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Meyun
The title of the postcard from
around 1910 is ‘Meyun, Fishing Village, Perim’. This is
an apt description as fishing of one kind and another
was the sole occupation of the inhabitants who, prior to
1857, only lived on Perim for half the year during the
fishing season. Once there was a regular supply of water
available from the condenser on what was to become
‘Government Side’, Meyun was occupied all year with many
of its inhabitants obtaining full or part time jobs with
government.
From the 1881 census one can see
that the (adult) population of Meyun was not more than
80, the ratio of Somalis to Arabs being about 60:40. A
return of 1887 allows for a more accurate estimation:
about 65 adults and about 24 children. The population of
Meyun probably never exceeded around 200-250.
During WW1 some stone buildings,
including storerooms, were built for use by the Royal
Navy. The end of one of these can be seen in the
photograph which was taken by the author in 1964. There
are quite a few boats up on the beach – in stark
contrast to the total lack of boats as seen from Google
Earth in 2007, which might suggest that Meyun is now
more or less deserted. Note the mosque just outside the
village; it also can be seen with a couple of buggalows
in the other photograph.
[Note. On Google Earth the marker
for ‘Meyun’ is not to show the location of the village,
but is to identify the island itself, now back to being
its former name of Meyun.]
The small deserted fishing
village formerly known as Meyun in William Bay. 2007 |
