A homesick Australian has created his own Outback outpost 11,000 miles from home on the Shetland Islands – and he even has his own wallabies.
Tasmanian Dave Kok, 42, has built his own Aussie oasis on the Scottish archipelago after deciding to settle there while he was travelling Europe in the Nineties.
Now Dave lives with his Shetland native wife Louise, 38, and two daughters Caitlin, 11, and Ruby, aged four.
Dave Kok, 42, was born and grew up in Tasmania but came to the Shetland Islands in the Nineties while travelling and decided to stay
Pining for the land he left behind, Dave built his own Outback outpost and turned it into a shrine to all things Australian
Dave met Louise, the woman he would later marry, on the Shetlands while saving to travel to Iceland. The pair eventually settled in Scotland, and had two daughters, Caitlin, 11, and Ruby, four. They also have a dog, named Toffee, who is four
Social care worker Dave came to the islands in the late 90s and since 2016 has been building his own watering hole choc-full of Australiana on the island of Burra.
Dave’s place ‘The Outpost’ is a renovated wooden porta cabin filled with Tasmanian beers, Tim Tams, books on bush craft and Aussie Rules sporting memorabilia.
Locals use the Outpost as their local bar and meeting place, as the nearest pub or café is three bridges and three islands away.
And visitors can now enjoy the Outpost’s wallabies Ned and Kelly – after outlaw Ned Kelly – who David brought to the island this winter.
Based on the Shetland Islands latitude the marsupials could be the most northerly of their species anywhere on the planet.
Dave said visiting Australians are often surprised to find the antipodean paradise in such a remote location.
He said: ‘They get a giggle out of it, they are pleasantly surprised to see the Aussie flags and a bit of a bush pub feel of a home away from home.
‘They all ask ‘what brought you here?’ and ‘how come you’re stuck in Shetland?’.
‘The Outpost is pretty good for events like Anzac Day, Australia Day, rugby and cricket matches, or even the AFL Grand Final Day.
‘We have officially been the world’s most northerly AFL Grand Final party three years in a row according to the party tracker on the AFL website.
‘We always seem to attract a few Aussie travellers, and the occasional Kiwi, to join the festivities.
In December Dave took delivery of two wallabies who now live at the Outpost, and plans to hatch emu eggs some time in the future
Tim Tams and Aussie Rules sporting memorabilia form part of Dave’s collection
Books on bush craft and Australian animals are popular with children who visit, Dave says
The shack is also filled with eucalyptus wood which Dave says reminds him of his past as a logger in Tasmania. He is also trying to grow one of the trees (right), despite the climate
‘Those who don’t know of Shetland usually say ‘where is that at?’. I think because Shetland is remote and then Burra is that little bit more remote, the last thing they expect to see is an Aussie and The Outpost at the bum end of a single track road.’
Dave, who was born in Launceston, Tasmania, originally came to Scotland when he was travelling in the late 1990s.
He met his wife Julie while working in a hotel on Shetland as he earned money to travel to Iceland, before deciding to settle on the islands for good.
As well as running the Outpost, Dave is also heavily involved in the Shetland music scene with his bandmates in rock group Ten Tonne Dozer.
The heavy rock groove metal band have toured the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, and won best metal act award in the Scottish Alternative Music Awards in 2012.
Dave said besides himself, and Ned and Kelly the wallabies, The Outpost was full of Aussie treats to remind him of home.
He said: ‘We’re always stocked with Boags, a great Tassie beer, and we occasionally get Cascade stout.
‘We also have loads of book on Australia, especially wildlife books. The kids that visit particularly love them. They also like the many soft toy Aussie animals we have.
‘I’ve got chunks of wood and sawdust from back home – huon pine, sassafras. Myrtle, Tassie blackwood and eucalyptus. It smells great and reminds me of home when I used to chop wood when I worked for the forestry in Tasmania.
The outpost is located in Burra, a remote part of the Shetland Islands, at the end of a dirt track road, meaning it often comes as a surprise to visitors
Dave is often visited by Australian and New Zealand tourist who come through, and has hosted the most northerly AFL final party for the last three years in a row
As well as running the outpost, Dave is a musician who has toured Europe with his rock groove metal band, Ten Tonne Dozer
‘I have loads of flyers and leaflets from Tassie, so I can not only plug Shetland, I can promote Tasmania too. The tourists that come through love it, I should be on commission from the Tassie tourist board.
‘We have Aussie tunes blasting out quite regularly and have loads of sounds from the Aussie bush and animals. A lot of folk are really interested in what the Tasmanian Devil sounds like, or a possum for example.
‘We’ve also got other little Oz-related stuff like postcards, tea towels, a replica of the Ashes (proudly on display now), bar runners, pottery, AFL stuff, star charts of the Southern Hemisphere and even a possum jaw bone.
‘I’m growing some eucalypts as well. Bloody hard to do that up here, I’ve got one that’s about eight-foot-tall, but I’m just worried that a 60-foot tree (potentially) might grow on a 45-degree angle with all the wind we have.’
Dave brought The Outpost’s new resident wallabies to the island in December after getting them from a breeder in England.
He said: ‘The tricky part was getting them here. It took a lot of phone calls and emails to find someone who could transport them up to Aberdeen.
‘Finally, we got an awesome fella to bring them up to the ferry terminal. They were on the road about six hours, then we put them into our own horse trailer and made the 12-hour ferry ride to Shetland, then another 30 minutes out to Burra to The Outpost.
‘It was horrendously windy – force 10 gale and mix of heavy rain and hail, a proper “welcome to Shetland”.
‘They have settled down really well to the point that we are almost able to hand feed and pat them.
‘They are Bennett’s wallabies, or red-necked wallabies, and are fairly well suited to the Shetland climate, which surprises a few people.
‘They have a fairly plush shelter and a nice bit of ground to move around on. Both are very healthy and doing great, and they are getting to know each other romantically. They are Shetland’s most popular marsupials.’
For the future Dave plans to bring more Australian animals to the Shetlands and is expecting some emu eggs to be delivered soon, as well as hoping to breed the wallabies.