rottnest romance #3

The next episode of this thrilling saga: Larissa's still worried about her bush, but she has met the evil developer and his underling at the ferry...it's time to get REAL...

He must have realised she wasn’t sharing his delight. “Is something the matter?”

In her turmoil she had a sudden desire to tell him about REAL and their determination to stop the development. Should she try and obstruct him right here and now? It would give her keen pleasure, letting him know what she and her friends thought of his plans – and how they would fight them every step of the way.

But the moment passed, and her instincts told her she should be more subtle than that. She wouldn’t let her feelings about Nicholas Montagu cloud her judgment over such a vital matter. No, she would deal with it coldly and analytically.

“It’s nothing,” she said lightly, and looked away. “The Lodge is just around the corner – let’s go.”

In a few moments they reached the front entrance of the hotel. They stood in silence until Ashleigh caught up with them. Larissa was hoping she wouldn’t have to shepherd them through check-in: she wanted some solitude to digest what she had learned.

Nick took Ashleigh gently by the elbow. “How are you feeling now?”

“I feel awful after that crossing,” she said. “And there’s a ladder in my stocking. We really must fly back when we leave this backwater, Nick.”

He smiled. “As soon as you’ve checked in, lay down for a while. I’ll be busy for the next hour or two, anyway.”

Ashleigh turned and made her way into the Lodge. Larissa noted there was no acknowledgement of Nick’s support, or thanks to her for meeting and greeting them.

“Could you wait a moment, please?” Nick said to her. He followed Ashleigh into the hotel, deposited his briefcase by the front desk and came back outside.

“Now that’s done, I’d like to see where you live, Larissa.”

She felt her mouth drop open. “What? I beg your pardon?”

“It’s only a couple of minutes away, isn’t it? It won’t take long.”

“Why…why do you want to see my cottage?”

“For research purposes. I am a builder, after all.”

“Well…no. I just don’t let anyone into my home.”

“Please. It would be helpful to me.”

“No, Mr Montagu, and that’s my final…”

“Your sister Marjorie thought it would be no problem,” he said smoothly. “When I spoke to her earlier this morning she said you’d be glad to have the chance to show off your lovely cottage.”

Larissa had to suppress a scowl at hearing her sister’s name. “She had no right to say that! It’s my home, and only I can decide who goes through the front door.”

He gave her a quizzical look. “I thought the cottage belonged to your company?”

“Well…yes it does. How do you know that?”

“Marjorie told me.”

Larissa was starting to feel somewhat disturbed about the amount of knowledge he seemed to possess about her. Marjorie had obviously freely given away personal information to this virtual stranger about her own sister.

“Did she? Well, even so, she has no right to give someone permission to browse through my home as though it’s a museum…hey, where are you going?”

Reutered

Rotto Bloggo is set to enjoy a tidal wave of publicity: we've been asked to appear in the Rottnest Islander, which is 'your essential guide to WA's holiday island'.

There's no URL, but the RI is published we think quarterly. If we remember rightly the first issue was spring last year.

We assume the Rottnest Island Authority pay for it - which is why we were a tad surprised to be invited to write about Rotto Bloggo. We're not always 100 per cent fulsome about the RIA. The island itself - no worries there.

We'll whip something together and send it off by COB tomorrow. It will be, we promise, superior to this account which was recently on Reuters (which Rotto Bloggo naturally pronounced as 'Rooters' when he was a teenager, much to his vast amusement).

Reuters' angle is how to spend 48 hours in Perth: "Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors get the most from a short visit".

It's commendable they urge you to visit the beautiful island, but their schedule would be a stretch. On Saturday you're supposed to job 9.5km through the city, then have an 8am Dome coffee somewhere on the (bleak windswept) Terrace - and then be at Hillarys at 9 for the ferry to Rotto.

"Its coral reefs make for fantastic diving and snorkeling; hidden bays and deserted cycle paths wait to be explored. The small marsupial quokka -- a bit like a small kangaroo -- only exists on this island and in some parts they have become very tame," opines Reuters (never mind about those quokkas down south).

But then at 1pm you're back on the mainland, pigging out somewhere in Cottesloe! Would you really spend only two or so hours on the beautiful island?

(Larissa certainly spends a lot more time there - next gripping 500 words tomorrow...)

rottnest romance #2

The next 500-word instalment of Rottnest Romance...hunky Nick and irritable Ashleigh have arrived on Rotto after a delightful ferry trip...our heroine Larissa has met them on the jetty...speed limit for this narrative is five knots...

“God, what a horrible trip that was,” Ashleigh grimaced. “All that rocking back and forth, and all those kids running up and down. Will we fly back, Nick?” she asked, giving her employer a beseeching look.

It was Nicholas Montagu’s turn to be unprepared. He had been gazing at Larissa, studying her light blue eyes, honey blonde hair and golden tan. The sparkle of sunlight off the water picked up the highlights in her hair, which was swept back in a ponytail. She had a fresh and crisp scent and seemed so casual and relaxed in her jeans and white linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

He suddenly realised he’d been asked a question, and groped for an answer.

“Oh, yes, of course. We’ll see.”

Ashleigh didn’t seem satisfied. “Let’s get to a more civilized place as quickly as possible, like our hotel. I suppose there are taxis at the end of the jetty?”

Larissa would have liked to look into those dark eyes of Montagu’s for just a little longer. Distractedly she replied: “I’m afraid not. There aren’t any taxis on Rottnest. Cars aren’t allowed here.”

Ashleigh groaned. “That’s just marvelous. And me in my office clothes. I knew I should never have come to this backwater.”

Larissa gritted her teeth but forced her smile to stay in place. The nerve! This woman had only just arrived and didn’t know the first thing about Rottnest Island.

The tall businessman in front of her smiled. “There’s no need for pessimism, Ash. Let’s see about our luggage, then Ms Kidd might be kind enough to show us the way to our hotel.”

Soon they were briskly striding along the jetty in the summer sunshine. As they made their way past the century-old seawall and historic waterfront cottages, Larissa asked: “Is this your first time on Rottnest, Mr Montagu?”

He flashed her a smile. “Call me Nick, please. Yes, this is my first visit, although I’ve spent a long time studying maps and charts of the island. May I call you Larissa?”

“If you like. Are you here on holidays? Taking a break from life in Perth?”

“I’m here on business,” he replied. “As soon as I’ve settled in and changed, I’ll hire a bike and ride around, looking like any other tourist. But I’ll be working.”

