white shot of a sign on the beautiful island.

We can’t decide if the location is the end of Bovell Way, near the narrowest past of Rotto, or near the lighthouse in the middle, where Parker Point Road begins.

Flickr user ali3n_oz has nearly 50 Rottnest pics: also worth seeing are ‘no man’s land’, ‘Black&white visions’ and ‘Dead trees cemetery’.

Check out all his pics here.

Enjoy – and we’ll be back tomorrow with a RS comment.

clearer soup

Some progress made from where we left off yesterday...

Pat Barblett says she's been trying to get the FOR off the ground for a while.

She reiterated what it said in the Post: FOR is an offshoot of RIF, which was set up to raise money for environmental and cultural heritage.

"The RIA can't access Lotteries money or Federal funding, but we can," says Pat.

"Five hundred thousand people go to Rottnest every year: if 1000 of those pay $30 a year, we'd be laughing."

The FOR want to be like the successful Friends want to be like their counterparts at New Norcia.

What about RIA people being in FOR?

FOR is "absolutely quite separate", says Pat.

Pat says Janet Holmes a Court is the head friend, and Frits Steenhauer is her partner.

Yes, she was an RIA chairwoman, but only from 1991-1993.

Laurie O'Meara was just launching the FOR.

Lloyd Smith is chair of the RIF.

Yes, the Friends support the new hotel: the Rottnest Society don't.

"They just want no development on Rottnest and that just can't be," says Pat.

"We need another level of accommodation."

It's all about money for Rotto: "Think of a triangle," says Pat.

"At the top you've got big corporate donors, and at the base you've got mums and dads.

"The RIF has 50 paying members who pay $50 a year, but we want Friends to pay $30 a year."

Pat agreed there are a lot of organisations to do with Rotto: there're also the Winnits, the boaties..."there's a diverse group of people who think they know how to run Rottnest."

who's who in the Rotto zoo

The alphabet soup that is groups associated with Rotto just got thicker.

We had the Rottnest Island Authority (RIA), the Rottnest Island Foundation (RIF), the Rottnest Society (RS)…and now we have the The Friends of Rottnest (TFOR).

The RIA runs Rotto. The RIF is a bit mysterious but according to something on the RIA site, it’s “a voluntary organisation established to raise funds to to enable future generations to enjoy an unspoiled Rottnest Island experience”.

The RS is acting up about the Mt Herschel hotel development.

TFOR, according to an article in The Post yesterday, “supported the proposed hotel development at Mt Herschel and hoped people who stayed there would become members”.

Fair enough. Some people like the idea of the new hotel, and some don’t.

It’s who’s in TFOR which is curious. In a Post photo were Frits Steenhauer, Lloyd Smith, Pat Barblett and Laurie O’Meara.

Laurie is the chairman of the RIA.

Frits is listed in the RIA’s 2002-03 annual report as a ‘community representative’ on the Rottnest Island Marine Issues Advisory Committee.

Lloyd is a member of the Rottnest Island Interpretation Facility Stakeholder Group and was chairman of the RIF in 2004.

Pat is the chairwoman of FACET, or Forum Advocating Cultural & Ecotourism. She was on the RIA for 15 years, with three of those as chairwoman. FOR’s phone number is the same as FACET’s, in fact, and FACET grew out of a 1991 cultural event hosted by the RIA.

So…

FOR thinks the flash new hotel is a good thing.

FOR seems to have people in common with the RIA.

Is it reasonable to believe the RIA likes the proposed Mt Herschel hotel as well?

Maybe there’s nothing wrong with the RIA giving the stamp of approval to the development.

But why not just say so, instead of going through the palaver of setting up another Rottnest organisation?

We called the only P.Barblett and Steenhauer in the White Pages, but no answer. We left messages for the RS’s Sue Folks, too. We’ll try again tomorrow.

FOCUS on Rottnest?

We’re going to be overrun by travel agents later this year, and Rotto Bloggo is doing our bit to make sure the beautiful island makes the most of it.

About a thousand of “Australia's top travel agents and others involved in the industry” will be here in October, Tourism Minister Sheila McHale said earlier this week.

