The "rush and giddy world of the 19th Century" passed on by, leaving behind a charming enclave where the major industries are fishing and tending to the lucky tourists who have kept Harbour Island their secret for more than a century.

The crow of a rooster and the whir of golf carts filtered through the louvered window of my room at the Landing, a 200-year-old plantation house-turned-hotel on Bay Street. Harbour Island has no golf courses, but seemingly every one of its residents gets about on a golf cart.

"Over by the Piggly Wiggly, they jam up really good," said the sommelier at the high-end Rock House resort next door.

Harbour Island has avoided the motorized deluge that has spoiled so many vacation destinations by adopting golf carts as prime movers. No horns, no smog, no road rage. There are cars and trucks on the island, but legislation has been drafted that would put a moratorium on these intrusions.

Raymond Harrison, senior tourism manager for Harbour Island and Eleuthera, is leading the push. "We don't need any more big vehicles," he said. "The island is too small, too congested. If we don't start now, in a few years it will be too late."

Harrison arrived to give a tour of the island - in a golf cart, of course, a purple, gas-powered Yamaha six-seater with chrome wheels and a white top. We purred through the streets of Dunmore Town at a leisurely pace and headed to the Narrows, a strip of land with mansions with names such as Sans Souci and Hidden Mango on both sides of a thin sand road. All we could see were the gates and gardens and glimpses of the beach beckoning beyond. When the owners are absent, some of the homes are available for rent at $5,000 to $8,000 a week.

"This island has become the place for the rich and famous," Harrison said. "On any given day, you can walk the streets and see major stars, top corporate executives."

Indeed, in the weeks before I came, Julia Roberts and Elle Macpherson were sighted. Over cold Kalik beers at tiny JJ's bar one night, the locals told of the surprise appearance of model Tyra Banks on a bar stool. Colin Powell has dropped by, too.

The island is a nice mix of high-end resorts that have the feel of old-money country clubs, and bars such as Gusty's, where the floor is sand and Kalik-fueled karaoke the entertainment. The Vic-Hum Club, home of the "world's largest coconut," has an outdoor patio that serves as the kids' basketball court by day and a dance floor at night, with D.J. Daddy "D" spinning the tunes.

"Even though we have a lot of upscale, we want to maintain this down-home feel so people don't feel it's too stuffy," Harrison said.