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Cocos (Keeling) Islands

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Countries; Geography of
Oceania (Australasia)

   Territory of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

   Flag of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

   Flag
   Location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

   The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are one of Australia's territories
   Capital West Island
   Largest village Bantam ( Home Island)
   Official languages English ( de facto)
   Government Constitutional monarchy (federal)
    - Queen Elizabeth II
    - Administrator Neil Lucas
   Area
    - Total 14 km²
   5.3 sq mi
    - Water (%) 0
   Population
    - 2004 estimate 628 ( n/a)
    - Density n/a/km² ( n/a)
   n/a/sq mi
   Currency Australian dollar ( AUD)
   Time zone ( UTC+6½)
   Internet TLD .cc
   Calling code ++61-891

   The Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, also called Cocos Islands and
   Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia. There are two atolls and
   twenty-seven coral islands in the group. The islands are located in the
   Indian Ocean, about one-half of the way from Australia to Sri Lanka, at
   12°07′S 96°54′E.

History

   Captain William Keeling was the first European to see the islands, in
   1609, but they remained uninhabited until the nineteenth century, when
   they became a possession of the Clunies-Ross family. Slaves were
   brought to work the coconut plantation from Indonesia, the Cape of Good
   Hope and East Asia by Alexander Hare who had taken part in Stamford
   Raffles' takeover of Java in 1811. A merchant seaman called Captain
   John Clunies-Ross, who had also served under Raffles in the takeover,
   set up a compound and Hare's severely mistreated slaves soon escaped to
   work under better conditions in the Clunies-Ross compound.

   On 1 April 1836, HMS Beagle under Captain Robert FitzRoy arrived to
   take soundings establishing the profile of the atoll. To the young
   naturalist Charles Darwin who was on the ship the results supported a
   theory he had developed of how atolls formed. He studied the natural
   history of the islands and collected specimens. His assistant Syms
   Covington noted that "an Englishman and HIS family, with about sixty or
   seventy Mulattos from the Cape of Good Hope, live on one of the
   islands. Captain Ross, the governor, is now absent at the Cape."

   The islands were brought under the British Empire in 1857. In 1867,
   their administration was placed under the Straits Settlements, which
   later became known as Singapore. Queen Victoria granted the islands in
   perpetuity to the Clunies-Ross family in 1886. The Cocos Islands under
   the Clunies-Ross family have been cited as an example of a 19th century
   micronation.

   On 9 November 1914, the islands became the site of the Battle of Cocos,
   one of the first naval battles of World War I. The telegraph station on
   Direction Island, a vital link between the United Kingdom, Australia
   and New Zealand, was attacked by the German light cruiser SMS Emden,
   which was destroyed several hours later by the Australian cruiser, HMAS
   Sydney .

   During World War II the cable station was once again a vital link. The
   islands were also noted as a covert base for enemy German raider
   cruisers, which operated in the Indian Ocean. Following the entry of
   Japan into the war, Japanese forces occupied neighbouring islands. To
   avoid drawing their attention to the Cocos cable station and its
   islands' garrison, the seaplane anchorage between Direction and
   Horsburgh Islands was not used. Radio transmitters and receivers were
   also not used, except in emergencies.

   After the Fall of Singapore in 1942, the islands were administered from
   Ceylon (Sri Lanka), while West and Direction Islands were placed under
   Allied military administration. The islands garrison initially
   consisted of a platoon from the British Army's King's African Rifles,
   located on Horsburgh Island, with two 6-inch guns to cover the
   anchorage. The local inhabitants all lived on Home Island. Despite the
   importance of the islands as a communication centre the Japanese made
   no attempt either to raid or to occupy them and contented themselves
   with sending over a reconnaissance aircraft about once a month.

   On the night of 8-9 May 1942, fifteen members of the garrison, from the
   Ceylon Defence Force mutinied, under the leadership of Gratien
   Fernando. The mutineers were said to have been provoked by the attitude
   of their British officers, and were also supposedly inspired by anti-
   imperialist beliefs. They attempted to take control of the gun battery
   on the islands.

   The Cocos Islands Mutiny was crushed, although they killed one
   non-mutinous soldier and wounded one officer. Seven of the mutineers
   were sentenced to death at a trial which was later alleged to have
   improperly conducted. Four of the sentences were commuted but three men
   were executed, including Fernando. These were to be the only British
   Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World
   War.

   On 25 December 1942, the Japanese submarine I-166 bombarded the islands
   but caused no damage.

   Later in the war two airstrips were built and three bomber squadrons
   were moved to the islands to provide to conduct raids against Japanese
   targets in South East Asia and to provide support during the reinvasion
   of Malaya and reconquest of Singapore. They included some Liberator
   bombers from No. 321 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF (members
   of exiled Dutch forces serving with the Royal Australian Air Force),
   were also stationed on the islands. When 99 and 356 RAF squadrons
   arrived on West Island they brought with them a daily newspaper called
   Atoll which contained news of what was happening in the outside world.
   Run by airmen in their off-duty hours it achieved fame when dropped by
   Liberator bombers on POW camps over the heads of the Japanese guards.

   In 1946 the administration of the islands reverted back to Singapore.

   On 23 November 1955, the islands were transferred to Australian control
   under the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955. In 1978, Australia entered
   a form of purchase of the islands with the Clunies-Ross family.

