Living on an Island

When you live on an island the only means of transport to the mainland is by boat. Passengers use a ferry such as this one, which travels constantly ferrying people back and forth from the mainland to their island of residence during the day and well into the night.

This location is off the Queensland coast just south of Brisbane where a collection of islands lay just off the coast. Inhabitants of the islands travel in person by ocean ferry or if they need to take their vehicles they use a transport barge, which is large enough to accommodate most types of vehicles including heavy large trucks.

One must remember that all materials for necessary infrastructure such as homes, buildings, roads, sporting fields etc need to be transported to the islands by boat. At this particular location ferries and transport barges constantly crisscross between the various islands and the mainland. Passenger’s board ferries at various jetties that jut out from land.

Barges carrying vehicles need to dock on land to unload their cargo so the barges are built accordingly with ramps that lower down from both the front and back of the barge. The barges then drive up onto specially built ramps constructed on land so vehicles can simply drive on and off.

Being sheltered between the islands, the water is generally flat which means a smooth ride much like any trip on land. 

Infrastructure on this island called McClay Island is much the same as you’d find on the mainland. Houses are typical of what you expect in any urban suburb. Roads, shops, schools, golf clubs, sporting facilities are also similar to facilities on the mainland.

Although the price of land is quite cheap compared to land on the mainland due to remoteness, the cost of building any sort of building is somewhat more expensive as all materials need to be shipped to the island by boat. A typical house such as this has to have all materials including wood, windows, doors, plumbing, kitchen supplies etc sourced and bought on the mainland then assembled and shipped to the location on the island.

In some cases it may be necessary to hire and bring certain tradesmen from the mainland if none can be found on the island. This sourcing is also comparatively more time consuming and expensive.

In this instance the homeowner “Don” has built a single story shed behind the main house, which he is living in whilst constructing the main house.  As he’s building the house himself and takes into consideration the time it takes to make trips to the mainland to source and purchase materials then ship them back to his island plus factoring in weather conditions he has made an effort to make his shed, although not permanent, quite comfortable to live in.

As you can see, its size allows him to set it up so it almost resembles a normal dwelling with lounge area, kitchen and place for his bed. As he lives alone he does not require individual rooms for privacy.

Don built the shed not only as a storage building but also as a temporary accommodation whilst he built the main house. When the main house is completed Don can simply move all furniture and other household items from the shed into the house and use the shed for storage and other means.

Being on an island and surrounded by water means the islands inhabitants can make use of a wide variety of sports and leisure activities associated with the ocean. In Don’s case this is fishing and catching crabs. Not only for recreation but also as a source of food.

Don undertakes this activity on a daily basis with his small aluminum boat called a “tinny”. It is powered by a 15 horsepower outboard motor which is powerful enough to push the boat along at speeds where Don can travel quite a distance around the island where he lives and other islands close by. The protected waters generally mean that he does not encounter rough seas and a boat this size is ok.

The boat is moored only a few hundred meters from Don’s home, which allows him easy and quick access to the water.

At this time of the year mud crabs and sand crabs are at their most plentiful. Local law allows every person to set up to 4 crab pots to catch crabs. Don is now going to check his pots.

Pots are identified and found by floats attached to the pots by rope. In areas where there are a lot of pots pot owners write their name on the float to avoid confusion.

The law also stipulates that only male crabs can be kept and that they must be over a particular size. All female crabs and crabs too small to keep must be released back into the water. Failure to do so will result in a hefty fine if caught.

Don’s pots are round steel framed with nylon net. There is a bait container in the middle of the pot, which contains food that attracts the crabs. They enter through various slots in the side of the pot and are then unable to escape from the pot.

This is Wayne. A friend of Don’s. He is a professional crabber meaning he has a special license to catch a far greater number of crabs on a daily basis then ordinary citizens. His crabs are not for personal consumption but bound for the commercial food and restaurant market.

After Don’s gets the crabs from the pot he then fills up the food container with fresh food before throwing the pot back into the water and moving off to check his other pots.

Here you can see the two varieties of crabs. The dark gray crabs are called mud crabs and the lighter crabs with freckly spots are called sand crabs.

Whilst checking crab pots there is also time to do a spot of fishing. Here is a lively fish that will also be part of dinner along with this small shark. All seafood is kept in an esky to preserve freshness.

We depart Don’s island from the jetty and board a ferry, which takes us back to the mainland.

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