Home Island Industrial Precinct facts for kids

The Home Island Industrial Precinct is a special historical area on Home Island in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia. It's like a museum of old factories and workshops. This place shows us how people lived and worked there a long time ago, especially in making products from coconuts. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004 because it's so important to history.

History of Home Island's Industry

The Cocos (Keeling) Islands saw their first European settlers arrive in the late 1820s. Two groups, led by John Clunies-Ross and Alexander Hare, both wanted to settle there. John Clunies-Ross aimed to create a supply stop for spices and coffee.

The Coconut Plantation Era

Clunies-Ross started a large coconut plantation on the islands. He used workers from Malay and later Bantamese backgrounds. These workers helped process coconuts into copra (dried coconut flesh) and coconut oil. The Clunies-Ross family provided homes and land for these families. They had strict rules about work and pay.

Initially, some Malay people tried to resist the new system. However, a written agreement was put in place by 1837. Later, workers from Java also came to the islands. Some Javanese sailors joined the community, and families grew through marriage.

Home Island became the main hub for the Clunies-Ross family and their workers. It was where coconuts were processed. There were workshops to make things needed on the islands. Storehouses and wharves were also built for trade.

Copra Production and Trade

Copra was the most important product exported from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Other necessary goods for the community were brought in from elsewhere.

To make copra, coconuts were husked and opened. Their flesh was then dried, either in the sun or using special furnaces. The oil was also collected and exported. Today, you can still see the remains of the storage sheds and furnaces used for this work.

At first, the main workshops and wharves were in the Clunies-Ross area. But by the 1880s, a new industrial area was built on the western side of Home Island. New buildings and a jetty were added to load and unload ships. There were even railway tracks to move products around the island. This industrial area is still used today for storage and workshops.

Island Life and World Events

The Clunies-Ross family kept strict control over the islands. They tried to limit contact between visitors and the Cocos Malay people. In 1901, a telegraph station was set up on Direction Island. This station helped send messages between Perth in Australia and other places.

During World War I in 1914, a German ship, the Emden, attacked Direction Island. The telegraph staff managed to send a warning message. Soon after, the Australian ship HMAS Sydney arrived, and a sea battle took place.

World War II also impacted the islands. Soldiers were stationed there, and a Japanese warship shelled Home Island in 1942. Air raids damaged parts of the village. Because of its important location, more soldiers arrived. The island's population grew to 1800 people. As a result, many people had to move to places like Borneo and Singapore.

After the war, the Australian government became more involved. In 1951, they took control of the islands. They bought land from the Clunies-Ross family to build an airfield on West Island. This airfield was later used by Qantas for international flights.

In 1955, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands officially became an Australian territory.

End of the Clunies-Ross Era

By the late 1960s, the way the Clunies-Ross family managed the islands became a concern for the Australian Government and the United Nations. After discussions, the Australian Government bought most of the land in 1978.

The people of the islands gained self-government. In 1979, a local council, the Shire of Cocos, was formed. A cooperative was also set up to manage the islands. By 1987, making copra was no longer profitable, and production stopped.

What You Can See Today

The Home Island Industrial Precinct is part of the main settlement on Home Island. It has several old industrial buildings that show its past.

Historic Buildings

• Store: This is a single-story building with strong walls and wooden windows. It has a new metal roof and is still used as a store.

• Copra Store No. 1: This single-story building is made of whitewashed brick. It has a corrugated roof and openings at the top for air. It used to store copra.

• Copra Drying Shed: This shed is made of brick with a wooden frame and a corrugated iron roof. It has a concrete floor with two sets of iron tracks. There are two drying ovens inside. Boats were sometimes stored under its side roofs. This is the last of its kind of shed used for drying copra.

• Shed: This is a semi-open, single-story shed with a wooden frame. It has metal siding, a corrugated iron roof, and a concrete floor. It is used for storage.

• Workshops: This is a large building, mostly two stories high. It has parts made of steel and concrete and new metal siding. Inside, you can still see old machinery. In 1996, it was used for workshops, offices, and even a bank.

• Building Footings: These are the brick foundations of old walls, now level with the ground.

The site also includes a retaining wall and a channel near the slipway and jetty.

Condition of the Buildings

In 1996, the store and workshops were in good condition. Copra Store No. 1 was in fair condition, but some bricks were wearing away. The Copra Drying Shed was in good condition, though some brickwork above the openings was cracked. The shed used for storage was in fair condition. The building footings were stable. The jetty, retaining wall, and slipway were reported to be in fair condition.

Why This Place is Important

The Home Island Industrial Precinct is very important because it shows us how the Clunies-Ross family lived and worked on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands for over a hundred years. It also shows the hard work of the Cocos Malay people who built the coconut plantations and copra factories.

This industrial area is key to understanding the island's economy, which relied on copra. When the industrial activities moved to this new precinct in the 1880s, it showed that the Clunies-Ross family wanted more separation from the daily work of the plantation.

The buildings here, like the store, sheds, workshops, slipway, and jetty, show how copra was produced, stored, and transported by boat. The Copra Drying Shed is especially important because it's the last one left. Its unique timber posts show amazing traditional craftsmanship. The whitewashed walls of Copra Store No. 1 are also special, as this style was only used for early Clunies-Ross copra buildings.

The Home Island Industrial Precinct is a vital link to the history of the Clunies-Ross family and the Cocos Malay people who shaped these islands.