68-525: The Clunies-Ross family were the original settlers of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands , a small archipelago in the Indian Ocean . From 1827 to 1978, the family ruled the previously uninhabited islands as a private fiefdom, initially as terra nullius and then later under British (1857–1955) and Australian (1955–1978) sovereignty. The head of the family was usually recognised as the resident magistrate , and
136-554: A tropical rainforest climate ( Af ) according to the Köppen climate classification ; the archipelago lies approximately midway between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn . The archipelago has two distinct seasons, the wet season and the dry season. The wettest month is April with precipitation totaling 262.6 millimetres (10.34 in), and the driest month is October with precipitation totaling 88.2 millimetres (3.47 in). Due to
204-700: A 3-month vacation. The connection to Britain changed nothing in Ross's autonomous administration, and it was not until fifteen years later another British ship arrived for a complete survey of the island. Apparently, Fremantle annexed the islands by mistake, thinking he had arrived on the Coco Islands of the Andaman Islands . John George Clunies-Ross received the Malay title of Tuan Pandai ('the learned one') due to his amateur medical knowledge and research into
272-681: A Malay of high-rank like his mother. It was during his administration, in 1885, that the first annual inspection by a representative of the Straits Settlements Government occurred. In 1886 Queen Victoria granted the islands in perpetuity to the Clunies-Ross family. Representatives of the Government of the Straits Settlements were sent to the island each year and reports reflected that "members of
340-583: A base for commerce raiders operating in the Indian Ocean. Following 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 islands was not used. Radio transmitters were also kept silent, except in emergencies. After the Fall of Singapore in 1942,
408-642: 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, 15 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 Japanese anti-British propaganda. They attempted to take control of
476-621: A dialect of Malay as their first language. The territory is administered by the Australian federal government's Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts as an Australian external territory and together with Christmas Island (which is about 960 kilometres (600 mi) to the east) forms the Australian Indian Ocean Territories administrative grouping. However,
544-450: A former boi (servant) in 1895. In 1903, the islands were annexed to the Straits Settlements and incorporated as part of the settlement of Singapore, without affecting the ownership of the territory. George Clunies-Ross died on 7 July 1910 at Ventnor , in the Isle of Wight , after going to England for medical treatment. His body was taken back to the Cocos in 1914. John Sidney Clunies-Ross
612-590: A non-resident Administrator appointed by the Governor-General . They were previously the responsibility of the Department of Transport and Regional Services (before 2007), the Attorney-General's Department (2007–2013), Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development (2013–2017) and Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities (2017–2020). As of November 2023,
680-724: A partial alternative to the Paya Lebar Air Base . Descendants of the Cocos Malays brought to the islands from the Malay Peninsula , the Indonesian archipelago , Southern Africa and New Guinea by Hare and by Clunies-Ross as indentured workers , slaves or convicts are as of 2019 seeking recognition from the Australian government to be acknowledged as Indigenous Australians . The capital of
748-512: A small book about his time with wife and son from 1964 to 1966 working at the Cable Station on Direction Island. 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 A$ 6,250,000, using the threat of compulsory acquisition. By agreement, the family retained ownership of Oceania House, their home on
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#1732773060082816-499: A total land area of 13.1 square kilometres (5.1 sq mi). Only Home Island and West Island are populated. The Cocos Malays maintain weekend shacks, referred to as pondoks, on most of the larger islands. There are no rivers or lakes on either atoll. Fresh water resources are limited to water lenses on the larger islands, underground accumulations of rainwater lying above the seawater. These lenses are accessed through shallow bores or wells. Cocos (Keeling) Islands experience
