The Australian Empire

The Cocos (Keeling) islands are two large coral atolls with a series of 27 coral islands located in the Indian Ocean, approximately 2,770 km north-west of Perth. The islands cover an area of 14 sq km and a population of 596 live mainly on Home Island and West Island. The main Commonwealth facilities, including the airport, are located on West Island.

The islands have rough coral beaches to seaward and sandy beaches or mudflats on the lagoon side. They are low lying and most are thickly covered with coconut palms. Wildlife consists mainly of seabirds, such as frigatebirds and boobie birds. Land crabs are common on all islands. The climate is tropical with high humidity and the average annual rainfall is 2,000 mm. The south-east trade winds blow most of the year, producing pleasant weather conditions.

History

The Cocos Islands where discovered by Captain William Keeling in 1609. They are officially referred to as the Cocos (Keeling) Islands to avoid confusion with other Cocos Islands located around the world, including those near Costa Rica.

They remained uninhabited until 1826 when Alexander Hare established a settlement on West Island. The next year Captain John Clunies-Ross, a seaman and former employee of Hare, settled on Home Island and brought Malays in to harvest coconuts.

In 1857 Captain Fremantle of HMS Juno formally declared the islands part of the British Dominions. In 1886 Queen Victoria granted the islands to John Clunies-Ross' grandson George and his heirs but reserved powers to resume land for public purposes if required and to conduct cable communications. The islands were governed through the British colonies of Ceylon, the Straits Settlements and Singapore.

The islands were the scene of a World War I naval battle in 1914rismas t when the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney surprised the German raider SMS Emden. After being heavily damaged in the engagement, the Emden was beached by her captain on North Keeling Island 

Despite the importance of the islands as a communication centre during World War ll, 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.

In 1955 the islands were transferred to Australian control. In 1978 the Australian Government purchased all Mr Clunies-Ross' property interests other than his family home and surrounding grounds on Home Island. In 1979 ownership of the village area of Home Island was transferred to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Council, the local governing body elected by the Home Island community. In 1984 the remainder of the land within the islands, apart from land owned by the Commonwealth and Mr Clunies-Ross, was transferred to the Council. Finally, in 1993 the Commonwealth purchased the remaining property of Mr Clunies-Ross.

In 1984 the Cocos community, in a United Nations supervised Act of Self-Determination, voted overwhelmingly to integrate with Australia. The Government has committed to improving services and standards of living to be comparable with those on mainland Australian levels.

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.

Figure 60 – Cocos (Keeling) Islands Location

     Figure 61 - Keeling Islands Map     

                                                      Figure 62 - North Keeling Island

Figure 63 - Keeling Islands Map