Christmas Island

Territory of Christmas Island
Flag
Anthem: Advance Australia Fair
Capital	Flying Fish Cove ("The Settlement")
Largest city	capital
Official languages	English (de facto)
Government	Federal constitutional monarchy
- Queen	Elizabeth II
- Administrator	Neil Lucas
- Shire President	Gordon Thomson
Territory of Australia
- Sovereignty transferred to Australia	1957
Area
- Total	135 km² 52 sq mi
- Water (%)	0
Population
- 2006 estimate	1,493
- Density	11.06/km² n/a/sq mi
Currency	Australian dollar (AUD)
Internet TLD	.cx
Calling code	+61

The Territory of Christmas Island is a small territory of Australia located in the Indian Ocean, 2650 kilometres (1645 mi) northwest of Perth in Western Australia, 360 kilometres (225 mi) south of Jakarta, Indonesia and 1350 kilometres (840 mi) South of Singapore.

It maintains about 1,600 residents who live in a number of "settlement areas" on the northern tip of the island: Flying Fish Cove (also known as Kampong), Settlement, Silver City , Poon Saan and Drumsite.

It has a unique natural topography and is of immense interest to scientists and naturalists due to the number of species of endemic flora and fauna which have evolved in isolation and undisturbed by human habitation.

While there has been mining activity on the island for many years, 65% of its 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi) are now National Park and there are large areas of pristine and ancient rainforest.

Geography

Located at 10°30′S 105°40′E, the island is a quadrilateral with hollowed sides, about 19 km (12 miles) in greatest length and 14.5 km (9 miles) in extreme breadth. The total land area is 135 km² (52 square miles), with 138.9 km (86.3 miles) of coastline.

Christmas Island

The Island is believed to be on a tectonic plate moving northwards a few centimetres a year. One theory is that about 60 million years ago an undersea volcano rose to the surface and a coral atoll formed. Some 20 million years ago, the atoll began to subside and limestone accumulated as the corals sank. About 10 million years ago the subsidence reversed and an Island emerged in a series of uplifts that give it a stepped appearance. Each terrace was formed by the combined effects of fringing reef development and erosion of the sea cliff before the next uplift occurred. Examples of more recent faulting with lava flows (which probably occurred underwater) can be seen at the Dales, Dolly Beach, Waterfall, Ross Hill Gardens, Winifred Beach and Egeria Point. Caves and sinkholes typical of limestone formations occur at many points on the Island.

The coast consists of mostly sheer, rocky cliffs from 10-20 m high with a few, small sand and coral rubble beaches. The interior is a slightly undulating plateau, from 160-360 m above sea level. A series of steep slopes or cliffs with intervening narrow terraces separate the central plateau from the shore. Generally a wider terrace is located immediately inland above the shoreline.

Climate

Christmas Island lies at the southern edge of the equatorial low pressure belt that moves north and south of the equator during the course of the year. This confers a typical tropical, equatorial climate with a wet and a dry season. The wet season is from December to April when the north-west monsoon blows. For the rest of the year south-east trade winds bring slightly lower temperatures and humidity, and much less rain. The mean annual rainfall is 2154.0 mm. During the monsoon, heavy downpours lasting several days, and periods of humid calm weather are punctuated by gusty north-westerly winds. Cyclones and cyclonic swells from the north-west sometimes affect the Island during the wet season. Humidity and temperatures vary little with ranges from 80-90%, and temperatures of average maximum 28º Celsius in March/April. The average minimum falls to 22º Celsius in August/September. The island is mainly tropical rainforest, of which 65% is National Park.

Flora and fauna

File:Red Crab.jpg

Christmas Island Red Crab

Coconut crab

Red-footed Boobies

Common Noddy

Royal Poinciana Flower

Christmas Island is of immense scientific value as it was uninhabited until the late nineteenth century, so many unique species of fauna and flora exist which have evolved independently of human interference. Among the best-known is the Christmas Island red crab, which numbered some 100 million on the island as of 2004 . Two-thirds of the island has been declared a National Park which is managed by the Australian Department of Environment and Heritage through Parks Australia.