Larissa knew only too well on what Nick would be working. She was having trouble keeping up with his long, energetic strides. She glanced back and saw that Ashleigh was making no attempt to match the pace of her boss. She briefly wondered about Ashleigh and Nick – was he more than just her superior?

“And what sort of business are you in?” She already knew the answer, but didn’t want him to know that.

“I’m a developer,” he said. “I build houses and cottages, especially in recreational locations. I’ve been invited to submit a tender to build cottages at Parakeet Bay.”

“Oh yes…I heard something about that,” Larissa said.

She indeed had heard something about it.

the long march

More excitement at Rotto Bloggo HQ: we’re about to get a document from the Rottnest island Authority. It’s taken 329 days so far, the longest completed FoI request we’ve ever done, but we’re near the end.

On 20 July we submitted a Freedom of Information request and $30 for the Market Equity report. The RIA didn’t want to cough up all of it, so in August FoI coordinator Fiona Westenhaver posted us most of it – “third party information” was removed.

The removed information was about Means of Transport to Rottnest Island (ie which ferries people catch, and maybe what they think of them), and the seven pages of Businesses on Rottnest Island section (what people think about the shops on Rotto). We blogged about the information we did get.

In September we requested the removed material. But acting director finance and business services Ken Chinnery was having none of it: “I have reviewed the third party information in question and am withholding this information on the basis of the exemption under Schedule 1, clause 4 section 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 1992 which states that;
Matter is exempt matter if its disclosure –
(a) Would reveal information (other than trade secrets) that has a commercial value to a person; and
(b) Could reasonably be expected to destroy or diminish that commercial value.

Right right. We had 60 days to appeal. So on October 11 we wrote to the Commish. Our argument for releasing the rest: some third party information was already in the material released to us: what people thought of the cleaning contractors, for example. As we wrote: “Also released…in the report were details about visitor recollections of the Authority advertising in The West Australian and The Sunday Times. There was visitor feedback on ferry services being too expensive, and visitor feedback on the post office. These are all private businesses, yet I am unaware of any destroyed or diminished commercial value due to this feedback being released to me.”

The Commish’s people wrote back five days later. There was a bit of back-and-forth over the next few weeks over what sort of information we might be happy with: consulting all the third parties in the report would be time-consuming, so would we be happy with something else?

“For example, in lieu of pursuing access to specific detailed information about named businesses, whether you would consider accepting access to more general information about the goods and service providers operating on Rottnest Island,” the Commish’s people wondered.

No, it was all or nothing according to Rotto Bloggo. The new year came and went, and it was April when there was a development.

"On 17 April 2008, I wrote to the agency and advised it that, having
examined the disputed document and the FOI file maintained by the agency in relation to your access application, the A/Commissioner is of the view that the decision on access may not be justified,” the Office of the IC said.

"More particularly, the A/Commissioner is of the view that, on the basis of the evidence presently before this office, the agency has not established that the information deleted from the disputed document is exempt under clause 4(2) of Schedule 1 to the FOI Act, as claimed. In light of the above, the agency has been invited to reconsider its decision on access.”

In other words, cough it up! But the RIA wasn’t giving up without further struggle: a few days later, the Office said “the agency does not accept my view of this matter”, and enclosed its reasoning.

Rotto Bloggo dusted off the microscope, had several strong long blacks, scratched our heads and pursed our lips, and wrote back to the FoI people…

‘Regarding Page 29 – Means of Transport to Rottnest Island, the RIA says: “The data is broken up by individual commercial provider and details the % of visitors using each provider.” The RIA claims the data “could provide an indicative market share”, and this information “is not readily available to the general public”.

‘In fact, ample information about ferry companies is made readily available to the general public by the ferry companies themselves. Rottnest Express says: “Rottnest Express has the dominant share of the Rottnest Island market carrying over 60% of all visitors to the Island”.
(see http://www.rottnestexpress.com.au/aboutus.htm)
This is not disputed by Oceanic Cruises.
That Rottnest Express has a dominant share is hardly surprising: it has seven ferry trips to the island most days of the week (except Friday, when it has eight trips).
Oceanic Cruises’ trips range from five a day (December to April) to two on four out of five weekdays (May to September).

‘It is hard to accept the RIA’s argument about this information having commercial value when details about ferry trips and ferry passenger capacities are made freely available.

‘Also, only Rottnest Express and Oceanic Cruises could really be regarded as competitors, as they both depart from Perth and Fremantle: Rottnest Fast Ferries’ trips to the island are all ex-Hillarys.

‘Regarding Pages 44-51, Businesses on Rottnest Island, the RIA claims the pages contain “a comparison of customer satisfaction, for each of the commercial businesses”.

‘I do not understand what the customer satisfaction is being compared with. If, for example, customer satisfaction with the post office is being compared against customer satisfaction with the bakery, it’s hard to see how the post office would suffer commercially if it were to be reported people are less satisfied with it than they are with the bakery.

‘The RIA claims making these comparisons public could lead to commercial advantage for someone, which would be to the detriment of the island as a business might lose market share and leave the island.

‘I am skeptical about this claim. Many of the businesses on Rottnest are monopolistic: there is one bakery, one surf shop, one newsagent, one dive shop, one health centre, one fun park, etc. If they were no good, and had already had negative feedback and couldn’t survive, they surely would have already left the island.

‘There are several food providers on the island. They cater to a captive market. I can’t recall the last time I saw or heard advertising from these providers extolling their benefits. And as the RIA says in its letter, it “takes actions” when looking at the “business mix” on the island – that is, it won’t renew a business’ lease if it doesn’t think they’re doing a good job.’

There was another pause of several weeks until, on Tuesday afternoon, the FoI people called in the late afternoon to say the rest of the report would be made available.

There was a final twist: the Rottnest Island Authority was going to put it in their library, and did I want to pop down there to read it?

This was tres cheeky. The woman at the FoI office accepted my desire to have the stuff sent to us by the RIA: “you’ve done the hard running”, she noted. Hard running? It’s been like a dozen marathons.

By Thursday it still hadn’t arrived, so we called the RIA. Had it been put in the post? Yes it had. But still no sign of it on Friday. Tomorrow? Fingers crossed.

What an “abnormally long time” (words of woman at FoI office) to get this stuff. It makes us wonder: is the information earth-shaking? We suspect not. It’s probably more the typical public servant attitude of wanting to keep information to themselves. Did it really need to take close to a year and generate paperwork one centimetre thick? Surely not.

* The next 500 words of Rottnest Romance will be posted tomorrow...thank you for your salacious comments :-)

bills & moon on rotto

We apologise for no posts for more than a week, but we've been entranced with a book that was sent to us.

