Cocos (Keeling) Islands
5520
225941946
2008-07-16T03:19:20Z
124.43.32.75
{{redirect2|Cocos Islands|Cocus}}
{{distinguish|Isla del Coco}}
{{Infobox Country
|native_name = Territory of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
|common_name = Cocos (Keeling) Islands
|image_flag = Flag of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.svg
|image_coat = Cocos shire logo.jpg
|image_map = Keelingislands.png
|map_caption = The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are one of [[Australia]]'s [[States and territories of Australia|territories]]
|national_anthem =
|official_languages = [[English language|English]] (''[[de facto]]'')
|capital = [[West Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands|West Island]]
|largest_settlement_type = village
|largest_settlement = [[Bantam, Cocos (Keeling) Islands|Bantam]] ([[Home Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands|Home Island]])
|government_type = [[Federal constitutional monarchy]]
|leader_title1 = [[Queen of Australia|Queen]]
|leader_name1 = [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II]]
|leader_title2 = [[Administrator of Cocos (Keeling) Islands|Administrator]]
|leader_name2 = [[Neil Lucas]]
|leader_title3 = [[Shire of Cocos|Shire President]]
|leader_name3 = [[Mohammad Said Chongkin(Australian administrator)|Mohammad Said Chongkin]]
|sovereignty_type = [[States and territories of Australia|Territory of Australia]]
|established_event1 = Annexed by<br/>[[British Empire]]
|established_date1 = <br/>1857
|established_event2 = Transferred to<br/>Australian control
|established_date2 = <br/>1955
|area_magnitude =
|area_km2 = 14
|area_sq_mi = 5.3
|percent_water = 0
|population_estimate = 628
|population_estimate_rank = n/a
|population_estimate_year = 2004
|population_density_km2 = n/a
|population_density_sq_mi = n/a
|population_density_rank = n/a
|currency = [[Australian dollar]]
|currency_code = AUD
|time_zone =
|utc_offset = +6½
|cctld = [[.cc]]
|calling_code = 61 891
|footnotes =
| demonym = Cocos Island
}}
The '''Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands''', also called '''Cocos Islands''' and '''Keeling Islands''', is a [[States and territories of Australia|territory of Australia]]. There are two [[atoll]]s and twenty-seven coral islands in the group. The [[island]]s are located in the [[Indian Ocean]], about half way from Australia to [[Sri Lanka]], at {{coor dm|12|07|S|96|54|E|region:AU}}.
==History==
{{Unreferencedsection|date=February 2008}}
[[Image:Cocos keelingISS002-E-9900.PNG|thumb|300px|left|[[NASA]] picture of The Keeling Islands.]]
Captain [[William Keeling]] was the first European to see the islands, in 1609, but they remained uninhabited until the [[19th century|nineteenth century]], when they became a possession of the [[Clunies-Ross Family]]. [[slavery|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 [[Scottish people|Scottish]] 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 for Clunies-Ross.
On [[April 1]] [[1836]], [[The Voyage of the Beagle|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 (he was of course Scottish)and HIS family, with about sixty or seventy [[Mulatto]]s 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 annexed to the British Empire in 1857. In 1867, their administration was placed under the [[Straits Settlements]], which included Penang, Malacca and Singapore. [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] granted the islands in perpetuity to the [[King of the Cocos Islands|Clunies-Ross family]] in 1886. The Cocos Islands under the Clunies-Ross family have been cited as an example of a nineteenth century [[micronation]].
On [[November 9]], [[1914]], the islands became the site of the [[Battle of Cocos]], one of the first [[naval battle]]s of [[World War I]]. The [[Telegraphy|telegraph]] station on [[Direction Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands|Direction Island]], a vital link between the [[United Kingdom]], [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]], was attacked by the [[Imperial Germany|German]] [[light cruiser]] [[SMS Emden|SMS ''Emden'']], which was then in turn surprised and destroyed by the Australian cruiser, [[HMAS Sydney (1912)|HMAS ''Sydney'']].<ref>[http://www.navy.gov.au/spc/history/ships/sydney2.html navy.gov.au]</ref>
During [[World War II]], the cable station was once again a vital link. Allied planners noted that the islands might be seized as a base for enemy [[Nazi Germany|German]] raider cruisers operating in the Indian Ocean. Following [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]'s entry 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 Island|Horsburgh]] islands was not used. Radio transmitters were also kept silent, except in emergencies.
