Oceania House

Home Island keeps the atoll's improbable manor: Oceania House, the Clunies-Ross family's seat - built between 1887 and 1904 by local labour with bricks shipped from Scotland, gardens walled against the trade winds - from which five generations ran the islands as private estate until the Australian era closed the chapter in the 1970s-80s. The mansion's white mass among the palms reads its history plainly: verandahs, formal rooms and the walled green a Victorian transplant onto coral, the Cocos Malay community's own story - labour, settlement and today's ownership of the island's life - wrapped around it. Viewing runs from the shore and lanes; interior access varies with private arrangements.

History

Alexander Hare settled the Cocos Islands in 1826 and the Clunies-Ross family in 1827, building the coconut and copra trade, and in 1886 the whole group was granted to George Clunies-Ross. Oceania House was built between 1887 and 1904 by local labour with bricks brought from Scotland and soil shipped from Christmas Island; a cyclone badly damaged it in 1909, its tower was removed in the 1940s, and it hosted a garden party for Queen Elizabeth II in 1954. Australia bought the islands in 1978, the family left in 1985, and the house was added to the Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004 (Wikipedia, Oceania House).

What's there

• The coral-brick mansion - teak and verandahs among palms.
• The walled gardens - Victorian green against the trades.
• The dynasty's story - a century and a half of private estate.
• The community frame - Cocos Malay Home Island around it.

When to go

April to October with the trades; ferry days from West Island time the visits. Exterior viewing is the standing offer.

What to expect

The house is private ground - lanes and shore serve the viewing, arrangements the exceptions; Home Island courtesies (dress, greetings) apply throughout.

Nearby

Bantam village, the ferry jetty and the lagoon.

Key facts