Kg Bantam and Kg Melayu Cocos Islands

It is intersting to note that the first villages established in the year 1827 by John Cluines Ross, the Scottish seaman and captain of the ship called BORNEO and who was a good friend of Alexander Hare, another Scottish adventurer and a former Resident and Commissioner for Banjarmasin and Borneo had been named Bantam Village and Malay Village, and names never lied, of course that goes to show that the Cocos Islanders first originated from Bantam Island, off Singapore Island, Johor and Malacca, two of the States in Peninsular Malaysia.

Some history stated that some of them had been former soldiers and convicts, many of them had fled from Alexander Hare group that left Malacca for Banjarmasin in Southern Borneo in 1811 to help the Sultan contain piracy and resistance from the Dayak and Bugis after the Dutch abandoned Banjarmasin, after two defeats by the British off Java Island.

Whoever they were originated from, they are now the Cocos Islander Community who have their own culture, religion and language.

Pulau Tikus

There is an island called Pulau Tikus at Cocos Islands, but as I researched the history of Alexander Hare, I found an island called Pulau Tikus off Bengkulu, formerly called Bencoolen at West Sumatera.

Alexander Hare left Prison Island at Cosos Islands in the year 1831 after he and John Culines Ross could no more get along after a number of his followers left to go to the island inhabited by John which provided better housing and facilities. Hare was left with only four out of the fourteen women followers that had followed him from Kolkata India, Malacca, Martapura, East Java, Betawi, Lombok and Bengkulu.

Hare died in Bengkulu in the year 1835 after he fell from his horse and got sick and he was buried in the jungle by his ardent follower, a Batak man.

Hare's treasure was inherited by his eldest wife Dishta,which he married at Kolkata who was then fourteen years old, a palace dancer.