MALAY BAY MASSACRE

 Hello from a wet and soggy Darwin

We have enjoyed Christmas in Darwin with Jayson, Dean and Kristy. An active monsoon trough has resulted in heavy overcast skies with quite a bit of rain. Thankfully the temperatures have been lower - making conditions quite pleasant.

Recently the Garngi rangers did a boat patrol in combination with the Mardbalk rangers who are based at nearby Goulburn Island.

We patrolled towards the mainland - southeast of Croker Island where some large tamarind trees are the only reminders of a former Macassan camp. These camps are dotted along the north coast of the Northern Territory and the Kimberleys. These fishermen from modern day Indonesian used to visit these shores each year until 1908 when they were warned not to return.

Below the rangers erected a sign at Darch Island, an island to the east of Croker Island.

Previously I have mentioned the large amount of marine litter that washes up on the beaches around here. This is a huge problem all around our planet these days. Increasingly, we are seeing rectangular floats made of polystyrene taped together like the one below - usually with rope attached. We believe most of these come from Indonesia.

Between the southern easterly trade winds and the north westerly monsoon winds there is a period a light winds and flat seas which make the boat patrols a real pleasure. As you can see from the video below the sea was still 'glassy'. 

At the agreed meeting point the Mardbalk rangers were waiting. We patrolled around part of Malay Bay. After some lunch together the Mardbalk rangers had to head back to Goulburn Island. Below are the Mardbalk rangers in their boat.

Some of the Garngi rangers wanted to tell me a sad story related to this area before we returned to Croker Island. While also keeping an eye on a storm to the south they told me of an old Aboriginal man who was hanged on gallows brought from Darwin. The old Aboriginal man was convicted of murdering some Malay fishermen in 1892 in this bay. The Northern Territory authorities thought that hanging the old man in his country would been a significant deterrent to others thinking of similar actions. He was hanged in this bay in 1893. He was left hanging to send a clear message. The account of this event from the local Indigenous people differs considerably - the old man and those with him were simply protecting their people and their country. We call it 'Border Security' these days.

Below some training in the handling of chemicals and spraying of weeds. Some local councils workers joined us.

Doing some spraying training out on the floodplain. After recent rains this area will be under water.

Conducting a buggy based beach patrol on Croker Island.

Until the next post, take care and stay safe.

Blessings

Nancy and Bryan