Michael E. Murray left by Greyhound bus 4:00 pm Thanksgiving day 2007 from the Lewiston, ME
terminal to travel cross country making his way on the 7180 mile journey for a four month stay
on the remote Palmyra Atoll. Hired by The Nature Conservancy, Murray embarked upon this once
in a lifetime opportunity to lend his construction talents for the betterment of the Cooper Island
Encampment. A life long resident of Maine, he gave notice to his employer at The Dingley Press ,
saying farewell to one of Maine’s worst winters on record eagerly signed on to this South Pacific
adventure. Four plane flights passing through TSA checkpoints and several days later, Maritime
Air’s turbo prop plane set down on the one-mile long Cooper Island runway the beginning of
Murray's four-month adventure!
The Nature Conservancy along with The National Fish and Wildlife Service purchased the privately
owned atoll to save this jewel of the South Pacific in 2000 for mankind. Construction crews soon
built the Cooper Camp establishing a small base of operations. Soon after a seasonal rotational
community made up of scientist and TNC employees began living in open-air cabins calling
Palmyra home for their brief stays. The winter rotation 07/08 population four made up of Murray,
Dennis Girardot, Station Manager, Will mechanic and Karen camp chef spent their days servicing
the Atoll by way of their specialties and talents. March 17th with the return of Maritime Air
marked the end of the tour for the four island castaways replaced by the spring rotation crew
eager to step into their roles proudly working for the betterment of Palmyra and the TNC mission.
Situated some 1000 miles due South of Honolulu, HI a landmass made up of 4.6 square miles, the
atoll represents a pristine coral reef environment surrounded by waves breaking upon the outer
reefs that provide the buffer and security for the atoll. On nautical charts, Palmyra is but a tiny
speck in the middle of the mass of blue that represents the Pacific Ocean. The island lies well off
of the major shipping lanes for vessels plying the Asian/American run and is geographically
perhaps one of the remotest places on earth and one of the last few truly uninhabited islands left
in the world. At nighttime while sleeping in the well-appointed open-air cabins mere feet from
West lagoon, a constant roar of the ocean can be heard as a sweet and enchanting melody to fall
asleep to. There’s a huge 29 species bird population as well, their songs added to the serenity of
the warm tropical night air and the bliss of this enchanted island life. Truly a castaways dream
come true! (Click on pictures for larger images)
There has never been a real population on the atoll other then a few fortunate souls. It is believed
a Roger Lextrait spent the longest term of eight years. In 1816, the Esperanza, a Spanish pirate
ship loaded with gold and silver plunder from the Inca temples in Peru, came under attack from
another vessel and a fierce battle ensued. Several crew members that managed to survive the
fight sailed off with the treasure only to wreck on a nearby reef. As the ship was sinking, they
managed to transfer the treasure to Home Island on the South West corner of Palmyra. The
legend and mystery goes on captured by the movie “And The Sea Will Tell…” a murder mystery
that unfolded late 1974. Buck (Wesley) Walker now free from prison has written his account in
“Palmyra: The True Story of an Island Tragedy” Back in the early forties, a construction crew
shipped in from Johnston Atoll spent a number of years on site building an incredible
infrastructure of bunkers and gun emplacements that were never used during WWll. Many of the
structures still remain the most elaborate structure is on Engineer Island, a three wing bunker
that served as the hospital now encapsulated with tropical foliage. A one mile long crushed coral
runway provides access to the atoll via airplane, a white ribbon that extends the full length of
Cooper Island clearly visible on any aerial map or Google World view of Palmyra.
Safety is paramount on the atoll since rescue is some 1000 miles away. Protocols have been set in
place to guide the termed inhabitants while out and about searching the various nooks and
crannies from Sand Island to Coral Gardens. Andy Deering and his life mate Lisa sailed into West
lagoon at the end of our tour for a brief stay to add to the excitement of this enchanting island
life. Andy’s book “The Best Life Money Can’t Buy” is a great read for those who want to touch a
sea farriers life. This is with out question one of the most fundamentally basic life styles possible.
No need for money, no mass population, no auto noise pollution or traffic, no blinding
snowstorms. A castaway kind of life style with warm Pacific Ocean breezes punctuated with warm
tropical rainfall. An incredible journey of mind, body and soul that thanks to an add posted by
CoolWorks member Kari Quaas, one life long Mainer had the great good fortune to visit,
experience and be a part of the growing Palmyra history and legacy! Michael E. Murray
terminal to travel cross country making his way on the 7180 mile journey for a four month stay
on the remote Palmyra Atoll. Hired by The Nature Conservancy, Murray embarked upon this once
in a lifetime opportunity to lend his construction talents for the betterment of the Cooper Island
Encampment. A life long resident of Maine, he gave notice to his employer at The Dingley Press ,
saying farewell to one of Maine’s worst winters on record eagerly signed on to this South Pacific
adventure. Four plane flights passing through TSA checkpoints and several days later, Maritime
Air’s turbo prop plane set down on the one-mile long Cooper Island runway the beginning of
Murray's four-month adventure!