884-628: A town in Borneo , and found that "he could not confine himself to the tame life that civilisation affords". Clunies-Ross returned two years later with his wife, children and mother-in-law, and found Hare already established on the island and living with the private harem. A feud grew between the two. Clunies-Ross's eight sailors "began at once the invasion of the new kingdom to take possession of it, women and all". After some time, Hare's women began deserting him, and instead finding themselves partners amongst Clunies-Ross's sailors. Disheartened, Hare left
952-781: Is a women's rights organisation that represents the view of women at a local and national level. The archipelago was discovered in 1609 by Captain William Keeling of the East India Company , on a return voyage from the East Indies. North Keeling was sketched by Ekeberg, a Swedish captain, in 1749, showing the presence of coconut palms . It also appears on a 1789 chart produced by British hydrographer Alexander Dalrymple . In 1825, Scottish merchant seaman Captain John Clunies-Ross stopped briefly at
1020-445: Is pleasant, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year and with moderate rainfall. Tropical 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 metres (160 ft) wide, on the east side. The island measures 1.1 square kilometres (270 acres) in land area and
1088-521: Is uninhabited. The lagoon is about 0.5 square kilometres (120 acres). North Keeling Island and the surrounding sea to 1.5 km (0.93 mi) 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 24 individual islets forming an incomplete atoll ring, with
1156-814: The Indian Ocean , comprising a small archipelago approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka and relatively close to the Indonesian island of Sumatra . The territory's dual name (official since the islands' incorporation into Australia in 1955) reflects that the islands have historically been known as either the Cocos Islands or the Keeling Islands . The territory consists of two atolls made up of 27 coral islands , of which only two – West Island and Home Island – are inhabited. The population of around 600 people consists mainly of Cocos Malays , who mostly practise Sunni Islam and speak
1224-570: The Keeling–Cocos Islands (19th century). Cocos refers to the abundant coconut trees, while Keeling refers to William Keeling , who discovered the islands in 1609. John Clunies-Ross, who sailed there in the Borneo in 1825, called the group the Borneo Coral Isles , restricting Keeling to North Keeling , and calling South Keeling "the Cocos properly so called". The form Cocos (Keeling) Islands , attested from 1916,
1292-632: The Northern Territory ) and in the Senate by Northern Territory senators. At the 2022 Australian federal election the Labor Party received absolute majorities from Cocos electors in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Chambers%27 Journal Chambers's Edinburgh Journal was a weekly 16-page magazine started by William Chambers in 1832. The first edition
1360-533: The Royal Air Force ), which were also stationed on the islands. When in July 1945 No. 99 and 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,
1428-415: The gun battery on the islands. The Cocos Islands Mutiny was crushed, but the mutineers murdered one non-mutinous soldier and wounded one officer. Seven of the mutineers were sentenced to death at a trial that was later alleged to have been improperly conducted, though the guilt of the accused was admitted. Four of the sentences were commuted, but three men were executed, including Fernando. These were to be
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#17327730600821496-807: The Administrator is Farzian Zainal , she is also the Administrator of Christmas Island . These two territories comprise the Australian Indian Ocean Territories . The Australian Government provides Commonwealth-level government services through the Christmas Island Administration and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. As per the Federal Government's Territories Law Reform Act 1992 , which came into force on 1 July 1992, Western Australian laws are applied to
1564-606: The Australian cruiser, which caught up to the troop convoy in Colombo on 15 November, then transported to Malta and handed over the prisoners to the British Army . An additional 50 German personnel from the shore party, unable to be recovered before Sydney arrived, commandeered a schooner and escaped from Direction Island, eventually arriving in Constantinople . Emden was the last active Central Powers warship in
1632-509: The Australian parliament approved plans to extend the airstrip by 150 metres so that it could take Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft capable of low-level anti-submarine warfare operations and high-tech military surveillance. Construction was scheduled to start in 2024 and be completed by 2026. Prior to the upgrade, the United States had been using the airstrip for several decades as a stopover point between Diego Garcia and Guam , and as