Travelscene American Express would hold its FOCUS 2007 conference at the hayshed.

But will they be making their way down the river?

“Apart from an expected direct economic impact of more than $3million, the State will benefit indirectly through the opportunity to show off to these key tourism vendors,” the Minister mused.

We hope so, and bugger the south-west or Wave Rock or the Bungle Bungles: what are authorities going to do about promoting Rottnest to these elite agents?

“The FOCUS 2007 conference will give delegates a 'true taste' of everything Western Australian," Travelscene general manager Leith Mills said in the Minister’s media release.

Everything includes Rottnest, so we look forward to seeing a Travelscene delegation landing in Thomson’s Bay.

Rotto Bloggo has written to Ms Mills at Travelscene just to make sure.

man overboard

Bad news from/near the beautiful island: efforts have resumed today to find a man who jumped off a ferry returning from Rotto.

From The West online: “The man, believed to be a 39-year-old Perth resident, fell from the ferry Star Flyte while returning to Fremantle from Rottnest Island, about 4.20pm (AWST), a WA Police spokeswoman said.

(This morning’s West says passengers were sure the man jumped.)

Two helicopters searched for the man without success – he went into the water about 4km west of North Mole.

"I believe we have recovered some clothing from the water but as yet we have not recovered the man," the West quoted a policeman as saying.

Fingers crossed.Not the first time the Star Flyte has been involved in drama: it helped save someone last October, as posted on Rotto Bloggo (see 'Rotto ferry saves man').

Shades of Blue

The days are getting greyer in Perth…the temperature drops…time to take an umbrella with you wherever you go.

Except Rottnest, of course.

The latest Flickr photo to appear on Rotto Bloggo is from Snoosan.

‘Shades of Blue’ was taken but a few days ago, at Parker Point.

Doesn’t it make you yearn for the beautiful island?

As a visitor to Snoosan’s page commented: “How gorgeous. Who needs Greece?”

Exactly.

"serene, one idyllic place!"

Mia was very impressed with Rottnest.

Rotto Bloggo is no linguist, but we think Mia is Swedish*: at her blog she records her impressions about Rottnest.

In fact, we're such a poor linguist we needed to run Mia's post through translation-guide.com to see the Scandinavian assessment.

Fortunately, thw weather was good for her trip: "We had luck with ventilate , it was warmly and clear sky."

About quokkas, the translator says Mia says: "These creature had become almighty rare because kattdjur and rips as am chasing them."

It was all good, in fact: handsome snorkelställen, good surfställen - Rotto is a handsome place.

Here's the translated post in full.

*No chef jokes, please.

Ah yeah! It was really been one attend! Wes was paying 46 dollar for luck - return with ferry as taken approx 30 minutes and 23 dollar for that rent a cycle for heal day , but it was giant ruse!

On rottnest Iceland liver creature as am heating Quokka. These creature had become almighty rare because kattdjur and rips as am chasing them. They liver yet vilt still on Rottnest Iceland and Canopy Iceland and on these öar find inga kattdjur ors rips. They is giant söta!:) That travel to Rottnest is few as that travel til Sveaborg but ön is very major and vackrare! We had luck with ventilate , it was warmly and clear sky , disadvantage with the each ju understand that self brände me. Husband lär themselves never ;)

Alas have I inga pictures for the occasion that set up for oneself typically enough forgot self ju mine camera housewife. But the French fellow as self åkte there with had a camera so self bark poll pictures soon and then am laying self up them! If ferry there nots should cost so very should self definitely travel there anew! Only for that take the serene, one idyllic place! Folk hyr sommarstugor there so the find settlement also and cafe and a matbutik. The find also one hotel and any kind backpackers. If yous sometime encounter be at ways ate this way bark yous absolute take a swing to that isle. Handsome snorkelställen and had husband dividend license so able husband travel out with a boat out ön and dive. Moreover find the any really good surfställen there also! Self is colour slide surprise over how much handsome place the really find in this town the world! incredible:)

Am desiring yourself all there housewife a jolly eligible and first may! Herself lär self nots celebrate the desto more here :)

Sunny!

As West Australians know, one of the joys of Rottnest is it’s usually a degree or two warmer than the mainland.