The manuscript doesn't have a title, but we're going to call it Rottnest Romance: it's a Mills & Boon-style novel that is set on the beautiful island.

Without further ado, let's leap into chapter one...we'll post more 500-word blocks in between non-fiction news about Rotto...

So that was Nicholas Montagu – Mr Moneybags himself.

Larissa felt like pushing him off the gangplank and into the blue water before he had a chance to step on dry land.

She watched as brightly-dressed holidaymakers chattered and laughed as they made their way down the gangplank and off the ferry. They fitted the happy and sparkling mood of Rottnest Island, Western Australia’s favourite holiday destination and portion of paradise.

Excited children carried surfboards and fishing rods or wheeled their bicycles. Their parents called out to them while struggling with beach towels and snorkeling gear. As they all surged off the ferry they created a high-spirited holiday mood that promised enjoyment and fun in the sun.

But two passengers stood out from the merry crowd. A man and a woman, both formally dressed, weren’t contributing to the laughter or anticipation of enjoyment.

Larissa thought they looked like the opposite of everything Rottnest stood for. The man was tall and dressed for business in a dark suit, blue shirt and red tie. His only luggage was a laptop computer bag. He was speaking to his female companion, who also looked she would be more at home in a boardroom than on a beach.

Nicholas Montagu was the man Larissa’s sister Marjorie had asked her to meet, when she rang Larissa earlier that morning. He was a man who, according to Marjorie, “…was going to do great things for Rottnest, so we’d better be helping him from the start.”

Larissa intercepted him and his companion at the foot of the gangway. Resisting the urge to send him tumbling into the water, she forced herself to smile.

“Mr Montagu?”

He faced her and she took and involuntary half-step backwards. He was well over six feet in height and she had to tilt her head to meet his look. There were flecks of steely grey in his short, thick black hair. His lean and hungry-looking face had strong and regular features, most striking of which were the eyes. They were very dark – almost black – and seemed to take in her presence in an instant.

“Good morning. I’m Larissa Kidd, aprt owner of the Blue Daisy, the ferry on which you’ve just traveled. You’ve met my sister Marjorie?”

He nodded.

“She called me earlier and asked me to meet you.”

He reached out and took her hand in his. His grip was firm and strong.

“And good morning to you, Ms Kidd. Thank you for meeting us…”

Larissa jumped as the ferry hooted to hurry off the last few passengers. She took a deep breath and realised he was still holding her hand in his. He hadn’t flinched.

“…this is my assistant, Ashleigh Kane.” He turned to the attractive woman in her mid-twenties who was at his side. Ashleigh was dressed for work instead of play: black pinstriped jacket and skirt, white shirt, black stockings and court shoes. Her long brown hair was tied into a braid which was draped over a shoulder.

Larissa extracted her hand from his grip and made a deliberate effort to draw her attention from the good-looking man. She focused her attention on Ashleigh, shook her hand and was flashed a short and insincere smile in return.

TO BE CONTINUED...

health and pleasure resort

The 175 Years of Headlines series in The West is proving to be a must-read. Some of that old-style reporting was very laboured. How about this 1909 epistle from today's supplement: 'An incident, as exciting as it was probably unique, occurred during the last homeward voyage of the R.M.S. Oroya.' It takes many turgid words before we find out the ship rammed a shark ('an enormous fish of the tiger shark species').

Today also has a story on the beautiful island. Rottnest Island: A Health And Pleasure Resort is from October 13, 1911, and features another buried lead.

'The opening up of Rootnest Island as a health and pleasure resort was a development to which the late Colonial Secretary (Mr J.D. Connolly) applied himself with much earnestness during the five years that he held Ministerial office.'

The island would be ready for the public not later than December 1 next...boring for water was proceeding...a bowling green and tennis court would also be provided.

The gaol and reformatory buildings were converted to: three sitting-rooms, drawing-room, dining-room, lounge, 2 card rooms, billiard rooms, 38 bedrooms, kitchen, with servery, pantry, etc., and 10 bathrooms (and lavatories).

Tremendous stuff. To stay close to the bogs and pool tables, 'the tariff had been fixed at 8s. per day, or 2 pounds 2s. per week.' I wonder how that converts into today's money?

You could also use the phones at the hostel and tourist camping reserve: they worked on the "penny in the slot" principle. Whatever that was.

orwell that ends well

The links between Rotto and some other things aren't always apparent, so we're grateful to Perth Now for revealing the link between the beautiful island and Big Brother.

(Wait a minute. Thinking about it, there's already a link. Big Brother rules Oceania, of which Rotto is a part. We're all Ingsoc speakers).

But we digress. 'PERTH real estate agent Terrence Hardie - 51 - is undaunted by the prospect of mixing with a younger generation when he enters the Big Brother house on Sunday', reported PN on the weekend.

Terrence loves West Perth, wants to comprehend Gen Y - and spends time twice a year on Rottnest.

'Hope he does his Quasimodo skit he made famous at Rottnest', says a comment on PN.

"I am in a Rottnest Island club called the Winnit Club and go to camp there every Christmas and Easter," he explained.

"We are in a huge tent and I do lots of skits. I have been allowed to pack my Quasimodo outfit - so I will be doing Quasimodo in the house."

Rotto Bloggo doesn't watch a lot of Big Brother but we wish Terrence well. Any friend of Rottnest is a friend of ours.

fishing haiku #23

The tide is turning

In a rapture of the deep

The line drops for rain.

aren't all gropers blue?

No more catching any western blue groper at Rotto. The Man has said from today the fishies will be safe within the Rottnest Island Marine Reserve, which includes all waters surrounding the island, extending to about two km offshore.

“The shallow reefs around Rottnest Island provide an ideal environment for divers to observe these iconic fish in their natural habitat,” Fisheries Minister Jon Ford said.

“Protecting these wonderful fish in this unique area will add to the dive tourism values of Rottnest - and add to the environmental legacy we leave for future generations.”

Right right. "Blue groper are a serious angling proposition and present an exciting fishing challenge to anglers that chase big fish off our rocky southern coastline", says this Western Angler page. Not any more.

"Blue groper are best recognised by their prominent fleshy lips and peg-like teeth. Smaller specimens are generally found inshore and are greyish brown in colour, to match their surrounding habitat. As they mature and grow their colour changes through olive green to a glorious blue as they grow larger and move offshore," says the WA.

The fishing on Rotto last week was very satisfying. Rotto Bloggo's associate believes you have to put in maximum effort to get to a choice fishing spot - as you can see from the photo we had to endure a vertiginous descent before we could wet our lines. Getting back up was a toil as well.