The Nature Conservancy along with The National Fish and Wildlife Service purchased the privately
owned atoll to save this jewel of the South Pacific in 2000 for mankind. Construction crews soon
built the Cooper Camp establishing a small base of operations. Soon after a seasonal rotational
community made up of scientist and TNC employees began living in open-air cabins calling
Palmyra home for their brief stays. The winter rotation 07/08 population four made up of Murray,
Dennis Girardot, Station Manager, Will mechanic and Karen camp chef spent their days servicing
the Atoll by way of their specialties and talents. March 17th with the return of Maritime Air
marked the end of the tour for the four island castaways replaced by the spring rotation crew
eager to step into their roles proudly working for the betterment of Palmyra and the TNC mission.
Situated some 1000 miles due South of Honolulu, HI a landmass made up of 4.6 square miles, the
atoll represents a pristine coral reef environment surrounded by waves breaking upon the outer
reefs that provide the buffer and security for the atoll. On nautical charts, Palmyra is but a tiny
speck in the middle of the mass of blue that represents the Pacific Ocean. The island lies well off
of the major shipping lanes for vessels plying the Asian/American run and is geographically
perhaps one of the remotest places on earth and one of the last few truly uninhabited islands left
in the world. At nighttime while sleeping in the well-appointed open-air cabins mere feet from
West lagoon, a constant roar of the ocean can be heard as a sweet and enchanting melody to fall
asleep to. There’s a huge 29 species bird population as well, their songs added to the serenity of
the warm tropical night air and the bliss of this enchanted island life. Truly a castaways dream
come true! (Click on pictures for larger images)
There has never been a real population on the atoll other then a few fortunate souls. It is believed
a Roger Lextrait spent the longest term of eight years. In 1816, the Esperanza, a Spanish pirate
ship loaded with gold and silver plunder from the Inca temples in Peru, came under attack from
another vessel and a fierce battle ensued. Several crew members that managed to survive the
fight sailed off with the treasure only to wreck on a nearby reef. As the ship was sinking, they
managed to transfer the treasure to Home Island on the South West corner of Palmyra. The
legend and mystery goes on captured by the movie “And The Sea Will Tell…” a murder mystery
that unfolded late 1974. Buck (Wesley) Walker now free from prison has written his account in
“Palmyra: The True Story of an Island Tragedy” Back in the early forties, a construction crew
shipped in from Johnston Atoll spent a number of years on site building an incredible
infrastructure of bunkers and gun emplacements that were never used during WWll. Many of the
structures still remain the most elaborate structure is on Engineer Island, a three wing bunker
that served as the hospital now encapsulated with tropical foliage. A one mile long crushed coral
runway provides access to the atoll via airplane, a white ribbon that extends the full length of
Cooper Island clearly visible on any aerial map or Google World view of Palmyra.
Safety is paramount on the atoll since rescue is some 1000 miles away. Protocols have been set in
place to guide the termed inhabitants while out and about searching the various nooks and
crannies from Sand Island to Coral Gardens. Andy Deering and his life mate Lisa sailed into West
lagoon at the end of our tour for a brief stay to add to the excitement of this enchanting island
life. Andy’s book “The Best Life Money Can’t Buy” is a great read for those who want to touch a
sea farriers life. This is with out question one of the most fundamentally basic life styles possible.
No need for money, no mass population, no auto noise pollution or traffic, no blinding
snowstorms. A castaway kind of life style with warm Pacific Ocean breezes punctuated with warm
tropical rainfall. An incredible journey of mind, body and soul that thanks to an add posted by
CoolWorks member Kari Quaas, one life long Mainer had the great good fortune to visit,
experience and be a part of the growing Palmyra history and legacy! Michael E. Murray
| Maine Native Lives the Dream on Palmyra Atoll ! |
| For an in-depth pictorial view of Palmyra, please visit Murray’s web site; PalmyraGazette.org or visit Murray's construction Web Site at MEMurray.com |
| It was hard leaving Palmyra. My buddy Dadu the faithful island dog continues to watch over his world. |
| Web page Created by MEMurray 4/28/2008 for use by CoolWorks.com For use of pictorial content outside this site or CoolWorks site please contact me first at MEMmaker3@yahoo.com |
Gun emplacement NW corner Palmyra