After the [[Fall of Singapore]] in 1942, the islands were administered from [[Ceylon]] ([[Sri Lanka]]), and 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 2 × 6 in (152 mm) 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]] [[Mutiny|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 [[Artillery|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 been improperly conducted. Four of the sentences were commuted, but three men were executed, including Fernando. These were to be the only [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]] soldiers to be executed for [[mutiny]] during the Second World War. <ref name=CIM>{{cite book
| last = Cruise
| first = Noel
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = The Cocos Islands Mutiny
| publisher = Fremantle Arts Centre Press
| date = 2002
| location = Fremantle
| pages = 248
| url =
| doi =
| id =
| isbn = 1 86368 310 0}}</ref>
On [[December 25]] [[1942]], the [[Japan]]ese [[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 conduct raids against Japanese targets in South East Asia and to provide support during the reinvasion of [[British Malaya|Malaya]] and reconquest of [[Singapore]]. The first aircraft to arrive were [[Supermarine Spitfire]] Mk VIII's of [[No. 136 Squadron RAF]]. They included some [[B-24|Liberator]] bombers from [[No. 321 (Netherlands) Squadron RAF]] (members of exiled Dutch forces serving with the [[Royal Air Force]]), which were also stationed on the islands. When in July 1945, [[No. 99 Squadron RAF|No. 99]] and [[No. 356 Squadron RAF|No. 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 to Singapore.
On [[November 23]] [[1955]], the islands were transferred to Australian control under the ''Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955''. In the 1970s, the Australian government's dissatisfaction with the Clunies-Ross feudal style of rule of the island increased. In 1978, Australia forced the family to sell the islands for the sum of AU$6,250,000, using the threat of compulsory acquisition. By agreement the family retained ownership of Oceania House, their home on the island. However, in 1983 the Australian government moved to dishonour this agreement, and told the former last ruler, [[John Clunies-Ross]], that he should leave the Cocos. The following year the High Court of Australia ruled that resumption of Oceania House was unlawful, but the Australian government ordered that no government business was to be granted to his shipping company, an action which contributed to his bankruptcy. John Clunies-Ross lives in exile in Perth, Australia, but his successors still live on the Cocos.
==Geography==
[[Image:Cocos (Keeling) Islands-CIA WFB Map.png|thumb|left|Cocos (Keeling) Islands]]
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands consist of two flat, low-lying coral atolls with an area of 14.2 km² (5.4 [[square mile|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, moderated 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 [[acre]]s) 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]]. It is home to the only surviving population of the endemic, and endangered, [[Cocos Buff-banded Rail]].
'''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, Cocos (Keeling) Islands|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:<br/>
[[Image:Cocos Islands 1889.jpg|thumb|Map of South Keeling Islands (1889)]]
[[Image:Cocos(keeling) 76.jpg|thumb|255px|Map of South Keeling Islands]]
{| class="wikitable"
!rowspan="2"| No. ||colspan="2"| Islet ||rowspan="2"| Area<br/>(km²) </tr>
! Malay name !! English name
|-
|align="center"| 1 || Pulu Luar || [[Horsburgh Island]] ||align="right"| 1.04 </tr>
|align="center"| 2 || Pulu Tikus || Direction Island ||align="right"| 0.34 </tr>
|align="center"| 3 || Pulu Pasir || Workhouse Island ||align="right"| 0.00 </tr>
|align="center"| 4 || Pulu Beras || Prison Island ||align="right"| 0.02 </tr>
|align="center"| 5 || || Button Islets ||align="right"| 0.00 </tr>
|align="center"| 7 || Pulu Gangsa || ||align="right"| <0.01 </tr>
|align="center"| 8 || Pulu Selma || Home Island ||align="right"| 0.95 </tr>
|align="center"| 9 || Pulu Ampang Kechil || Scaevola Islet ||align="right"| <0.01 </tr>
|align="center"| 10 || Pulu Ampang || ||align="right"| 0.06 </tr>
|align="center"| 11 || Pulu Wa-idas || Ampang Minor ||align="right"| 0.02 </tr>
|align="center"| 12 || Pulu Blekok || ||align="right"| 0.03 </tr>
|align="center"| 13 || Pulu Kembang || ||align="right"| 0.04 </tr>
|align="center"| 14 || Pulu Cheplok || Gooseberry Island ||align="right"| <0.01 </tr>
|align="center"| 15 || Pulu Pandan || Misery Island ||align="right"| 0.24 </tr>