1700-607: The British Settlements Acts, 1887 and 1945, as applied by the Act of 1946. The legal steps for effecting the transfer were as follows: The reason for this comparatively complex machinery was due to the terms of the Straits Settlement (Repeal) Act, 1946. According to Sir Kenneth Roberts-Wray "any other procedure would have been of doubtful validity". The separation involved three steps: separation from
1768-469: The Clunies-Ross family are to-day in every sense of the word proprietors of the islands, for Mr George Clunies-Ross makes his own laws and interprets them, polices his little domain, provides his own coinage [...] controls the entire trade and acts as 'the universal provider' to satisfy the wants of the community". According to Chambers' Journal , there had not been any metallic coins since 1837. Six years after Inin's death, George Clunies-Ross married Ayesha,
1836-584: The Clunies-Ross family still live on the Cocos. Extensive preparations were undertaken by the government of Australia to prepare the Cocos Malays to vote in their referendum of self-determination. Discussions began in 1982, with an aim of holding the referendum, under United Nations supervision, in mid-1983. Under guidelines developed by the UN Decolonization Committee, residents were to be offered three choices: full independence, free association, or integration with Australia. The last option
1904-525: The Clunies-Ross family: 229 voted for integration, 21 for Free Association, nine for independence, and two failed to indicate a preference. In the first decade of the 21st century, a series of disputes have occurred between the Muslim and the non-Muslim population of the islands. The airstrip on West Island has an airstrip that is more than two kilometres long and is designed to accommodate Boeing 737 passenger flights and smaller military planes. In 2023,
1972-536: The Cocos Islands, "so far as they are capable of applying in the Territory"; non-application or partial application of such laws is at the discretion of the federal government. The Act also gives Western Australian courts judicial power over the islands. The Cocos Islands remain constitutionally distinct from Western Australia, however; the power of the state to legislate for the territory is power-delegated by
2040-533: The Colony of Singapore; transfer by United Kingdom and acceptance by Australia. H. J. Hull was appointed the first official representative (now administrator) of the new territory. He had been a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Australian Navy and was released for the purpose. Under Commonwealth Cabinet Decision 1573 of 9 September 1958, Hull's appointment was terminated and John William Stokes
2108-589: The Governor of Ceylon was made Governor of the islands, and, by further Letters Patent in 1886, responsibility for the islands was transferred to the Governor of the Straits Settlement to exercise his functions as "Governor of Cocos Islands". The islands were made part of the Straits Settlement under an Order in Council of 20 May 1903. Meanwhile, in 1886 Queen Victoria had, by indenture, granted
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2176-507: The Indian or Pacific Ocean, which meant troopships from Australia and New Zealand could sail without naval escort, and Allied ships could be deployed elsewhere. During World War II , the cable station was once again a vital link. The Cocos were valuable for direction finding by the Y service , the worldwide intelligence system used during the war. Allied planners noted that the islands might be seized as an airfield for German planes and as
2244-405: The Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands is West Island while the largest settlement is the village of Bantam, on Home Island. Governance of the islands is based on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955 and depends heavily on the laws of Australia. The islands are administered from Canberra by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts through
2312-529: The administration of the islands reverted to Singapore and it became part of the Colony of Singapore. On 23 November 1955, the islands were transferred from the United Kingdom to the Commonwealth of Australia . Immediately before the transfer the islands were part of the United Kingdom's Colony of Singapore, in accordance with the Straits Settlements (Repeal) Act, 1946 of the United Kingdom and
2380-424: The early 19th century. One of the first settlers was John Clunies-Ross, a Scottish merchant; much of the island's current population is descended from the Malay workers he brought in to work his copra plantation. The Clunies-Ross family ruled the islands as a private fiefdom for almost 150 years, with the head of the family usually recognised as resident magistrate . The British annexed the islands in 1857, and for
