Eccentric NZers

The following bit of history will explain these caves. Enjoy

The first person to have lived on the Island was an eccentric New Zealander by the name of Seaforth McKenzie. He was described as a 'bearded man with gallant manners and a twinkling eye' and first squatted on the island in 1914. In 1918 McKenzie was granted an annual lease by the WA government and he set about establishing a holiday resort on the island. Several of the limestone caves on the eastern side of the island were hollowed out and crudely furnished for use as accommodation, a library and a small store where visitors could manage their own account as long as you left a fair amount of money or something of equal value. McKenzie also excavated a 'grand ballroom' known as the palace where he was crowned the 'King of Penguin Island' at a grand ceremony. He was a lover of literature and visitors were invited to his 'library cave' for lamp lit poetry readings. By all accounts visitors greatly admired and respected Seaforth McKenzie despite his eccentricities. McKenzie left the island in 1926 and returned home to his wife Sarah and six children in New Zealand after an absence of 45 years! Apparently he left home to go to work one day and failed to return- his explanation being that he had only just regained his memory of his family!
Today the shifting sands of the island have changed much of McKenzies caves, but there are still some nails in the cave walls, his old well and some gnarled fig trees to remind us of the 'King of Penguin Island'