The Clunies Ross family established settlements to house European and non-European workers. There was strict control over movement and communications from one island to another. Official visitors were discouraged from fraternisation with the Cocos Malay people. In 1901 a telegraph station was established on Direction Island in 1901 by the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company as a link between Perth in Western Australia and stations in Rodrigues and Mauritius and to Batavia. The equipment was destroyed during the Battle of Cocos in World War I when in 1914 a German party from the cruiser Emden landed on Direction Island during World War One. The cable staff managed to send a message reporting the cruiser and HMAS Sydney arrived and a sea battle ensued.