2448-565: The federal government. The kind of services typically provided by a state government elsewhere in Australia are provided by departments of the Western Australian Government, and by contractors, with the costs met by the federal government. 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
2516-560: The island. He died in Bencoolen in 1834. Encouraged by members of the former harem, Clunies-Ross then recruited Malays to come to the island for work and wives. Clunies-Ross's workers were paid in a currency called the Cocos rupee, a currency John Clunies-Ross minted himself that could only be redeemed at the company store. On 1 April 1836, HMS Beagle under Captain Robert FitzRoy arrived to take soundings to establish
2584-546: The island. In 1983, the Australian government reneged on this agreement and told 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 Clunies-Ross's shipping company, an action that contributed to his bankruptcy. John Clunies-Ross later moved to Perth, Western Australia . However, some members of
2652-524: The islanders do have a degree of self-government through the local shire council . Many public services – including health, education, and policing – are provided by the state of Western Australia , and Western Australian law applies except where the federal government has determined otherwise. The territory also uses Western Australian postcodes. The islands were discovered in 1609 by the British sea captain William Keeling , but no settlement occurred until
2720-568: The islands in 1827. Only Joshua Slocum used different dates, when he wrote that "John Clunis-Ross, who in 1814 touched [the island] in the ship Borneo on a voyage to India", nailed up a Union Jack with plans to settle in the future and "[...] returned 2 years later with his wife and family". In 1823 an English adventurer, Alexander Hare , had settled on another of the islands with some runaway slaves. Hare soon departed, and Clunies-Ross alone obtained permanent rights by settlement. He planted hundreds of coconut palms and brought in Malay workers to
2788-497: The islands in August 1944. The British military took over control of Home Island until John Cecil Clunies-Ross returned to the Cocos on 6 July 1946. The title to the islands was claimed by the Ross family until 1978, when John Cecil Clunies-Ross (born 29 November 1928), known as Tuan John, sold them to the Commonwealth of Australia for £2.5m ($ 4.75m) under threat of expropriation , with the exception of his house on Home Island, which
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2856-466: The islands in perpetuity to John Clunies-Ross. The head of the family enjoyed semi-official status as Resident Magistrate and Government representative. In 1901 a telegraph cable station was established on Direction Island. Undersea cables went to Rodrigues , Mauritius , Batavia , Java and Fremantle , Western Australia . In 1910 a wireless station was established to communicate with passing ships. The cable station ceased operation in 1966. On
2924-469: The islands on a trip to India, nailing up a Union Jack and planning to return and settle on the islands with his family in the future. Wealthy Englishman Alexander Hare had similar plans, and hired a captain – coincidentally, Clunies-Ross's brother – to bring him and a volunteer harem of 40 Malay women to the islands, where he hoped to establish his private residence. Hare had previously served as resident of Banjarmasin ,
2992-544: The islands to harvest the nuts, building a business by selling copra . In the beginning, Javanese convicts were used as labourers and "crime of all kinds was rife", before "getting rid of the criminal class and obtaining a better type of Malay coolie ." According to a 1903 article in The Timaru Herald , Ross "[ran] his little colony on model lines and succeeded beyond expectation" and Charles Darwin mentioned after his 1836 visit with HMS Beagle that he "found
3060-468: The islands were administered from Ceylon 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 two 6-inch (152.4 mm) guns to cover the anchorage. The local inhabitants all lived on Home Island. Despite the importance of the islands as
3128-515: The majority of the islanders chose integration with Australia. He died in Perth at the age of 92 on 13 September 2021. As of 2007, John "Johnny" George Clunies-Ross (born 1957), the son of John C. Clunies-Ross, lived on the West Island , breeding clams . He stated that he was initially frustrated with the 1978 transfer of the islands to Australia, but that he had changed his mind since then: "I
3196-480: The members retire each two years. As of March 2024 the president of the shire is Aindil Minkom. The most recent local election took place on 21 October 2023 alongside elections on Christmas Island . Cocos (Keeling) Islands residents who are Australian citizens also vote in federal elections . Cocos (Keeling) Islanders are represented in the House of Representatives by the member for the Division of Lingiari (in