|align="center"| 16 || Pulu Siput || Goat Island ||align="right"| 0.10 </tr>
|align="center"| 17 || Pulu Jambatan || ||align="right"| <0.01 </tr>
|align="center"| 18 || Pulu Labu || ||align="right"| 0.04 </tr>
|align="center"| 19 || Pulu Atas || South Island ||align="right"| 3.63 </tr>
|align="center"| 20 || Pulu Kelapa Satu || ||align="right"| 0.02 </tr>
|align="center"| 21 || Pulu Blan || East Cay ||align="right"| 0.03 </tr>
|align="center"| 22 || Pulu Blan Madar || Burial Island ||align="right"| 0.03 </tr>
|align="center"| 23 || Pulu Maria || West Cay ||align="right"| 0.01 </tr>
|align="center"| 24 || Pulu Kambling || ?Turtle Island ||align="right"| <0.01 </tr>
|align="center"| 25 || Pulu Panjang || West Island ||align="right"| 6.23 </tr>
|align="center"| 26 || Pulu Wak Bangka || ?Turtle Island ||align="right"| 0.22 </tr>
|}
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==
{{main|Fauna of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands}}
==Demographics==
In 2007, there are an estimated 596 inhabitants of the islands.<ref name="cia"/> The population on the two inhabited islands generally is split between the ethnic [[European ethnic groups|Europeans]] on West Island (est. pop. 120) and the ethnic [[Cocos Malays|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==
The capital of the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands is [[West Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands|West Island]] while the largest settlement is the village of Bantam ([[Home Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands|Home Island]]). Governance of the islands is based on the ''Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955'' <ref>[http://www.weblaw.edu.au/weblaw/display_resource.phtml?rid=867 WebLaw - full resource metadata display<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/ActCompilation1.nsf/0/D1D6D0EDD0A339E2CA25714100115B0A?OpenDocument ComLaw Act Compilations - Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955 (34)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and depends heavily on the laws of Australia. The islands are administered from [[Canberra]] by the [[Attorney-General's Department]]<ref name="AussieAG">{{cite web | author = First Assistant Secretary, Territories Division | title = Territories of Australia | url = http://www.ag.gov.au/territories | publisher= Attorney-General's Department | date= 2008-01-30 | accessdate = 2008-02-07 | quote = The Federal Government, through the Attorney-General's Department administers Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Coral Sea Islands, Jervis Bay, and Norfolk Island as Territories. }}</ref> (before [[November 29]], [[2007]]<ref name="DOTARS">{{cite web | author = Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government | title = Territories of Australia | url = http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/territories/index.aspx | accessdate = 2008-02-07 | quote = As part of the Machinery of Government Changes following the Federal Election on 29 November 2007, administrative responsibility for Territories has been transferred to the Attorney General's Department. }}</ref> administration was carried out by the [[Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (Australia)|Department of Transport and Regional Services]]), through a non-resident [[Administrator (Australia)|Administrator]] appointed by the [[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]]. The current Administrator is [[Neil Lucas]] PSM , 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 [[Shire of Cocos|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 [[Division of Lingiari|Lingiari]] with Christmas Island and outback Northern Territory.
The islands have a five-person police force but their defence remains the responsibility of Australia. {{Fact|date=June 2008}}
==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, [[stevedore]]s, and lighterage worker operations. Tourism employs others. The unemployment rate was estimated at 60% in 2000.<ref name="cia"> [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ck.html CIA World Factbook]</ref>
The islands are connected within Australia's telecommunication system (with number range +61 8 9162 xxxx) and postal system ([[List of Australian postal codes|post code]]: 6799). There is one paved airport on the West Island, [[Cocos (Keeling) Island International Airport]], to which National Jet Systems operate scheduled jet services from Perth, Western Australia) and a lagoon anchorage.
==Education==
There are 2 schools in the archipelago. They are on the two inhabited islands - one is on West Island and the other on Home Island.