For example, it’s 19.8 on Rotto right now, but only 17.3 in Perth.

This delightful photo was taken on March 30 – clearly it was agreeably temperate on Rotto that day.

‘Jac on Rottnest’ is on Flickr – see it here.

Flickr user augustinesoong has some other lovely Rottnest images, including sunbathing at one of Rotto’s many incomparable beaches/bays.

It's raining now, but it's always sunny on Rotto...

"squalidness"

A Rotto Bloggo reader has drawn our attention to another great post on local blog fremantlebiz.

(We look at the blog’s rant on allegedly overpriced and disappointing cream buns from the bakery earlier this week).

This time Paul has reproduced a letter he wrote to the Rottnest Island Authority in 1990, after a 10-day family stay in a Rotto bungalow.

“This letter is not written in anger, but of concern for improvement, and I appreciate that yours is not an easy task,” Paul begins, very diplomatically.

Then: advice on signs, “squalidness”, the general store, rubbish, a dead quokka in a pond, plastic bags, blocked toilets, fire safety, “urban cancer”, loud music on Friday and Saturday nights, stolen bikes, vomit…Paul’s bungalow was “adequate”, though.

There was no reply to Paul’s 1627-word missive.

If only we all wrote such letters when we were disappointed by shoddy service or standards.

high Rottnest standard

Rotto Bloggo is keenly interested in anything vexillological, so we were delighted by a lovely story in The West yesterday, Anzac Day.

In World War 2 lots of blokes from the 2/28th Australian Infantry Battalion signed a Union Jack.

“Someone got hold of a flag…and in the weeks which saw 1941 turn into 1942, it collected the signatures and addresses of more than 150 soldiers and some civilians, though some are indecipherable,” The West reported.

"Most are West Australians, some from country towns like Gnowangerup and New Norcia. But there are also Polish, Canadian, American, British, New Zealand and South African soldiers. And six Palestinians, too. Some, like Lawrence Arnold, became prisoners-of-war, and others, William Young, James Allen, Shamus Maunsell and John Huxley Oxton among them, were killed.”

The Rottnest angle?

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.

Wilkes was discharged in 1942 as a Lance Sergeant.

Story link above, and see here for more images of the flag.

Remora off Rottnest

Remora off Rottnest

No, not the elongated brown fish, aka sharksuckers, that grow up to three feet long.

The Navy’s one and only submarine rescue vessel has been retrieved from the ocean floor near Rotto and is now at HMAS Stirling.

The Remora has been in 140 metres of water since December.

Two people were trapped beneath the waves when a cable snapped.

The Remora is going back to the people in Canada who made it for a makeover.

cream scream

We enjoyed this rant (link above) about the price and quality of the cream buns at the Rottnest bakery.

After recalling halcyon days on Rotto and the early morning aromas from the bakery, Paul notes the "functional gleaming glass and chrome" of the new premises.

He takes his three kids to the bakery and orders cream buns: "They were one of the great Rottnest treats I remembered from the past."

How much? $18.

And in Paul's opinion, not money well spent.

"They were icy cold and doughy. Like some sort of a concoction from Mawson Base. There was a blob of red jam and a light dusting of icing sugar on the tops, but these trimmings did nothing to enhance the taste or texture."

However, not as many people share his outrage as expected.

"...they didn't give a rat's arse either...they looked at me as if I was some kind of Martian. It seems I am the only one who thinks they were expensive."

wikirotto

Noodling with Google over the weekend, Rotto Bloggo stumbled across Wikitravel.

It looks like Wikipedia!* It smells like Wikipedia! But in fact it's a privately-owned site.

As you can see, there's a bit to go before the Rotto entry is complete.

It's easy to make fun of others' spelling and grammar mistakes, but we did like the mention of "wartime reminants", and "Wildlife, that is, the thousands of quokkas which populate the island (especially at night)."

And let's not forget the "convenient stores" that sell booze.

Will you be working on Rotto's Wikitravel entry?

* Jimmy Wales is in Perth tomorrow.

making waves

Here's an interesting Rotto resource: 'Near Real-time Wave Data'.

