18.32S 146.38E  Wednesday 3^rd September.  We left Hook Island early yesterday morning and sailed all day and night with an odd rig as we weren’t expecting the wind to be directly behind us and had dismantled the twin headsails for this journey, just leaving the smaller genoa in place to tack left or right.  We have chosen one of the ‘preferred passage’ routes indicated on our chart, inside The Barrier Reef but away from the coast.  The sun set at 1800hrs last evening and the slither of crescent moon, lying on her back, set at 2000hrs which would have made for a dark night had it not been lit up like a Christmas tree with the glow of lights from distant mainland shores, ships criss crossing our path, fishing boats brightly illuminated but stationary, flashing beacons denoting wrecks and other hazards, independent yachts’ navigation lights and a sky full of spangling stars. 

As you can imagine none of this made for a restful night’s sleep…….and the first night of watches is always fitful in any case.  Today it is raining and visibility is poor.  It’s funny isn’t it, we’ve watched so many travel and nature programmes about this area, we have bought the most beautifully illustrated books in anticipation - but in reality, for us, it is like bashing across the English Channel on a winter’s day!  After all, it is winter here and with a sea temperature of just 60 degrees and full of crocodiles none of it is very enticing right now.

Our view of The Palm Islands

We were looking for an anchorage for tonight to catch up on sleep and will be passing The Palm Island group at around the time we would like to stop and drop anchor but we have been warned off as there is ‘political unrest’ there.  Our cruising guide book ‘Going Troppo’ by David Haynes and Sue Mulvany explains:

‘The Palm Islands are a group of 14 granite-based continental islands.’  ‘All except Orphens and Pelorus are administered by the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council as part of the traditional land and sea country of the Manbarra people, and now all of the Palm Island people.’  These islands ‘were part of the lands of the Malanbarra people who lived their traditional way of life on and around the islands for many thousands of years before the arrival of white people.’ ‘In 1897, the Queensland Government enacted the infamous Aboriginal Protection Act of 1897 and adopted a policy of forced relocation of surviving Aboriginal groups and families from their traditional lands onto government reserves and church run missions.  The Aboriginal population in Queensland had been in decline since white settlement in the 1860’s when murder and European diseases such as measles and influenza had devastating and deadly consequences.  The Act was intended ostensibly to protect indigenous people from the rampant exploitation, murder by farmer settlers, abuse and despair that they were experiencing.  It also conveniently removed any remaining resistance to white occupation and was the period when Aboriginal people were to painfully adjust to new identities as mission Aboriginals and wards of the State.’ ‘Over the next two decades around 1,630 people from approximately 50 different Aboriginal groups from across Queensland were removed by the Government and settled on the Island to join the 50 Malanbarra people who were the traditional inhabitants.   The refugee group and their descendants became collectively known as the Bwgcolman (‘boo-roo-goo-man’) meaning ‘all the people of Palm Island’.  Many families were split up and sent to different missions and depression and ill health frequently became the way of life.  Removal of Aboriginal people to Palm Island continued until the late 1960s and to this day the community is made up of descendants of many different tribal and clan groups.  The Palm community’s occasionally dramatic surface is a reminder that coming to grips with a stressful history is not always smooth.  Control of Palm Island affairs was finally passed to a Community Council in 1985.  We are reminded that these beautiful waters we are privileged to visit are the sea country of the Palm Island People’……which puts the whole issue into perspective.

We will probably catch up on sleep during today and press on to Cairns overnight where among other things we need to sort our gas and top up the iridium phone with pennies as it has run out mid journey and we have no email communication at sea without it……