Not sure what the green fish is here but we threw him back.

tatty Thomson

We stayed in central Thomson last week. Gorgeous of course: watching dolphins and Mr Percival from the balcony. Waking up to wonderful sunrises, and seeing the rain lash Perth. At night you can see the Maritime Museum in Freo and the lights from Subiaco Oval.

But it's got to be said: the building is pretty shabby and needs some TLC. We're not talking plasma TVs, a gleaming espresso maker and wireless Internet: more attention to the basics.

The place needed a thorough clean. Witness the ooze stuck to the ceiling of the bathroom/toilet. Most unwholesome. Back in the distant past, when Rotto Bloggo was a carefree tenant, that was the sort of thing that made property managers cross.

New paint is needed, especially on the balcony and other woodwork. Could also benefit from some sponging and elbow grease.

Inside, the furnishings are not quite from a day in the life of Ivan Denisovich, but they're close. The cushions on the sofa are mismatched and worn, covered in lots of hair and lumpy. The matresses are pretty thin and unyielding. Even though they're worn, we like the curtains which incorporate Rottnest motifs. That curtain quokka is more realistic than the Rottnest Brown Quokka Hat ($15.99 at the general store).

We had a look at South Thomson last week - aka Nappy Alley. Much nicer there. Regular readers of Rotto Bloggo will remember our coverage last year of that area being refurbished.

We don't expect luxury during our time on the beautiful island. Far from it. And the above issues won't stop us from being there again. Ramshackle can be charming. But let's not let standards slip too far.

on the beach

Well, back from the beautiful island for three sleeps already and no blogging until now. Very slack. We had a lovely time: all will be revealed in the next few days.

Not so lovely for this chap, though. Rotto Bloggo was enjoying lunch when a contact rang with a tip about a whale beached next to the army jetty.

We raced down with four-year-old Ella to check it out: reporters at work. There were some difficulties with the local police. A male officer said we couldn't cross the police line, and the RIA ranger would have to let us through. This was fret-indusing. There was no line. He said, "You've been to police lines before have you mate?" We calmed down and lo, the ranger did eventually let us get closer to the stricken beast.

Soon we'd filed for PerthNow. It was the first time I'd seen a whale so close. They are majestic creatures. It was making a noises that sounded like a cross between a cow mooing and a dog with kennel cough. He (the sex was undetermined) tried to roll on his back a couple of times, which was distressing.

TV reporters turned up. Time passed. The wildlife officer arrived on a boat. We thought he was injecting it with something, but he was taking its temperature. The prognosis wasn't good. Eventually he announced it had to go.

Cops cleared the beach and hills ("there's no way they need to see this", a policewoman said). There was an interesting indigenous procedure: two elders were there, and were hugged by a ranger as the deed was done.

The first shot rang out at 1650, and there were eleven more in the next six minutes. The shooting was very loud, but Rotto Bloggo's associates didn't hear it, back in Thomson Bay, about 700m away.

it can't be stopped

One sleep to go. In less than 24 hours Rotto Bloggo and our associates will be breathing the freshest air in the world.

Last week was good for blog stats: adding something about Tory Troy and the quokka saw an astronomical increase in visitors. 'troy buswell quokka' and variants saw Rotto Bloggo's most visited-day ever.

But always popular search terms concern leavers. 'rottnest leavers 1986', 'rotto leavers 07', and even 'rotto toolies' bring people here.

Should we be providing more information about leavers on the beautiful island? Gotta help the young people. schoolies.org.au is interesting. There's also some WA Gov't sites.

A great read is this 89-page document. School Leaver Celebrations on Rottnest Island: Going It Alone was published in July 2002 and makes for very interesting reading. They interviewed 112 leavers; most came from the coastal or inner-southern suburbs. There were a couple of kids from Armadale as well.

'Each year in late November school leaver celebrations occur in Western Australia. The most popular destination for these celebrations is Rottnest Island. Here 16 – 17 year old leavers gather to unwind after the stress of their final exams, socialise and mark their passage into adulthood. For most participants alcohol consumption is involved in their celebrations, while for some the consumption is excessive and accompanied by the use of illicit drugs.'

It's a comprehensive look at what the kiddies do, and why. We were surprised at how many didn't drink to excess or get on the Mary Jane.

'Leavers responses...indicate that violence and tension were among the most common negative experiences...'

The activity authorities - schools, police, gov't - do in telling the kiddies about what can happen, or what has happened, in previous years is remarkable. And there's increased activity on Rotto: on the island there's been a fast-food outlet outside the police station. What do the kids make of it all?

'In 2001 the most common response was a call for less intrusive regulation by the various authorities, including police, security and the RIA with regards to the accommodation. This theme was unprecedented in its occurrence.'

Probably have more leverage – don’t crack down as much coz that’s when people want to rebel more. Don’t kick people off for stupid things – Female
The 18 year old rule is stupid because they cause all the trouble - Male
Police need to change their attitude a bit. They won’t give a wave or a grin. They are too negative – Female
The street drinking rule is ridiculous. Getting charged for crossing the street. It actually makes us drink more because you have to scull to get across the street – Male
The rule that you can’t bring alcohol is stupid because people turn to drugs - it’s easier to bring them. People are going to get alcohol anyway –Male
I think it is a massive invasion of civil rights – they search your bags when you come off the boat – Male.

sorry copy

Two sleeps to go. After booking the ferry tickets the other day we idly scrolled through the ferry company websites reading what they had to say about Rotto, and the experience was pretty ordinary. Why oh why is this considered essential information to convince people of the delights of the beautiful island:

11 kilometres long, 4.5 kilometres at its widest point. All three ferry companies report this. The width at its narrowesht point is more intereshting, shurely?

And the weather: surely people will be wondering what sort of climate they can expect? How best to convey this vital information?

The island is an A-Class reserve enjoying a semi-arid Mediterranean style climate. Right right right. At least Rottnest Express doesn’t regurgitate this. The company doesn’t say anything about the weather at all.

Rottnest Express says the island is “idyllic”. Oceanic Cruises says it’s “charming”. Rottnest Fast Ferries merely says it’s “WA's most beautiful Island”.

According to RE the bays are “tranquil turquoise”, and then a bit later they’re “world-class” – a very WA phrase. OC claims the bays are “some of the finest in the world”, which we guess means world-class. No opinion on the bays from the folk at RFF.

Proofreading isn’t the most sought-after skill at RE: The underwater life in and around the world-class bays makes diving adn snorkelling both breathtaking and beautiful for expart and novices alike.

