Moyenne Island is a small island () in the

Sainte Anne Marine National Park Sainte Anne Marine National Park lies about 5 km from Victoria, the capital city of the Seychelles, and encompasses eight small islands. History The Marine Park was created in 1973 for the preservation of wildlife, the first of its kind in th ...

off the north coast of

Mahé, Seychelles Mahé is the largest island of Seychelles, with an area of , lying in the northeast of the Seychellean nation in the Somali Sea part of the Indian Ocean. The population of Mahé was 77,000, as of the 2010 census. It contains the capital city ...

. Since the 1970s onwards, it has been a

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

reserve. From 1915 until the 1960s, the island was abandoned until its purchase by Brendon Grimshaw for £8,000 (about 10,000 dollars). He was a newspaper editor from

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England. Grimshaw was the only inhabitant of the island until his death in July 2012. The island is now a national park and can be visited as part of organized trips.

History

2006-06-22 12-34-40 Seychelles Cascade Cascade

The island's name was derived from the French ''moyenne'', "middle." It was supposedly used by

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

s in the 18th and 19th centuries, and contains two graves called pirate graves. From 1946 to 1962 the island was owned by the late Philippe Georges. He and his wife Vera Georges had lived on the island in the early years and later moved to Mahé where they lived on the property known as Fairview. A view on the island and a beach were named after Vera who spent her days on the property while her husband Philippe worked on Mahe during the day. Philippe sold the island to Brendon Grimshaw after they had dinner together. Philippe and Vera were very hospitable and invited Brendon to supper when he approached them to buy their island. An agreement was reached after an extended dinner. Grimshaw purchased the island for £8,000 in 1962. Grimshaw and local youth René Antoine Lafortune planted sixteen thousand trees, built of nature paths, and brought and bred Aldabra giant tortoises, intending to create an island of extraordinary beauty. Apart from a wide variety of plant and bird life, the island is home to around 120 giant tortoises. In 2012, according to Grimshaw, the eldest was 76, and was named Desmond, after his godson. In 1996, Grimshaw wrote a book about himself and the island, entitled ''A Grain of Sand''. In 2009, a documentary film was produced about Grimshaw and the island, also called, ''A Grain of Sand''. After 20 years of persistence, Grimshaw and his assistant Lafortune achieved their goal of making Moyenne Island a national park in its own right, separate from the circumjacent

. The island is now known as the Moyenne Island National Park. The island is away from the main island of Mahé. Lafortune died in 2007 and Grimshaw died in Victoria, Mahé, in July 2012. In 2013, after the island received its own national park status, a new hut was built and a warden was posted on the island, collecting the entrance fee from tourists.

Administration

The island belongs to

Mont Fleuri Mont Fleuri () is an administrative district of Seychelles with its main part located on the island of Mahé. It also includes the six islands of the Sainte Anne Marine National Park and two islets further east ( Beacon Island ( Île Seche) and Ha ...

District.

Tourism

Today, the island's main industry is tourism, and it is known for its beaches. Behind the restaurant is the local warden's house.

Image gallery

File:Seychelles large map.jpg, Map 1 File:Moyenne Island.jpg, Moyenne Island File:Mahe Island View.jpg, Mahé Island View File:Picture1 289wi.jpg, Moyenne island

References

External links

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Moyenne Island Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moyenne, Seychelles Islands of Mont Fleuri Private islands of Seychelles National parks of Seychelles