== Gallery ==
<center><gallery>
Image:Keelingsunset.JPG|Sunset over the islands
Image:Keelingpalms.jpg|Palm trees on the islands
</gallery></center>
==See also==
* [[Banknotes of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands]]
* [[Cocos Malays]]
* [[King of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands]]
* [[Pearl Islands]] Isla de Cocos, Panama and Cocos Island, Costa Rica
* [[Transport in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/duffy/arb/399-414/403.pdf Atoll Research Bulletin vol. 403]
*[http://www.cocos-tourism.cc Cocos (Keeling) Islands Tourism website]
*[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ck.html Cocos (Keeling) Islands] entry from the [[CIA World Factbook]]
*[http://www.shire.cc/ Shire of Cocos (Keeling) Islands]
*[http://www.awm.gov.au/journal/j34/cocosmutiny.htm Noel Crusz, ''The Cocos Islands mutiny'', Reviewed by: PETER STANLEY, Principal Historian, Australian War Memorial]
*[http://www.historyofnations.net/oceania/cocos.html History of Cocos (Keeling) Islands]
*[http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/duffy/arb/497-508/505.pdf Areas of individual islets]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6730047.stm The man who lost a 'coral kingdom']
{{Template group
|title = Geographic locale
|list =
{{States and territories of Australia}}
{{Countries and territories of Oceania|titlestyle=background:#ddf;}}
{{Countries and territories of Southeast Asia}}
{{Countries and territories bordering the Indian Ocean}}
}}
{{Austronesian-speaking}}
<!-- Categories -->
[[Category:Cocos (Keeling) Islands| ]]
[[Category:British rule in Singapore]]
[[Category:Islands of Australia]]
[[Category:States and territories of Australia]]
<!--Other languages-->
[[ar:جزر كوكس]]
[[be-x-old:Какосавыя выспы]]
[[bs:Kokosova ostrva]]
[[bg:Кокосови острови]]
[[ca:Illes Cocos]]
[[cs:Kokosové ostrovy]]
[[da:Cocosøerne]]
[[de:Kokosinseln]]
[[et:Kookossaared]]
[[el:Νησιά Κόκος]]
[[es:Islas Cocos]]
[[eo:Kokosinsuloj]]
[[eu:Cocos (Keeling) uharteak]]
[[fa:جزایر (کیلینگ) کوکو]]
[[fr:Îles Cocos]]
[[gl:Illas Cocos]]
[[zh-classical:科科斯(基林)群島]]
[[ko:코코스 제도]]
[[hi:कोकोज (कीलिंग) द्वीप समूह]]
[[hr:Kokosovi otoci]]
[[bpy:কোকোস (কিলিং) দ্বীপমালা]]
[[id:Kepulauan Cocos (Keeling)]]
[[is:Kókoseyjar]]
[[it:Isole Cocos]]
[[he:איי קוקוס]]
[[pam:Cocos (Keeling) Islands]]
[[ka:ქოქოსის კუნძულები]]
[[kw:Ynysow Cocos (Keeling)]]
[[sw:Visiwa vya Cocos (Keeling)]]
[[lv:Kokosu (Kīlinga) Salas]]
[[lt:Kokosų (Kilingo) Salos]]
[[lij:Isoe Cocos]]
[[hu:Kókusz (Keeling)-szigetek]]
[[ms:Kepulauan Cocos (Keeling)]]
[[nl:Cocoseilanden]]
[[ja:ココス (キーリング) 諸島]]
[[no:Kokosøyene]]
[[nn:Kokosøyane]]
[[pl:Wyspy Kokosowe]]
[[pt:Ilhas Cocos (Keeling)]]
[[ro:Insulele Cocos]]
[[ru:Кокосовые острова]]
[[simple:Cocos (Keeling) Islands]]
[[sk:Kokosové ostrovy]]
[[sr:Кокосова острва]]
[[sh:Kokosovi Otoci]]
[[fi:Kookossaaret]]
[[sv:Kokosöarna]]
[[ta:கொகோசு (கீலிங்) தீவுகள்]]
[[vi:Quần đảo Cocos (Keeling)]]
[[tr:Cocos Adaları]]
[[wo:Cocos (Keeling) Islands]]
[[zh:科科斯(基林)群島]]