Blue skies and smooth sailing despite archipelago's turbulent past

Two households, both alike in dignity, where you would be forgiven for wondering if there was an ancient grudge. But here on the Cocos Keeling Islands, where we lay our scene, things are very civil.

On this small archipelago of 27 coral islands, just two are inhabited. It's on the one called Home Island where this story takes place. Because although the Cocos Keeling Islands - located in the middle of the Indian Ocean some 3000 kilometres northwest of Perth - are now an Australian territory, that wasn't always the case. The first of these two households, Oceania House, was where the islands' former owners once lived.

Describing the enormous six-bedroom Oceania House as "colonial" is probably an understatement. It was built gradually from 1887 by the Clunies-Ross family, who'd settled on the remote islands in 1827 and claimed them as their own (as people were wont to do back then). The bricks for the house, like its owners, came all the way from Scotland; the teak wood was brought from Christmas Island, 1000 kilometres away; and all the construction was done by the Malay workers, who had also been imported here by the Clunies-Ross family from places like Indonesia.

Stepping inside Oceania House, I find the white bricks of the exterior replaced by the dark brown of wood panelling in the entrance hall, a grandfather clock standing against the wall. Walking through the lower level, I see the dining room and the library with an odd collection of old books about things like yachting and growing mushrooms. Climbing the wooden staircase to the upper level, I peek into some of the elegantly furnished bedrooms.

The rooms are decorated of the era, embracing heritage more than luxury, but you could say they are fit for a queen. After all, Elizabeth II did visit the house for a garden party in 1954 during a sailing voyage from Perth to Colombo. As I'm shown around by the caretakers of the house, it's the past that hangs heavy, including the complicated question of whether the working conditions for the Cocos Malays on the islands amounted to slavery. (They were paid in a special currency that could only be claimed at an island store, meaning it would never be practical to leave.)

This brings us to the second household, also here on Home Island. In the 1950s, the UK officially transferred the islands to Australia, but they were still owned by the Clunies-Ross dynasty. In 1978, fed up with the way they were being run, the Australian government forced the family to sell the islands, only letting them keep Oceania House. Most of the family members eventually moved away.

Remaining on Home Island was the Cocos Malay community, who now have a population of about 450 people and make up three-quarters of the inhabitants of Cocos Keeling Islands. And it's in the home of one of these families that I am doing a cooking class.

Nek Shazwan is the matriarch of the household and she is showing us how to make curry puffs, one of the island's traditional dishes. Cooking the filling, with its potato, onion, garlic, and curry powder, is easy enough. But I struggle to get the pastry around it evenly and then squeeze it shut neatly. Thankfully Nek Shazwan is very patient, as is her daughter, Zulaikha Jadah, who had the idea to offer this weekly class to visitors.

Zulaikha also works at the visitor centre on West Island, where most tourists stay, and she wanted to create another way for people to see her community. The majority of the Cocos Malays are practising Muslims, most women wear headscarves, and visitors are asked to dress modestly. The reality is that many tourists are worried they might offend people if they just wander around the small township on their own, which is why coming into a home and learning about local life is so popular.

Oh, and it's also popular because the curry puffs are so tasty! Although, as part of the cultural education, Zulaikha explains that the typical dinner here is fish and rice because the fish is free ("Dad goes out once a week and catches all the fish for a week"), which offsets the huge costs of any food that has to be imported to the islands (if you don't get enough in your personal fortnightly delivery, a five-kilogram bag of rice at the local supermarket costs $37!).

You can do the trip to Home Island independently, with a 20-minute journey by public ferry connecting the islands. There's a museum filled with artefacts about the history here, including its role in both World Wars; a restaurant called Sweet as Makan where you can try traditional dishes; as well as beaches, some walks, and of course, Oceania House. But it's harder to get a cultural immersion, which is the main point of coming here.

So, many tourists also join local Ossie McCrae on his cultural tours, which can include a basket-weaving lesson with an elder like Wak Udin. As Wak Udin shows me into his workshop, I refuse to believe he's 84 years old, he's so full of energy. He shows us how his grandparents taught him to make the baskets from coconut tree leaves, demonstrates a traditional way to deshell a coconut, and grates it so it can be turned into coconut oil. "I've got no job, I'm a pensioner, so it keeps me going," he says. "I'll continue doing it because I love it."

The Cocos Keeling Islands may be Australian, but they feel so remote, so exotic. Many visitors come here for the pristine beaches and gorgeous turquoise lagoon, for diving and snorkelling with marine life or even for the birdwatching. But in July this year, the Cocos Keeling Islands will celebrate the bicentennial of the first human settlement on the territory. The 200 years haven't always been easy and haven't always been pleasant but these two households, both alike in dignity, show the richness of the culture and heritage.

Michael Turtle was a guest of Cocos Keeling Islands. You can see more on his Travel Australia Today website