There are around 200 species of native flowering plants on the island. The distribution of these plants is related to the depth of the soil, the soil's moisture retention and exposure to and distance from the sea. The dense rainforest has evolved in the deep soils of the plateau and on the terraces. The forests are dominated by twenty-five tree species. Ferns, orchids and vines grow on the branches in the humid atmosphere beneath the canopy. The 135 plant species include sixteen which are only found on Christmas Island.

The annual red crab mass migration (around 100 million animals) to the sea to spawn has been called one of the wonders of the natural world and takes place each year around November, after the start of the wet season and in synchronisation with the cycle of the moon.

The land crabs and sea birds are the most noticeable animals on the island. Twenty terrestrial and intertidal crabs (of which thirteen are regarded as true land crabs, only dependent on the ocean for larval development) have been described. Robber crabs, known elsewhere as coconut crabs, also exist in large numbers on Christmas Island and are capable of opening and devouring coconuts with their strong claws.

Christmas Island is a focal point for sea birds of various species. Eight species or subspecies of sea birds nest on the island. The most numerous is the Red-footed Booby that nests in colonies, in trees, on many parts of the shore terrace. The widespread Brown Booby nests on the ground near the edge of the seacliff and inland cliffs. Abbott's Booby (listed as endangered) nests on tall emergent trees of the western, northern and southern plateau rainforest. The Christmas Island forest is the only nesting habitat of the Abbott's Booby left in the world. The endemic Christmas Island Frigatebird (listed as endangered) has nesting areas on the north-eastern shore terraces. Great Frigatebirds nest in semi-deciduous trees on the shore terrace with the greatest concentrations being in the North West and South Point areas. The Common Noddy and two species of bosuns or tropicbirds with their brilliant gold or silver plumage and distinctive streamer tail feathers also nest on the island. Of the ten native land birds and shorebirds, seven are endemic species or subspecies. Some 76 vagrant and migrant bird species have been recorded.

History

For centuries, Christmas Island's isolation and rugged coasts provided natural barriers to settlement. British and Dutch navigators first included the island on their charts from the early seventeenth century, and Captain William Mynors of the British East India Company vessel, the Royal Mary, named the island when he passed by on Christmas Day, 25 December 1643. The island first appears on a map produced by Pieter Goos and published in 1666 . Goos had labelled the island Moni.

William Dampier

The earliest recorded visit was in March 1688 by William Dampier of the British ship Cygnet, who found it uninhabited. An account of the visit can be found in Dampier's Voyages, which describes how, when trying to reach Cocos from New Holland, his ship was pulled off course in an easterly direction and after 28 days arrived at Christmas Island. Dampier landed at the Dales (on the West Coast) and two of his crewmen were the first recorded people to set foot on Christmas Island.

The next visit was by Daniel Beekman, who described it in his 1718 book, A Voyage to and from the Island of Borneo, in the East Indies.

In 1771, the Indian vessel, the Pigot, attempted to find an anchorage but was unsuccessful; the crew reported seeing wild pigs and coconut palms. However, pigs have never been introduced to the island, so the Pigot may have found a different island.

Exploration and annexation

File:Silver City Sunset.jpg

Silver City Sunset

Poon Saan shops

The first attempt at exploring the island was in 1857 by the crew of the Amethyst. They tried to reach the summit of the island, but found the cliffs impassable.

During the 1872-76 Challenger expedition to Indonesia, naturalist Dr John Murray carried out extensive surveys.

In 1887 , Captain Maclear of HMS Flying Fish, having discovered an anchorage in a bay that he named Flying Fish Cove, landed a party and made a small but interesting collection of the flora and fauna. In the next year, Pelham Aldrich, on board HMS Egeria, visited it for ten days, accompanied by J. J. Lister, who gathered a larger biological and mineralogical collection.

Among the rocks then obtained and submitted to Sir John Murray for examination were many of nearly pure phosphate of lime, a discovery which led to annexation of the island by the British Crown on 6 June 1888.