And they haven’t done their quokka research, either: Growing less than a foot tall, the quokka cannot be found anywhere else in the world which is why it is a star attraction on the Island.

Those ones down south and on nearby islands must be faux quokkas.

OC and RFF have this: a unique style of architecture dating back to the 1800's. The apostrophe abuse is annoying – and having spruiked the architecture, why not give some detail?

Are we being too critical? Do we expect too much? Why don’t some people write for their audience?

ferry funny

So it was a jape! A blogger claims he made up the yarn about Tory Troy and Queen Quokka. I know the quokkas have been keeping a low profile today on the beautiful island: they did threaten to go on strike last night, but last-minute negotiations with the Rottnest Island Authority saw them win significant concessions and improved living standards. As the head of the RQU (Rotto Quokka Union) said: "Don't muck about with the macropod."

We've booked our ferry tickets for our blissful time on the island next week. By ringing around (well, by calling Rottnest Express and Oceanic Cruises) we saved a whopping eight dollars.

RE was charging $58 for an adult extended stay out of Freo and $51 for a tertiary student concession. Add eleven bucks per bike, and the total is $131.

OC was charging $54 for an adult extended stay out of Freo (even though their website says $56), $51 for the concession and a measly nine bucks per bike. Grand total $123, so we went with the OC.

Wonder what the weather will be like. A couple of years ago we had our roughest crossing ever, and shared the top with a group of spewing Japanese. They throw up very discreetly. Even Rotto 'Sea Legs' Bloggo needed a deep breath before his Dome latte after that crossing.

quokka, smile and laugh

"I have absolutely no idea about these stories of quokkas on Rottnest."

It's Troy Buswell speaking. He knows there are quokkas on the beautiful island, of course. But this yarn on Perth Now has lots more Troy quotes...we've taken out the in-between bits, and excised some Troy talk about Paul Omodei at the end.

"absolutely no substance"

"No."

"I'm not being backward in saying that I'm not a perfect individual and you know I've had a robust past and there may be elements of that that have proved offensive to people.
"I don't shy away away from that at all, but I'm not aware that I've caused any offence to a quokka."

"I have no idea.

"I'm not going to comment on it. All I've heard is people use the word quokka and then smile and laugh.
"I'm just not interested to be honest with you.''

"Members of the press have in passing mentioned the word quokka and suggested to me that something inappropriate in the past may have happened.
"Nothing has, absolutely nothing."

"quite remarkable that some of these bizarre accusations get legs and due consideration".

"I'll tell you what's better with the Liberal Party.
"That is that everybody accepts their responsibility to the collective and to the voters of the state and that they knuckle down and do their jobs properly.
"I mean fanciful stories like this don't do anyone any benefit."

"Politics is not without its moments like this. It happens on both sides of politics from time to time.
"We just have to deal with it and get on with it."

last post for island playground

‘Rottnest’s coast line is picturesquely indented with many bays and inlets, most of which are reef locked making safe and delightful bathing spots for both young and old. The most popular being the Basin near the settlement, but others are easily accessible by pleasant walks across the island or along the beaches.’

Slightly stilted language with random capitals, six-digit phone numbers, orange and green: it’s a Rottnest brochure from around 30-odd years ago printed by William C. Brown, WA Government Printer.

Rottnest: Island Playground – A Souvenir Of Your Vacation is charming and features a two-engined turboprop plane, map and photos (including one of the Rottnest Islander at the jetty) of the beautiful island.

‘The surrounding waters are a paradise for anglers, being stocked abundantly with fish, which may be caught from the many vantage points, or for those who so desire bigger game from boats in deeper waters.’

This is Rottnest pre-Geordie or Longreach accommodation. If you wanted ‘full particulars’ about ‘furnished premises’ you wrote to the manager or called him on 92 5044.

‘A Total of 166 Villas, Cottages, Flats and Bungalows are available for Rent. All are fully furnished, with exception of linen and cutlery.’

The salt lakes were supposedly good for ‘kindred ailments’ and there was a bowling rink. The map shows the post office in a slightly different location to today: the dive shop and/or Dome.

(news about the Rotto PO in today’s Inside Cover: “In a rather farcical situation, residents will be forced to travel to the mainland to send or receive parcels or use other Australia Post services such as Post billpay…parcels and bulky items would be held at post offices in Fremantle for residents to collect…another goodwill gesture to be hit by cost-cutting was the authority’s funding of a fortnightly medical service over winter, leaving residents without a quack until the July school holidays.”)

As this charming brochure has it: ‘For a Carefree Holiday: Rottnest Island’.

sanitary pad

“Why not have your accommodation cleaned during your stay??”

An exciting day at the Rotto Bloggo bunker: in the post was an RIA envelope containing:
• booking advice
• map of Thomson Bay Central
• bungalow inventory (they provide a whisk)
• list of extra things we can hire
• a fistful of baggage tags

And a little green flyer saying we can have our unit cleaned while we’re there!

“This service includes remaking beds with clean linen, changing towels, cleaning kitchen and bathroom services, empty bins and replacing liner, sweeping and mopping floors and general tidying. Housekeepers do not touch any personal items, therefore please clear these off floors, beds, and kitchen areas to enable a thorough clean.”

You book in advance and they need 48 hours notice. Prices range from $49 for a four-bed place during the week to $113 for an eight-bed palace on the weekend.

The breakneck pace of innovation on Rottnest! What next? A far cry from the times Rotto Bloggo’s mum spent the first day of the holiday cleaning the unit. We predict this “new for 2008” service is thanks to feedback in ‘Evaluating the Rottnest Island Experience’, where 14 per cent of punters were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with accommodation cleanliness, and 21 per cent were neither satisfied or dissatisfied.

Stop whinging, pay, and you’ll be (more) satisfied. Or use the dustpan & brush, mop and bucket, and indoor & outdoor brooms provided.

fantastic beast

“It’s a quokka, Jim, but not as we know it.”

This ‘original antique handcolored copperplate engraving’ has popped up on eBay. The seller says it’s “extremely rare”. He says it’s “over 233 years old”.

The queer quokka is “…taken from a volume of the rare first edition of Schreber's famous work "Die Säugthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen" (The mammals in accordance with illustrations of nature with descriptions), published and printed in Erlangen, Germany, 1775”.

Schreber was a naturalist and started on his books in 1774. They were packed with 800 pics, and a lot of animals were given Linnaeus-inspired names for the first time. But his artists were somewhat handicapped:

“The artists responsible had, however, never seen the animals they drew, relying on descriptions from explorers and travellers. Many of the pictures, therefore, are somewhat unrealistic. Collectively, they are known as ‘Schreber's Fantastic Beasts’.”

