Moyenne Island: Brendon Grimshaw’s Paradise Enjoyed as National Park

Summary: Moyenne Island, a private Indian Ocean islet transformed into a nature reserve by Brendon Grimshaw, now is part of Ste Anne National Park in the Seychelles.

rocky beach view on Moyenne Island in summer 2003: Camera Eye, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

As a small island of about 22 acres (9 hectares), Moyenne Island lies off the northeastern coast of Mahé, largest island of the Seychelles. The 115-island archipelago known as the Seychelles is located in the southwestern Indian Ocean. The archipelago has held the status of independent republic in the Commonwealth of Nations since 1976.

Sited midway between Sainte Anne Island and Long Island, Moyenne Island is about 3.7 miles (6.0 kilometers) east of Victoria, main city and port of Mahé and also capital of the Seychelles. With Africa as closest continent to the Seychelles, the Port of Victoria is about 974 nautical miles (1,120.8 miles; 1,803.8 kilometers) east of Kenya’s port city of Mombasa.

Owners of Moyenne Island are listed on a plaque in the islet’s little, open-air chapel.

The first known owners of Moyenne Island were Melidor Louange and Julie Chiffon, who moved to the rustic paradise in 1850 and lived there for 42 years before selling in 1892 to Alfred d’Emmerez de Charmoy.

In the 20th century, Emma Wardlow-Best, who acquired ownership in 1899, enjoyed the island as a sanctuary for stray dogs that she rescued from nearby Mahé until her death around 1913.

Lying basically vacant for almost five decades, Moyenne Island yielded to nature, primarily in the form of bushes. The overgrown islet became so thick with bushes that ripe coconuts never reached the ground.

In 1962, ownership passed to Brendon Grimshaw (ca. 1926–July 2012), who purchased Moyenne Island on the last day of his three-week search in the Seychelles, from Philippe Georges, who had inherited the uninhabited island from his godfather. At first uninterested in selling, Philippe Georges perceived that Brendon would take care of the island and sold Moyenne for £8,000 ($5,036 in 1962).

Born in the West Yorkshire town of Dewsbury (Old English: dēaw, “dew" + beorg, "hill") in north central England, Brendon left school at age 15 to begin a newspaper career. Recognized as England’s youngest newspaper editor, Brendon followed his dream by becoming editor of African newspapers in Kenya and Tanzania.

Through his prestige as editor, Brendon befriended everyday as well as powerful people.

The assassination of his book-loving good friend, Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane (June 20, 1920–Feb. 3, 1969), an anthropology/sociology professor and Mozambique independence activist, by a book bomb signaled, for Brendon, the end of his time in Africa. He sensed that the conflicts between colonialism and independence endangered anyone with human concerns.

By 1973, having extracted himself from his active life as a newspaperman, Brendon settled permanently on Moyenne Island.

Describing himself as a “very ordinary guy,” Brendon perceived his new role as guardian of Moyenne Island. Brendon listened to the island in determining projects for his new home. He felt that the island made clear to him the sequence of clearing bush and encouraging endemic fauna and flora.

He and his assistant, Rene Lafortune (died 2007), son of the fisherman who had served as island guardian for the previous owner, first cleared ubiquitous thickets of shrubs in order to make a path to see what the islet actually looked like. It took them two years to complete the main path. Moyenne Island now features 2.9 miles (4.8 kilometers) of nature paths.

In creating an attractive, useful nature reserve, Brendon and Rene tackled the absence of birds and of trees, except for coconut palms. In the first year, they experimented by planting 50 mahogany trees (Swietenia spp.). The next year, because Brendon and Rene perceived that the trees loved their new home, they planted 150 more. Subsequent plantings brought the total to 700 mahoganies. The trees soar to 60 to 70 feet (18 to 21 meters).

Faunal and floral transformations effected by more than three decades of listening to the island include over 2,000 birds; over 2,000 coconut palms; and over 16,000 trees.

A special attraction is the 100-plus population of free-roaming giant tortoises. Aldabra Atoll giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantean) are native to their namesake insular home, the isolated, uninhabited Aldabra Atoll. Located in the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, Aldabra is the world’s second largest coral atoll.

Aldabra tortoises join Galápagos giant tortoises (Chelonoidis nigra) as the only two extant, or still existing, groups of insular giant tortoises in the world. Both are classified as vulnerable species.

free-roaming baby tortoises on Moyenne Island: Gerwin Sturm (Scarygami), CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr

On Sept. 28, 1998, septuagenarian (Latin: septuagenarius, "containing 70") Brendon founded the Moyenne Island Foundation as a non-profit organization. The foundation is responsible for overall management of Brendon's nature reserve in line with preservation guidelines. Moyenne Island Foundation acquires ownership of the private island after Brendon's death, which he often joked as caused by a falling coconut hitting his head.

Despite offers in the millions of pounds for purchase of his paradise, Brendon held to his dream of preserving his paradise for future generations of Seychellois and worldwide nature lovers as a nature reserve rather than as a private resort for wealthy jet-setters.

In 2008, the octogenarian’s dream was realized with inclusion of Moyenne Island into the Sainte Anne Marine National Park, created in 1973 for wildlife preservation. In addition to Moyenne, the Marine Park comprises five other islands: Sainte Anne, Cerf, Île Cachée, Long, and Round.

Visits to Moyenne Island are available as day trips. No overnight accommodations are provided. Camping is not allowed.

In addition to nature walks, snorkeling, swimming, species-rich viewing and outstanding vistas, Moyenne Island includes the mystique of rock-hewn graves for two unknown pirates. Pirate graves are framed by grave sites for Brendon and for his father Raymond (1894–Feb. 1, 1987), who relocated to his son's islet as a widower in 1981.

Moyenne Island exemplifies the perfect harmony of the animal, mineral and vegetable states. The wildlife haven is a must-see destination that serves as a serene tribute to the outstanding, patient accomplishments of Brendon Grimshaw, an extraordinary, ordinary person.

Moyenne Island in summer 2011: image by Jean-Francis Martin, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

rocky beach view on Moyenne Island in summer 2003: image by Camera Eye, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/71925103@N00/41972816/

free-roaming baby tortoises on Moyenne Island: Gerwin Sturm (Scarygami), CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/scarygami/5253481191/

Moyenne Island in summer 2011: image by Jean-Francis Martin, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ile_Moyenne.jpg

For further information:

"1962 British Pound Sterling (GBP) to US Dollar (USD)." Major Exchange Rates > British Pound Sterlng (GBP).
Available @ http://www.majorexchangerates.com/gbp/1962-usd.html

“Brendon Grimshaw, Britain’s Own Robinson Crusoe, Lives Alone on Seychelles Island for Nearly 40 years.” The Huffington Post > HuffPost Good News. 04/26/2012; updated 04/27/2012.
Available @ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/26/brendon-grimshaw-britains_n_1456365.html

“A Grain of Sand 2009 Full Documentary.” Published on YouTube on April 30, 2013, by Freely Give Truth.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjRke2b36tM

O'Neill, Ellen. "Moyenne Island Foundation." Bēhance > All Creative Fields > Branding, Typography, Web Design. Dec. 26, 2012.
Available @ https://www.behance.net/gallery/6437791/Moyenne-Island-Foundation

Reeve, Simon. “By ‘eck! It’s Yorkshire’s Robinson Crusoe: Brit who bought a cut-price island in the Seychelles 50 year ago and still lives in blissful solitude with 120 giant tortoises.” Daily Mail > News. April 25, 2012; updated April 26, 2012.
Available @ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2135299/Brit-bought-cut-price-island-Seychelles-50-years-ago--lives-blissful-solitude.html