The page (link above) shows sea and swell direction and extent.

Scroll a bit further down and you can see it got a bit choppy around midnight on Friday.

And what is 'significant wave height'?

"The significant wave height is the average height of the highest one third of waves recorded. It is often the wave height reported by an experienced observer."

Our tax dollars at work.

have your say?

Not long to go before public comment about the Management Plan closes, according to the Rottnest Society.

No doubt: the Society is as cross as a frog in a sock about the Mt Herschel hotel.

"...we understand that a hotel could not legally be built on the Mt Herschel site without amending the Rottnest Island Management Plan (RIMP) in several places, the Rotto Soc says.

"Obviously if enough people submitted comment opposing these amendments it would not be possible for the project to go ahead."

The Society says comment closes on Monday.

They're not all doom and gloom: they're supporting the new Dome site.

stubbed out

Have a look at this magnificent birthday present given to Rotto Bloggo.

It's a superb ashtray from yesteryear, showing a Thomson Bay scene from days past.

Fortunately, this gift will be as unspoilt as the bucolic spot it portrays, as we've given up smoking.

An associate of Rotto Bloggo, when standing on Armstrong Point in the bracing winter breeze, is fond of remarking: "This is the cleanest air in the world".

(The theory being that it's travelled all the way from Africa and been refreshed for thousands of miles by nothing but sea spray).

We look forward to our first smoke-free stay on Rotto.

Rotto snaps

A pic of some pics: these are photos taken recently by a young gel on the beautiful island.

Quokkas, Thomson Bay units, the beach.

What could be nicer?

The only thing missing is Scrabble and fishing.

Rotto Bloggo believes kingfish and dolphinfish are biting off Rotto lately.

'beach break'

A reasonable piece of writing in The Weekend Australian Magazine: Susan Maushart on "Rottnest Island, 19 Pellegrino-perfect kilometres of Indian Ocean due west of my kitchen sink..."

She mentions the dugites, the Aboriginal history, the ballot, and how a crate is usually devoted to the transport of booze.

This is good, about the quest for a booking: "...I am a master of the cancellation booking, for which one must trawl tirelessly all summer long, like a retiree with a metal detector".

It's all good on Rotto. But you have to be careful: did you see that West story a few weeks ago, about a 29-year-old Heathridge man charged with stealing passengers' bags from North Freo?

"A search of the area located the alleged offender hiding between vehicles in the North Mole terminus car park and he was detained with the help of the public," The West said.

"As the officers tried to arrest the man he allegedly became aggressive and refused to follow their directions and police were required to use pepper spray to handcuff him."

no swim

If everything had gone to plan, there'd still be knackered people staggering up the beach at Rotto right now.

Alas the Rottnest Channel Swim was cancelled and didn't happen today.

Perth Now says there could be a "surprise lifeline", though: the swim could be held on March 17.

'Rottnest Channel Swim Association president Shelley Hatton said she had not discussed an offer by Freo to Rotto Big Splash race organiser John Guilfoyle to hand over that date to the channel swim.'

At http://www.rottnestchannelswim.com.au/ there was no more on that, but there were posts debating the merit of the cancellation.

"I can't believe what a chickenshit society we have become", gottabejoking howled.

He was in turn howled down, with this being a reasonable response: "I was to be a paddler and if the race had started I would probably have been spewing up by now and I would have been watching many other support crews in boats doing likewise".

memories

An associate reminisced to Rotto Bloggo today about his happy days on the island.

"I long to soak in Little Parakeet Bay, nibble a cream bun and doze on my stretcher bed reading books and listening to the wind in the pine trees," he said, after we told him we were angling to book for seven days anytime during the next few weeks.

"I used to sleep on the verandah of bungalow 5, which we rented for two weeks every year for the first 14 years of my life, and could look through the open slats and hear the hiss of bike tyres long into the night.

"A few memories that I'm sure you'll share - grey RIB* supplied blankets, wire fronted bread safes in the kitchen, rigging up illegal showers in the back courtyard, getting caught in the pay showers mid-lather, constantly stubbed toes, endless card games at night, House of the Rising Sun and Rock 'n' Roll all Nite on the Milk Bar juke box, pub pong at the Quokka Arms, foam blowing across the road from the salt baths and the wind in the powerlines... ahhhh, what a place.