Settlement and exploitation

Soon afterwards, a small settlement was established in Flying Fish Cove by G. Clunies Ross, the owner of the Keeling Islands (some 900 kilometres to the south west) to collect timber and supplies for the growing industry on Cocos.

Phosphate mining began in the 1890s using indentured workers from Singapore, China, and Malaysia.

The island was administered jointly by the British Phosphate Commissioners and District Officers from the United Kingdom Colonial Office through the Straits Settlements, and later the Crown Colony of Singapore.

Japanese invasion

During World War II, many of the European residents of Christmas Island were evacuated in anticipation of a Japanese invasion. Japan invaded and occupied the island in 1942, as the Indian garrison mutinied, and interned the residents until the end of World War II in 1945. For a short time after the war, Christmas Island came under the jurisdiction of the new Colony of Singapore.

Transfer to Australia

At Australia's request, the United Kingdom transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1957. The Australian government paid the government of Singapore £2.9 million in compensation, a figure based mainly on an estimated value of the phosphate foregone by Singapore.

The first Australian Official Representative arrived in 1958 and was replaced by an Administrator in 1968. Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands together are called the Australian Indian Ocean Territories and since 1997 share a single Administrator resident on Christmas Island.

Since the late 1980s or early 1990s Christmas Island periodically received boatloads of refugees, mostly from Indonesia. Early in the Tweenty-first Century, John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister, passed legislation through the Australian Parliament which excised Christmas Island from Australia's migration zone, meaning that asylum seekers arriving there could not automatically apply to the Australian government for refugee status, allowing the Australian navy to relocate them to other countries (Papua New Guinea's Manus Island, and Nauru) as part of the so-called Pacific Solution.

Government

Christmas Island is a non-self governing territory of Australia, administered by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS). The legal system is under the authority of the Governor General of Australia and Australian law. An Administrator (Neil Lucas, as of 28 January 2006) appointed by the Governor-General of Australia represents the monarch and Australia.

The Australian Government provides Commonwealth-level government services through the Christmas Island Administration and DOTARS. Together with the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island forms the Australian Government's Indian Ocean Territories (IOT).

The Christmas Island Act 1958, administered by the Australian Federal Government's Department of Transport and Regional Services on behalf of the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, provides the legislative basis for the Territory's administrative, legislative and judicial system. The Minister is responsible for the State-level services in the Territory.

Christmas Island residents who are Australian citizens also vote in Commonwealth (federal) elections. Christmas Island residents are represented in the House of Representatives through the Northern Territory electorate of Lingiari and in the Senate by Northern Territory Senators.

State Government

There is no State Government; instead, state government type services are provided by contractors, including departments of the Western Australian Government, with the costs met by the Australian (Commonwealth) Government.

Local Government

The Local Government Act 1995 (WA)(CI) was introduced in 1992. The first Shire Council was elected in 1993. The Shire Council has the same responsibilities as a local government on the Australian mainland. A unicameral Shire of Christmas Island with 9 seats provides local government services and is elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. Elections are held every two years, with half the members standing for election.

In early 1986 , the Christmas Island Assembly held a design competition for an island flag; the winning design was adopted as the informal flag of the territory for over a decade, and in 2002 it was made the official flag of Christmas Island. The blue and green triangles represent the sea surrounding the island and the vegetation of the island. The Southern cross in the blue triangle is the representation appearing in the Australian flag. The image in the green triangle is the Golden Bosun Bird, which is unique to the island. The gold disk in the center of the flag represents the island's phosphate mining history and was originally included to provide a background for the green map of Christmas Island.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) are responsible for providing police services to the Community of Christmas Island. No firearms are allowed on Christmas Island. In addition to the normal police functions the AFP carry out other duties including immigration, processing of aircraft, visiting ships and yachts; and co-ordination of emergency operations.

Economy

Phosphate mining had been the only significant economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian Government closed the mine. In 1991 , the mine was reopened by a consortium which included many of the former mine workers as shareholders. With the support of the government, a $34 million casino opened in 1993 . The casino closed in 1998 and has not re-opened. The Australian Government in 2001 agreed to support the creation of a commercial spaceport on the island, however this has not yet been constructed, and appears that it will not proceed in the future. The Australian Government began construction of an Immigration Reception and Processing Centre (IRPC) on the island located at North West Point. The IRPC is due to be completed in late 2007. The facility is estimated to cost $210 million, and will contain 800 beds.