Geography

   Cocos (Keeling) Islands
   Enlarge
   Cocos (Keeling) Islands

   The Cocos (Keeling) Islands consist of two flat, low-lying coral atolls
   with an area of 14.2  km² (5.4  sq. mi), 2.6 km (1.6  mi) of coastline,
   a highest elevation of 5 m (16  ft) and thickly covered with coconut
   palms and other vegetation. The climate is pleasant, modified by the
   southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year and with
   moderate rainfall. Cyclones may occur in the early months of the year.

   North Keeling Island is an atoll consisting of just one C-shaped
   island, a nearly closed atoll ring with a small opening into the
   lagoon, about 50 m (165 ft) wide, on the East side. The island measures
   1.1 km² (272 acres) in land area and is uninhabited. The lagoon is
   about 0.5 km² (124 acres). North Keeling Island and the surrounding sea
   to 1.5 km from shore form the Pulu Keeling National Park, established
   on 12 December 1995.

   South Keeling Islands is an atoll consisting of twenty-six individual
   islets forming an incomplete atoll ring, with a total land area of
   13.1 km² (5.1 sq mi). Only Home Island and West Island are populated.
   People from Home Island maintain weekend shacks on the lagoon shore of
   South Island and on some of the smaller islands.

   Table of the islets, with areas, numbered islets clockwise starting in
   the north:
   Map of South Keeling Islands (1889)
   Enlarge
   Map of South Keeling Islands (1889)
   Map of South Keeling Islands
   Enlarge
   Map of South Keeling Islands
   No.                 Islet                  Area
                                              (km²)
                              English name
    1  Pulo Luar           Horsbourgh Island   1,04
    2  Pulo Tikus          Direction Island    0,34
    3  Pulo Pasir          Workhouse Island    0,00
    4  Pulo Beras          Prison Island       0,02
    5                      Button Islets       0,00
    7  Pulo Gangsa                            <0,01
    8  Pulo Selma          Home Island         0,95
    9  Pulo Ampang Kechil  Scaevola Islet     <0,01
   10  Pulo Ampang                             0,06
   11  Pulo Wa-idas        Ampang Minor        0,02
   12  Pulo Blekok                             0,03
   13  Pulo Kembang                            0,04
   14  Pulo Cheplok        Gooseberry Island  <0,01
   15  Pulo Pandan         Misery Island       0,24
   16  Pulo Siput          Goat Island         0,10
   17  Pulo Jambatan                          <0,01
   18  Pulo Labu                               0,04
   19  Pulo Atas           South Island        3,63
   20  Pulo Kelapa Satu                        0,02
   21  Pulo Blan           East Cay            0,03
   22  Pulo Blan Madar     Burial Island       0,03
   23  Pulo Maria          West Cay            0,01
   24  Pulo Kambling        ?Turtle Island    <0,01
   25  Pulo Panjang        West Island         6,23
   26  Pulo Wak Bangka      ?Turtle Island     0,22

   The islands with zero areas have vanished.

   There are no rivers or lakes on either atoll; fresh water resources are
   limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs.

   Cocos (Keeling) Island is located on almost exactly the opposite side
   of the globe as Cocos Island, Costa Rica.

Fauna

Demographics

   As of 2004, there are 629 inhabitants of the Cocos (Keeling) islands.
   The population on the two inhabited islands generally is split between
   the ethnic Europeans on West Island (est. pop. 120) and the ethnic
   Malays on Home Island (est. pop. 500). A Cocos dialect of Malay and
   English are the main languages spoken and 80% of Cocos Islanders are
   Sunni Muslim.

Government

   Unofficial flag of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
   Enlarge
   Unofficial flag of Cocos (Keeling) Islands

   The capital of the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands is West Island
   while the largest settlement is the village of Bantam ( Home Island).
   Governance of the islands is based on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act
   of 1955 and depends heavily on the laws of Australia. The islands are
   administered from Canberra by the Department of Transport and Regional
   Services, through a non-resident Administrator appointed by the
   Governor-General. The current Administrator is Neil Lucas, who was
   appointed on 30 January 2006 and is also the Administrator of Christmas
   Island. These two Territories comprise Australia's Indian Ocean
   Territories. There also exists a unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands
   Shire Council with seven seats. A full term lasts four years, though
   elections are held every two years; approximately half the members
   retire each two years. Federally, Cocos (Keeling) Islanders form the
   electorate of Lingiari with Christmas Island and outback Northern
   Territory.

   The islands have a five-person police force but their defence remains
   the responsibility of Australia.

Economy

   Grown throughout the islands, coconuts are the sole cash crop. Copra
   and fresh coconuts are the major export earners. Small local gardens
   and fishing contribute to the food supply, but additional food and most
   other necessities must be imported from Australia. There is a small but
   growing tourist industry.

   The Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction
   workers, stevedores, and lighterage worker operations. Tourism employs
   others. The unemployment rate was estimated at 60% in 2000.

   The islands are connected within Australia's telecommunication system
   (with number range +61 8 9162 xxxx) and postal system ( post code:
   6799). There is one paved airport (on the West Island) and a lagoon
   anchorage.

   The region's internet top-level domain is .cc.

   Sunset over the islands

                          Palm trees on the islands

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   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
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