"As far as Maccas** goes, I'd hate to think it would ever happen - the RR*** outlet has changed the face of retail in the main square - I used to think the general store was a magical place.

"I'm so anti-change I'd be mortified even if they fixed up the lumpy road that runs along Thomson Bay!"

* Rottnest Island Board
** MacDonalds
*** Red Rooster

going, going...

There was an ad for Rotto in The West Australian yesterday.

It reminded Rotto Bloggo of a recent excellent article in The Sunday Times' outstanding supplement Prestige Property.

The article looked at rising sea levels, and how premium property in WA will be affected...

Mr Rosser says if everything goes as expected, there will be a one-metre rise in sea levels by 2100.

A one-metre rise means islands off WA will be affected, as will our coast.

“Rottnest? We’re losing it now,” Mr Rosser said.

“But even with a six-metre rise, when Greenland goes, there will still be bits of it left. I don’t know about the bakery, but the quokkas will be huddled together in the centre of the island.”

(Matthew Rosser is from the WA Sustainable Energy Association).

Substitute quokkas for the seagull in the ad and you've got a good idea of what we can expect in 93 years time...

on the (bacterial) beach

The admirable Post Newspapers has a story today about Rotto beaches getting the health tick.

"Local river spots and beaches have been given the thumbs-up for summer following the first comprehensive survey of bacterial levels in Perth waterways," the Post reports.

The Dep't of Health's Environmental Health Directorate surveyed 11 Rotto beaches (and 34 on the coast, but who cares about those?).

"At Rottnest, the concentration of organisms in the water was consistently less than 10 per 100ml," says the Post.

"But one sample taken in Geordie Bay on April 25 last year was 2100 per 100ml."

Yuk. The Dep't said it was because of school holidays...but no conclusive link between boats and high bacterial presence had been found".

Of course not! It's just a coincidence!

"Samples also indicate regular changes in bacteria levels at Thomson Bay, the Thomson bay jetty, Parker Point and the hotel jetty and fule jetty areas," the Post posted.

Have a squizz at the report (long columns of numbers) at the above link.

Rottnest rumpus

We've been scanning the MSM (mainstream media) today for news about a court appearance, but no joy so far.

A 13-year-old Claremont boy was due to be in Fremantle Childrens' Court , charged with GBH.

The Thin Blue Line had these details in a media release on their site:

"A dispute between two schoolboys that started on the internet and developed into a fight at
Rottnest on 6 December 2006 has resulted in police charging one of the teenagers with assault.

"Fremantle Detectives in charge of the case say the two 13 year olds were holidaying on the
island when the Claremont boy and a large group of students approached the Fremantle boy
outside his chalet.

"The offender allegedly grabbed the other boy in a bear hug, pulled him over his shoulders and
spear-tackled him head first into the concrete floor.

"The victim lay unconscious and was taken to the Rottnest Nursing Post for treatment and the
next day admitted to the Princess Margaret Hospital Perth with life threatening bleeding on the
brain.

"He underwent successful surgery and is expected to make a full recovery."

Which chalet? What was the Internet dispute about? I guess we could've gone to Freo and sat in court, but Rotto Bloggo was busy in Perth and Mount Lawley all day.

mooning

Yet another fabulous Flickr photo of the magnificent island.

This is by LozzaWA, and was taken at nine in the evening, six days ago.

"Full moon rising after a lovely balmy day at Rotto," Lozza says.

"We went for the day to snorkel and decided to stay overnight. Magic day, took my partner who hadn't been to Rotto before (he's from South Africa) and had some special swims at Cape York bay and of course the Basin, the jewel of Rotto."

Quite right. There's nothing like chasing fish underwater at the Basin. They nearly let you catch them.

Another fabbo Flickr photo coming soon.

“doesn’t get much better than this”

That’s the caption above this Flickr photo.

Flickr user and local blogger manthatcooks (a.k.a. Anthony) was in Stark Bay on Australia Day weekend and snapped this beauty.