3264-543: The morning of 9 November 1914, the islands became the site of the Battle of Cocos , one of the first naval battles of World War I . A landing party from the German cruiser SMS Emden captured and disabled the wireless and cable communications station on Direction Island , but not before the station was able to transmit a distress call. An Allied troop convoy was passing nearby, and the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney
3332-475: The natives in a state of freedom". However, the article omitted the sentence that immediately followed: "but in most other points they are considered as slaves". Ross traded with Dutch vessels en route to Dutch ports on Java and Sumatra, and became a naturalised Dutch subject; he had approached both the British and the Dutch government for annexation but neither had responded. John Clunies-Ross died in 1854. His life
3400-474: The natural history of the islands. The head of the family Clunies-Ross kept the title 'Tuan', a term that can be translated as 'sir'. He married S'pia Dupong, a Malay of high rank, in 1841. Born on 20 June 1842 in the Cocos Islands to John George Clunies-Ross and S'pia Dupong, George Clunies-Ross was sent to Scotland where he studied engineering at Glasgow . In 1871, known as Tuan Tinggi, he became superintendent after his father died, then married Inin (1850–1889),
3468-466: The next century they were administered from either Ceylon or Singapore . The territory was transferred to Australia in 1955, although until 1979 virtually all of the territory's real estate still belonged to the Clunies-Ross family. The islands have been called the Cocos Islands (from 1622), the Keeling Islands (from 1703), the Cocos–Keeling Islands (since James Horsburgh in 1805) and
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#17327730600823536-799: The only British Commonwealth soldiers 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 conduct raids against Japanese targets in South East Asia and to provide support during the planned reinvasion of Malaya and reconquest of Singapore. The first aircraft to arrive were Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIIIs of No. 136 Squadron RAF . They included some Liberator bombers from No. 321 (Netherlands) Squadron RAF (members of exiled Dutch forces serving with
3604-646: The population is 40 years, slightly older than the median Australian population age of 38 years. As of 2021, there are no people living on the Cocos Islands who identify as Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander). Religion in Cocos Islands (2021) The majority religion of the Cocos Islands is Islam, with 65.6% of the total population identifying as Muslim, followed by Unspecified (15.3%), Non-religious (14.0%), Catholic (2.0%), Anglican (1.5%). The remaining 1.6% of Cocos Islanders identify as secular or hold various other beliefs (including atheism, agnosticism and unspecified spiritual beliefs). 73.5% of
3672-487: The population were born in Australia - either on the mainland, on the Cocos Islands, or in another Australian territory. The remaining 26.5% come from other countries, including Malaysia (4.0%), England (1.3%), New Zealand (1.2%), Singapore (0.5%) and Argentina (0.5%), among others. 61.2% of the population speak Malay at home, while 19.1% speak English, and 3.5% speak another language (including Spanish and various Austronesian and African languages). Kaum Ibu (Women's Group)
3740-468: The profile of the atoll as part of the survey expedition of the Beagle . To the naturalist Charles Darwin , aboard the ship, the results supported a theory he had developed of how atolls formed, which he later published as The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs . He studied the natural history of the islands and collected specimens. Darwin's assistant Syms Covington noted that "an Englishman [he
3808-547: The strong maritime control, temperatures vary little although its location is some distance from the Equator . The hottest month is March with an average high temperature of 30.0 °C (86.0 °F), while the coolest month is September with an average low temperature of 24.2 °C (75.6 °F). According to the 2021 Australian Census, the population of the Cocos Islands is 593 people. The gender distribution stands at an approximate 51% male and 49% female. The median age of
3876-474: Was 21 and I'd been brought up to do the job. But even in the old man's time, it had become anachronistic. It had to change". Cocos (Keeling) Islands The Cocos (Keeling) Islands ( Cocos Islands Malay : Pulu Kokos [Keeling] ), officially the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands ( / ˈ k oʊ k ə s / ; Cocos Islands Malay: Pulu Kokos [Keeling] ), are an Australian external territory in