Government and transport also contribute significantly to the economy. The Government sector includes administration, health, education, policing and defence.

Tourism, hospitality and retail trade is an important income earner. It is estimated that the industry was worth $3-5m in 2003.

File:Rain Forest.jpg

Rain Forest

Tourism

The Christmas Island National Park covers 63% of the island. This means that for the visitor interested in flora and fauna there is a great deal to see. The same is true for the coastal waters where the marine life is equivalently spectacular. The coral reefs that surround the island offer tourists breathtaking snorkelling and scuba diving opportunities. Nature walks, blowholes, caves, golf, bird watching and beaches are also polular with visitors to Christmas Island. A range of hotel and self contained accommodation is available on Christmas Island.

Each year, between October and January the famous migration of large numbers (estimated at 100 million) of red crabs occurs as they return to spawn.

Communications and Transportation

Telephone services are provided by Telstra and are a part of the Australian network with the same prefix as Western Australia (08).There is full interstate access by phone or fax to and from the Australian mainland. A Telstra GSM Mobile Telephone Service operates on the Island. Four free-to-air television stations from Australia are broadcast (ABC, SBS, GWN and WIN) in the same time-zone as Perth. Radio broadcasts from Australia include ABC Radio National, ABC Regional radio and Red FM. All services are provided by satellite links from the mainland. Radio 6RCI is the local radio station, transmitting on 105.3FM from Rocky Point and 102.1FM from Drumsite. Transmissions in English, Malay and Chinese. Staffed by volunteer announcers. Broadband internet became available to subscribers in urban areas in mid 2005.

A local newspaper The Islander is produced bi-weekly by the Shire of Christmas Island and is available throughout the Island.

Direct flights opeate to Christmas Island from either Perth, Cocos Islands and Singapore. Flights are operated by AUSTASIA AIRLINES (Using SilkAir A320 Charter) or NATIONAL JET SYSTEMS.

A container port exists at Flying Fish Cove with an alternative container unloading point to the south of the island at Norris Point for use during the December to March 'swell season" of seasonal rough seas.

The road network covers most of the island and is generally good quality, although four wheel drive vehicles are needed to access some more distant parts of the rain forest or the more isolated beaches.

Demographics

As of 2006, the estimated population is 1,493. (The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports a population of 1,508 as of the 2001 Census.)

The 2001 Census lists the ethnic composition as 60% Chinese, 10-15% European and 25-30% Malay. Religions practised on Christmas Island include Buddhism 75%, Christianity 12%, Islam 7% and others 4%. English is the official language, but Chinese and Malay are also spoken.

Education

The Christmas Island District High School provides education from pre-school level through to Year 12 secondary level. The school is staffed by teachers from the Education Department of Western Australia and follows the state curriculum.

The island includes one public library [1].

Notes

• This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

Sources and further reading

• CIA World Factbook 2002
• The Wilderness Society. Defending Australia's Wildcountry, Retrieved August 31, 2007.
• Andrews, Charles. 1899. A description of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean). Within Geographical Journal; # 13 - 1, pp. 17-35.
• Andrews, Charles William. 1900. A monograph of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean): physical features and geology. London: [s.n.].
• National Library of Australia. 1979. The Indian Ocean: a select bibliography of resources for study in the National Library of Australia. Canberra: National Library of Australia. ISBN 0642991502
• Wharton, W. J. L. 1888. Account of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Within Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography, #10, pp. 613-624.

External links

• Christmas Island Shire official website
• Christmas Island Act 1958
• Christmas Island at the Open Directory Project
• Christmas Island in the CIA World Factbook
• Christmas Island Travel Guide from Unearth Travel a creative commons travel wiki
• Flag of the World Website
• Australian Government Department of Transport and Regional Services Official Website
• Christmas Island Tourism Association Website A tourist guide to Christmas Island

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