“It’s like a scene from a Rick Stein tv show” someone commented on Flickr.

Except Mr Stein has never (to our knowledge) been to Rotto.

Inspired by manthatcooks’ good-looking grilling?

Recipe here: www.manthatcooks.com/2007/02/in-which-we-enjoy-recently-caught.html

more sea strife

Another Rotto rescue: four blokes motored out in Thomson Bay at around 1am this morning.

Their motor went kaput, the dinghy drifted towards the deep, so two of them sawm back to Rotto.

"The police helicopter was called in to search for the missing men using its infra-red camera and eventually found the pair on Phillip Rock, at the east end of Thompson Bay", ABC Online reports (and, as usual, spells Thomson with a p).

"Police say the men were tired and apparently suffering exposure but otherwise okay", Aunty concludes.

"save Rotto"

Wonder how many people were at the Swan Yacht Club today?

It was stinking hot, but the Rottnest Society planned to have a Rally for Rottnest at the Club at 4pm.

We'll drop them an email to find out how they did.

Man In Suit Laurie O'Meara (RIA chairman) said he's be there.

The Post quoted the Society's Sue Folks thus today: "Key questions like the length and terms of the lease agreement with developers Broadwater Hotels have not been answered".

Our pic today is of a photo in the Rotto film shed: it shows more Men In Suits (an early Rottnest Island Board, which was created in 1917) meeting on the island.

They knew how to wear hats in those days.

moody jetty

A lovely photo from Flickr user Dean Bradshaw.

He was practicing with his new cable release: this photo is a two-minute exposure.

He has some other good Rotto photos too - see link above.

Is Senator Ian Campbell taking photos of the jetty? He spoke to The Australian this week from Rotto, after being demoted from Environment to Human Services.

If you're going to be demoted, Rottnest is the perfect place to hear the news.

congrats

Rotto Bloggo salutes Sascha Baron Cohen, who's won a Golden Globe.

'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan' is unquestionably the finest film to be screened on Rotto.

"I was faced with a choice — death or to breathe in the air that had been trapped in a small pocket between his buttocks for 30 years," Cohen remarked about that wrestling scene.

No doubt about it: Rotto is a place for winners.

Rotto in the headlines

What a huge week it’s been for Rotto news.

Details on the new development on Mt Herschel, news on the demolition of Dome and its new location, and even a new manager for the pub.

It was all topped off by a marvelous Alston cartoon on the weekend.

Readers of this blog have been exhorting Rotto Bloggo for our views on these matters of import.

* The new development: if we were in charge of Rotto we wouldn’t do it, but from what we know so far it seems OK.
* Dome: good news – it needs more room.
* Alston: a cartooning treasure.

As The West reported, the 4.5-star hotel will cost $50 million and have 120 rooms – some of which will cost $300 per night.

Shock horror! A premium view Geordie Bay cottage goes for around $240 a night in summer…but of course it sleeps six people.

(With that being $40 per person, is Rotto really an expensive holiday? We think not).

“Construction of the hotel is set to begin mid-year and the proponents are hoping to begin operation in the summer of 2008-09,” according to The West.

One of the Broadwater images in The West showed a nice bath. Why would you want to have a bath on Rotto?

We were wondering: with the extra 350 people and the 65 staff the Broadwater place means, will Rotto’s water resources be stretched?

Will these extra people spoil the ambiance of the gorgeous island? We can’t see it happening. Even in high summer, at times Rotto seems deserted. What’s a few more?

(We’ve searched for images of the Broadwater development, but have failed miserably. We’ve emailed the company asking for pics).

It would be nice to have a good squizz at the plans…the Rottnest Society says: “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”.

The Dome building…we see the people in charge of Rotto, the Rottnest Island Authority, have to pay to have the old site demolished.

Cast your minds back to 2005, in Parliament…
“836. Hon NORMAN MOORE to the minister representing the Minister for Tourism: What will be the cost of…the demolition of the existing building?
Hon LJILJANNA RAVLICH replied: The Rottnest Island Authority will be responsible for the demolition of the existing building. This work will be subject to a tender process.”