The name supposedly given to Rotto rat was Dydelphis brachyuros. Now of course it’s Setonix brachyurus. From this eBay listing it seems the Germans also call quokkas Kurzschwanzkänguru, or short-tailed kangaroo.

Wikipedia has some more of Schreber’s images here.

Pic from www.steffiprints.com

Rotto millions

Last weekend, before the WA Labor Government sent in two dozen armed police looking for information, The Sunday Times had a list of what you could do with a $40 million Lotto win. Number 34 was:

Take a family of four to Rottnest and stay at the Lodge for the rest of your life.

Hmm. Rotto Bloggo has some precious Rotto time coming up: seven nights in waterfront Thomson Bay. To hire the bungalow was $1000 (which of course we had to pay for about 12 months ago). So the big Lotto payola would buy 40,000 weeks there. We’d have to live past 800 to get all that.

What else? Five million rounds of mini-golf at the Brett Heady Family Fun Centre. Nearly 580,000 Rottnest Express tickets. Around 235,000 flights in a four-seater. About three dozen fresh jam donuts from the bakery.

Actually we’re just kidding about that last one. The bakery isn’t quite that expensive.

Or you could lodge around 1.33 million Freedom of Information requests to the Rottnest Island Authority. Rotto Bloggo’s request for the suppressed pages of ‘Evaluating the Rottnest Island Experience’ drags ever on. It was lodged on 19July last year. Are FoI laws among The Worst of Perth?

life sentence on Rotto

Here’s at least one name to put to the more than 3000 Aborigines who were imprisoned on Rotto. We came across The Boundaries of Colonial Criminal Law in Relation to Inter-Aboriginal Conflict, which mentions the case of Weban:

'The focus moved to the rural settlements with the apprehension and subsequent prosecution of Weban, before the Court of Quarter Sessions in April 1839. Weban (Weeban) had been indicted for killing an Aboriginal child named Yellelan who had been living in a house in the Upper Swan, under the particular care of a settler named Eliza Shaw.

'The issue of jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter was not raised. However, the case attracted the attention of the editor of the Perth Gazette. He reported the Advocate General’s explanation to the jury. that the relationship between the murder of Yellelan to previous inter se conflict had led to Weban killing Yellelan in retaliation, the act being a ‘final determination of all differences arising out of the several murders’. In answer to the charge, Weban responded by saying that Weenat’s party had killed his brother and that Tomigin had told him to kill the child in revenge for that act.

'Weban was found guilty but his sentence of death was commuted to transportation to Rottnest Island for life.'

On a happier note, don’t forget about degraded dune revegetation next month. Conservation volunteers will assist Rottnest Island rangers from May 5 to 9. But Conservation Volunteers Australia warn: “CVA adopts a ‘dry’ policy on all projects, and no alcohol will be permitted on site.”

did he bite off a quokka's head?

"Back in the 70s, I met rocker Alice Cooper. My younger brother and I went to his concert here in Perth, and my brother ran to the front of the stage and was crushed.

"He was taken to hospital (not badly hurt, but kept in for observation for a few days). When Alice's manager heard of this, he contacted the hospital, and my Mum, and asked if it was OK for Alice to visit my brother. The next day (I took the day off school) Alice and his dancers visited my brother (with the dancers in costume) in the hospital. Alice's manager, Shep Gordon, explained that it was their day off, and they were going to Rottnest to do some fishing.


"Alice signed autographs, and was genuinely concerned about my brother. He said nobody had been injured at his concerts before. He was friendly, charming and nothing at all like his onstage character.

"I remember being shocked when I read a few months later that on his return to the US he entered a rehabilatation clinic for alcohol abuse. I saw absolutely no sign of anything "unstable" about him during his visit to the hospital. Needless to say, my brother and I have been long-time fans of Alice ever since!"

shade pictures

This eBay item could be about an interesting bit of Rotto history. We’ve had to tinker and fiddle with Babelfish, but it says:

Behind Australian stone and barbed wire. Shade pictures from the Australian prisoner-of-war camps Rottnest Island, Trial Bay, Liverpool, Holdsworthy, Berrima. By Martin Trojan.

What are ‘shade pictures’? Pictures taken illicitly? We dunno.
Weltkrieg means World War, of course, but is it the First or the Second?
The bit of copy above the image says something like: for cruiser Emden crew Tsingtau caught.

It must be WW1. The SMS Emden was polished off by the HMAS Sydney at the Battle of Cocos. So some of the German survivors were kept on Rottnest for a while?

Seems so. As were others: ‘Just after war was declared in August 1914 the Royal Australian Navy's HMAS Pioneer captured two German merchant vessels off Fremantle, Thuringen & Neumunster. The German officers & sailors from these ships were held for a short while at Rottnest Island before being shipped off to internment on the east coast of Australia.’

This from the RIA’s site: ‘With the start of World War I the Department of Defence commandeered the Island for use as an internment and Prisoner of War camp from 1914 to the end of 1915. In September 1915, the camp held 989 persons, including 841 Austrian and German internees and 148 Prisoners of War. Recreational and holiday pursuits were re-established in December 1915.’

golden Rotto sun and beer

We had to post this Flickr photo on Rotto Bloggo: it’s magnificent.

It was taken on March 12 with a Canon PowerShot SD540. Flickr user isurusen lives in New York and seemed to enjoy his WA trip. He has a nice photo of Roadkill jerky (Ring Burner flavour) here. Thanks isurusen.

Speaking of great Rottnest images...we also love this one. Very refreshing! It has all the ingredients of a great Rotto time (except, perhaps, for a book and a Scrabble board). We Flickr-mailed the owner (we’re usually very responsible when it comes to copyright) asking for permission to give it a Rotto Bloggo airing but there was no reply.

Gage Roads has been styling itself as the beer for Rottnest, of course. It was the “official beer” for the 2006 swim. You think?

flash salad

We were having a look through recent Rotto pictures on Flickr and came across this one, by Johnny Gun. Who would've thought Rottnest Express was bilingual?

In a recent Sunday Times column a legal eagle was ranting about fast food on Rotto: "Nowhere is sacrosanct. Even Rottnest, where the glorious morning aroma of the bakery was once a joy to one’s senses, has fallen prey to the tentacles of the fast-food barons. So much for astute government planning."

