Direction Island (DI) Houses is a heritage-listed houses at Air Force Road,

West Island The West Island () is the unofficial name given to the cities, towns and boroughs at the western end of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. It is generally considered to consist of the Lakeshore municipalities of Dorval, Pointe-Cla ...

Cocos (Keeling) Islands ) , anthem = "''Advance Australia Fair''" , song_type = , song = , image_map = Australia on the globe (Cocos (Keeling) Islands special) (Southeast Asia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands , map_caption = ...

, Australia. It was added to the

Australian Commonwealth Heritage List The Commonwealth Heritage List is a heritage register established in 2003, which lists places under the control of the Australian government, on land or in waters directly owned by the Crown (in Australia, the Crown in right of the Commonwealth ...

on 22 June 2004.

History

The two remaining Direction Island Houses were originally located on Direction Island as part of the signal and air rescue station which answered calls for assistance from passing ships and aircraft with sick or injured passengers and crew in the 1950s. Five modern bungalows, designed for local weather conditions, were pre-fabricated in Australia and shipped to Direction Island where they were erected along the lagoon shores. When the station closed in 1966 the houses were relocated to West Island.

Description

The Direction Island Houses are the two most southerly houses on the western side of Air Force Drive on the southern end of West Island. There are two houses which are timber framed and modular. They have verandahs to the long sides, which are screened at the rear, and distinctive sloped paired posts. The design of the houses is unique and well suited the island's climate and they are believed to have been pre-fabricated in Australia. In 2000 the houses were assessed to be in mainly good condition.

Heritage listing

The Direction Island Houses are significant as two houses remaining from the former Direction Island signal and air rescue station which answered calls for assistance from passing ships and aircraft with sick or injured passengers and crew in the 1950s. The Houses were relocated to West Island after 1966, when the station closed. The Houses have been surveyed as two of four surviving examples of Direction Island houses on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The design is well suited to the Islands' climate and the Houses are reported as having been pre-fabricated in Australia and shipped to the Islands.

References

Bibliography

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Attribution

{{AHD-CC, name=Direction Island (DI) Houses, fileNo=9/04/001/0019, id=105358, year=2019, accessdate=15 May 2019 Commonwealth Heritage List places in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands West Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands Houses in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Articles incorporating text from the Australian Heritage Database Relocated buildings and structures in Australia