At least we have a pic of the Dome building to show you. But keep in mind it’s an early draft – this could change, says Dome.

We were brunching at Dome on Jan 30, and someone at our table marveled at the packed crowd and suggested it was a licence to print money.

Keep in mind they’re open in winter, too. At times Rotto Bloggo has been the only punter in the place.

'Hard and fast with the Wild Bunch'

The hardy souls that do the Rotto swim are on a par with participants in the Marathon des Sables, the Yukon Arctic Ultra race and the La Ruta de los Conquistadores.

(That last one, as any fule kno, is an epic mountain bike race held in November in the jungles of Costa Rica.)

The Ruta is "widely acknowledged as one of the most brutal in the world", says a story in the Belfast Telegraph.

"In the modern era, finding a true off-the-beaten-track adventure can be difficult," the BT says.

"Comparing the relative dangers of proposed expeditions is the adventurer's equivalent of comparing City bonuses; bigger is better and sheer bravado is best. The less likely you are to return from distant shores with all your limbs, the greater the credibility of the challenge ahead. Should you wish to enhance your reputation beyond measure, best not to return at all."

And from Cottesloe, Rotto is a distant shore. The BT talks about the adventure of swimming the English Channel, and then segues to our own local event...

"Although only half as wide as its English counterpart, the Rottnest Channel is an ocean swim that presents a rather different set of challenges. The 19.2km stretch of water separates Rottnest Island from Perth, in Western Australia. Like the English Channel, it can get bloody cold; unlike the English Channel, it is patrol-led by Great White Sharks. At least one swimmer has been killed in the area.

"The first person to swim it was Gerd von Dincklage-Schulenburg in 1956. He completed the swim in 9hr 45min, and his feat caught the imagination of a local newspaper editor. Later that year the first race was held, won, appropriately enough, by a Mr Seaborn.

"Known to aficionados as "the Rotto", the modern race attracts around 2,500 entries (places for 2007 are still available), the first wave of which sets off from Perth's Cottesloe beach at dawn.

"Once at sea, competitors swim either solo or in teams, and must contend with notorious rip currents plus, in between the sharks, squadrons of stingrays. Almost as dangerous as the marine life are the support boats. With each entry requiring a designated pilot vessel, swimmers must pick their way through a huge flotilla of craft.

"The effect, some swimmers report, is like participating in the Normandy landings having swum there in the first place."

news in brief

A spurt of Rotto news in The West Australian: toilets and fish in Inside Cover, and fears tentland is on Aboriginal graves.

Fish: a bloke is selling fish from his boat at the refueling jetty in Thomson on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 10am and noon.

(Rotto Bloggo thinks: why not catch your own fish?)

Toilets: a Parker Point pissoir has had its solar panel pilfered. The authorities are trucking water to the toilet to keep it going.

Graves: the tent area “...WA’s favourite camping ground, will close for up to six months from May and may be moved next summer after revelations that it could sit partially on a traditional Aboriginal burial ground”, says the West.

Toilets pictured are not the solar-powered variety.

New Year on Rotto

We’re back from four fabulous days on Rotto.

Two of them were New Year’s Eve and the next day.

NYE was marvelous. The balcony of our premium view Geordie Bay bunker was already decorated with tinsel and baubles when we arrived.

In the morning we stuffed our faces at the bakery and then snorkeled and swum at the Basin.

Later the first sparkling of the day: refreshing after chasing fish underwater and never catching them.

But no beach drinking: a big no-no. We know this because from our balcony we saw two rent-a-cops amble onto the beach. The obese one had a chocolate bar in one hand and a packet of chips in the other. They saw a woman in her 40s drinking something out of a stubbie, charged over to her and had words.

When the woman poured her beverage onto the sand we booed the fat rent-a-cop loudly from the balcony. The woman’s behaviour was in sharp contrast to a friend of Rotto Bloggo’s, who was in Caroline Thomson and had to be next door to young hoons, whose drinking and fighting was only briefly interrupted by one of them being arrested and hauled off by the real cops.

Anyway…much more champagne was drunk, and we welcomed in 2007 with party poppers, blowing bubbles and paper bugles.

A top night and a great way to start a new year: on Rotto.