While it's not food-related, this is the sort of reference we need more of in sports journalism: from the Herald Sun: "HAD Daniel Kerr found his target during the western derby on Saturday, Rhys Palmer would have landed on Rottnest Island...there is an intermittent fault in the signal box in Kerr's trams and trains department that needs to be rectified if he is to be everything he can be as a footballer."

Maybe Kerr needs to spend more time on Rottnest, especially on the train.

trees good weeds bad

Ripping out weeds and putting in trees on Rotto: what better way to spend a weekend?

And it gets better: half the accommodation paid for! A ferry voucher!

Go on. Get over to the beautiful island, get an infusion of Rottnest paradise and do something for the island.

The tree plantings are 20-22 June and 8-10 August. Weeding is 19-21 September. The Rottnest Society says “…work on Saturday from about 9am to 4pm and on Sunday from about 9am until about 12.30pm…volunteers will pay for Friday night’s accommodation and provide their own meals”.

The cost for Friday is a miserly $14. Cheap to be able to breathe some of the freshest air in the world for a whole weekend.

Beat the rush and make contact with the Society via convenor@rottnestsociety.org.au or call Sue Folks on 9438 1413 or 0411 880 199.

new map of paradise

Someone is working on a new map of Rottnest. Jo Ackland at Cheeky Little Maps had some coverage in Post Newspapers yesterday about her "tourist map for locals" of Cottesloe.

The image in the paper is too small to make out much detail, although you can read: "It's a map that tells you all the places I love". The Post described it as "a hand-drawn introduction to her favourite places to eat, play, visit and entertain.

Kind of like a visual Lonley Planet guide, maybe? We emailed Jo and she said: "Just started the Rottnest one last week...if you have any great titbits on the island you would recommend I'd be happy to check them out the next time I'm over."

Hopefully Jo can mention the mostly car-free zone. She could say it's like Sark, the Channel Island where cars are verboten but they have horse-drawn vehicles, bikes, the odd tractor, and gofers for seniors.

Is Rotto twinned with any other islands? Sark (pop. around 600) would be a good start if not. We note it was the last feudal state in Europe until this month. "Fiefdom was abolished by the amending of electoral laws to grant universal suffrage and fully elected governance," says Wikipedia.

Come on Eileen

Blogging can be so educational. Here's an eBay listing that popped up recently: 'This item is a small peice of western australian pottery history - Eileen Keys experimented with mineral stone glazes this piece came from rottnest Island in the late 60's'.

It's an intriguing work. Kinda looks like a clog, but it's no doubt a dish or plate. The colour is very interesting. Where on Rotto did Keys get the materials for the work?

We hadn't heard of Eileen Keys. Lots of Alicia Keys on Wikipedia but no Eileen. Nothing in Snell, although he's only drawings, paintings and prints.

The quick guide: she's in the Powerhouse Museum. Born 1903, died 1992. 'A Western Australian potter whose work form the 1950s and 1960s broke with tradition and explored the nature of clays and glazes from WA's mineral-bearing regions, in her characteristic 'earthy' style.'

The Art Gallery of WA published a booklet on her in 1986. We're saving up.

lightning strikes calendar

A quarter of the year is nearly gone but Rotto Bloggo says this: chuck out your Audrey Hepburn/Far Side/labrador/AFL calendar and get one that has images like this instead.

Photographer Natalie Hiddlestone has a number of Rottnest pics in the calendar, which has raised $5000 for the Children's Leukaemia and Research Foundation.

This brilliant image was taken by Natalie as her lens was aimed out over Thomson Bay: as she took the pic lightning forked, and the result is a scene of amazing light.

No, it's not a painting. Natalie assures us she hasn't manipulated or touched up the image in any way.

Fancy one of these calendars? Leave a comment with your mailing address and we'll post you one gratis. Be quick! There aren't many.

Find out more about Natalie at her MySpace zone.

Rotto on ice

Now here's the frame of reference this blog likes: this in The West's online version:

'A chunk of Antarctic ice, more than 20 times the size of Rottnest, has suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said today...'

What's more than 20 times the size of Rotto? 415 sq km, says the story. Wikipedia says the beautiful island's area is 19 sq km, so it would fit in to the chilly monolith 21.842 times.

We touched up the Wikipedia entry a couple of times yesterday: a bit about Baudin leaving his flag and bottle in 1801, and a new chapter and heading on the new hotel. What else can go in? Lots. There's no mention of 'The Shark Net', for example. Work work work.

Today's image is not mine - it's from the Wikipedia entry. 'From Daisy Bates cartographical collection - National Library of Australia. Daisy Bates Special Col. /107.', and thus in the public domain.

price plunge

The value of art, like property, goes up and down.

We were fantasizing again yesterday about owning a little slice of paradise on the beautiful island when this ROBYN COLLIER "ROTTNEST PARADISE' FRAMED OIL PAINTING caught our eye on eBay (it really is paradise!):

Title: ROTTNEST PARADISE
Description: A magical scene captured in this original oil painting by Australian wilderness artist, Robyn Collier. This work of art has been undertaken in oils on canvas board and has been handsomely framed by professional framers. A certificate of authenticity is supplied and the item is despatched by registered delivery with insurance. The painting and the frame are NEW. The approximate dimensions of the painting are 25.5 x 42.5 cms. The frame is about 49.0 x 66.0 cms. Robyn has signed the painting in the lower left corner.
Condition: Excellent

Only funeral directors undertake things, so our favourite Style Guide tells us, but never mind. It costs $565, and postage is $35.

Earlier this month the painting was on eBay with a Buy-It-Now price of $835. The price has plunged 33 per cent! What to do: snap it up now, or gamble the price will fall even further?

flagging interest

When you talking things vexillological, what's the drill when it comes to Rottnest?

Yes, vexillology: the study of flags. Vexillologists are your blokes (rarely women) who know their onomasts from their vexillums and their burgees from their swallowtailed pennants.

Your typical vexillologist was in a lather yesterday as it was six years ago to the day that the East Timor flag was confirmed and had its colours re-defined in the country's constitution. White-knuckle excitement!

But Rottnest? We can't say for sure which flag was the first to be flown on the beautiful island. There's this passage from an account of a French ship, the Naturaliste, leaving something fluttering in the breeze in 1801:

"In the meantime the days fixed by Captain Hamelin to wait for the Géographe had expired, and we had heard nothing of her, nor did it now appear likely that we should obtain any news of her by staying any longer on this coast, we therefore determined to sail for Endracht's Land, leaving on this island of Rottnest a flag, and a bottle with a letter for the Commander, in case he should touch there."

No Tricolors now, please. I'm not sure about this, either, from a local flag maker. Here's what they say about it...

"An old naval tradition survives today through the Gin Flag. Often each ship in the fleet had their own Gin Flag and designs were many and varied. When the fleet was at anchor and a warship would break open the Officers Mess for Cocktail Hour, the Gin Flag was hoisted as an invitation to others to row over and enjoy a tipple.
Pennant House boasts two Gin Flag designs which are the perfect gift for the Captain with everything.

"Because of our proximity to the island, our Vexillologists have designed The Rottnest Gin Flag which features a charming cartoon of a Quokka (the quaint Kangaroo-Rat-like marsupial that is native to the Island--from which Dutch discovers named the island Rats-nest)."

easter in the west

This web page sums up Rottnest on Easter, Easter in Perth and how much meaningful religion there is in Easter.

It's supposedly about the Rotto 2007 Easter Ballot, but - there's nothing there. No words, just pics of people silently enjoying the charms of the beautiful island.

An associate of Rotto Bloggo's is right this minute soaking up the blissful intoxication of Rotto (she did well in the Rotto 2008 Easter Ballot, which started on the last day of October). She's in a touched-up bungalow. We were driven by ravenous envy last night and drove to Scarbs to eat fish and chips while looking at the sunset and peering at the outlines of the gorgeous limestone outcrop. It was too much: we called her, and had out worst fears confirmed: she'd had several libations already and was revelling in the luxury.

We encouraged her to at least think of the Fenians tomorrow: it was Easter Sunday, 1876, when the Catalpa lay at anchor between Rottnest and Garden Island, before helping stage the greatest jailbreak in colonial history.

flashing every 16 seconds

While we're on the subject of the Bathurst lighthouse...do you fancy having a Cole hanging on a wall, for a reminder of the beautiful island in between trips? Laura Cole is a (very productive when it comes to Rottnest) WA artist:

"The Artist regularly paints on Rottnest, a small but popular holiday island off the West Australian coast. No vehicles are allowed, so Laura has a large hand-cart with big wheels to move her gear around the beaches and bays of the Island. Laura likes to be on location before sunrise, to capture the early morning light."

Lots of Laura's Rotto stuff is sold. But there's a couple at least including the Bathurst lighthouse. A snip if you've got $1700.


A bit cheaper is this trifle on eBay (not pictured here): 'Nice early postcard of The Bathurst Point Lighthouse Rottnest Island Western Australia C1910 card is mint condition unused.' There have been two bids: highest so far is $14.49.

The lighthouse was built in 1900 with limestone. It's close to the original pilot station which operated as far back as 1866.

Beatle on Rottnest

We loved this anecdote in The Sunday Times recently: 'Beatle Paul McCartney was less than impressed with the island when he told journalists that Rottnest was perhaps "the rottenest island I've ever been on".

It's on a few places around the Internet so it must be true. Date? One blog reader, commenting on someone mentioning it, wonders if it was 1970s or 80s when Sir Paul was with Wings.

A Rotto Bloggo reader posted a link to some groovy 360 degree panoramas of the beautiful island. They're linked to a Google map and have a little description. The link seems to be an executable file, so you might want to have a look at the site here.

No sign of any quokkas, but the pic of Bathurst lighthouse has dramatic cloud and rain between the coast and the beautiful island. Use your mouse to rotate the image.

The Sunday Times also said Sting and Danny Green have been to Rotto. We saw former federal environment minister Ian Campbell there once. And a footy player who used to be AFL and now plays for East Freo - we've forgotten his name.

fire

Here's the photo we received from our associate yesterday: the 7 News chopper hovering over Thompson. We assumed it was to do with the shark sighting, but in fact that probably wasn't right: there was a fire on board a 26 Bertram in Thompson. By the time our operatives walked from the army jetty (they'd seen thick black smoke) it was well alight. It was being hosed with sea water, and when it seemed out it would be towed a bit further away from the main jetty...but then the flames would leap up again, so more sea water...by the time the foam was applied it was gutted.

We were down at the beach near Scarborough this morning. The beautiful island seemed 500m away. For some reason the boat fire and today's view reminded us of the sorry tale of the Vergulde Draak.

That was wrecked on 28 April 1656 a bit further north from Rottnest, of course. The Dutch sent several rescue missions. During the last, the Wakende Boei sighted Rotto aon 23 February 1658 and charted it (see the cute map here). "On 18 March the ship anchored on the north coast of Rottnest, the island was explored and it is recorded that the ship was scraped below the waterline."

The boat with the Wakende Boei seeking the Vergulde Draak was the Emmeloord: "On 8 March at about 30° 25' a fire was seen on land which, on firing signal guns, was answered by another fire." Probably indigenous residents. But later, on 28 March, another fire was seen, and it was almost certainly lit by survivors of the Vergulde Draak.

quokkas are wunderbare

Quokka consciousness has been high lately. We were diverted by sharks yesterday (a Rotto Bloggo informant sent us a pic of the Channel 7 news chopper hovering over Thompson Bay yesterday), but it's been primarily Setonix brachyurus.

Last week a Rotto Bloggo associate was on the beautiful island and said there wasn't a quokka to be seen. "...the man at the museum said that they were all over behind the lodge or something - where there was lots of tree cover because they are nocturnal.....I mean, we were even at the pub til 5.45 and no quokkas turned up there", she reported.

They could still have been celebrating Matt Henjak's sacking from his rugger team Western Farce. Poor old Matt. He said he feels abandoned by Australian rugby. But even he was able to admit: "I've certainly made some mistakes and handled things the wrong way at times." Yes, like the way you handled the quokkas. Good riddance.

In more quokka news: have you got 69 Euro spare? If so, you'll love this treaure on eBay. It's "wunderbare" - even we know that means wonderful. Hold your breath: here's the translation (of course Babelfish means Rottnest instead of rotting nest):

...marvelous old Australian bronze animal figure. "QUOKKA" around 1900th small Australian rodent, occurrence mainly on rotting nest Iceland fine artistic execution true to nature, see to photo wonderful old patina. Sculptor determines assign. Overall height of ca.10cm, rarely high-quality, ageconditioned good collecting tank condition, wonderful high-quality COLLECTING TANK OBJECT...


Finally, The Worst of Perth was kind enough to show Rotto Bloggo a book which contained this fabulous image of two quokkas taking a long draught from a tinny of industrial-strength Swan Lager. Marvellous stuff. Very illegal these days on the beautiful island of course. Was Matt Henjak on the Swan or Emu when he picked up the quokka, do you think? Thanks to TWOP: I can exclusively reveal TWOP blog may run a selection of images from the book in the near future...

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.