3944-731: Was appointed on secondment from the Northern Territory police. A media release at the end of October 1958 by the Minister for Territories, Hasluck, commended Hull's three years of service on Cocos. Stokes served in the position from 31 October 1958 to 30 September 1960. His son's boyhood memories and photos of the Islands have been published. C. I. Buffett MBE from Norfolk Island succeeded him and served from 28 July 1960 to 30 June 1966, and later acted as Administrator back on Cocos and on Norfolk Island. In 1974, Ken Mullen wrote
4012-602: Was born in the Coco Islands on 13 November 1868, the son of George Clunies-Ross and Inin. Known as Tuan Ross, he inherited an economic disaster after a cyclone destroyed almost every house and coconut palm on Home Island in November 1909. During the Second World War , the Cocos islands served as a major base for the Royal Air Force . John Sidney Clunies-Ross died of a heart attack during a Japanese bombing on
4080-495: Was dated 4 February 1832, and priced at one penny . Topics included history, religion, language, and science. William was soon joined as joint editor by his brother Robert , who wrote many of the articles for the early issues, and within a few years the journal had a circulation of 84,000. From 1847 to 1849, it was edited by William Henry Wills . In 1854 the title was changed to Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art , and changed again to Chambers's Journal at
4148-417: Was detached from the convoy escort to investigate. Sydney spotted the island and Emden at 09:15, with both ships preparing for combat. At 11:20, the heavily damaged Emden beached herself on North Keeling Island . The Australian warship broke to pursue Emden ' s supporting collier , which scuttled herself, then returned to North Keeling Island at 16:00. At this point, Emden ' s battle ensign
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#17327730600824216-569: Was dramatised in the play John Ross, King of Cocos Islands . His son John George Clunies-Ross (born 1823) took over from his father under the name of Ross II. In 1857 British Captain Stephen Grenville Fremantle visited aboard HMS Juno who "took possession of the islands in the name of the Britannic Majesty's Government ". Fremantle appointed John George as superintendent of the islands and left after
4284-438: Was eventually purchased by the government in 1993. The Commonwealth had already been administering the islands since November 1955, with the proclamation of the Cocos (Keeling) Island Act 1955. John C. Clunies-Ross eventually went bankrupt after the Australian government refused to give any business to his shipping line company. He then moved to Perth with his wife. During the 1984 referendum , he campaigned for independence but
4352-727: Was in fact Scottish] 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 annexed by the British Empire in 1857. This annexation was carried out by Captain Stephen Grenville Fremantle in command of HMS Juno . Fremantle claimed the islands for the British Empire and appointed Ross II as Superintendent. In 1878, by Letters Patent ,
4420-496: Was made official by the Cocos Islands Act 1955 ( 3 & 4 Eliz. 2 . c. 5). The territory's Malay name is Pulu Kokos (Keeling) . Sign boards on the island also feature Malay translations. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands consist of two flat, low-lying coral atolls with an area of 14.2 square kilometres (5.5 sq mi), 26 kilometres (16 mi) of coastline, a highest elevation of 5 metres (16 ft) and thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation. The climate
4488-408: Was preferred by both the islanders and the Australian government. A change in government in Canberra following the March 1983 Australian elections delayed the vote by one year. While the Home Island Council stated a preference for a traditional communal consensus "vote", the UN insisted on a secret ballot. The referendum was held on 6 April 1984, with all 261 eligible islanders participating, including
4556-499: Was sometimes styled as the "King of the Cocos Islands"; a title given by the press. John Clunies-Ross was a merchant born in Weisdale , Shetland on 23 August 1786. In 1813 he was at Timor as Third Mate on board the whaler Baroness Longueville when he received the opportunity to become captain of the brig Olivia , which he took. He reportedly first cruised the waters of the then uninhabited Cocos (Keeling) Islands in 1825. After surveying them he moved his family to live on one of
4624-560: Was still flying: usually a sign that a ship intends to continue fighting. After no response to instructions to lower the ensign, two salvoes were shot into the beached cruiser, after which the Germans lowered the flag and raised a white sheet . Sydney had orders to ascertain the status of the transmission station, but returned the next day to provide medical assistance to the Germans. Casualties totaled 134 personnel aboard Emden killed, and 69 wounded, compared to four killed and 16 wounded aboard Sydney . The German survivors were taken aboard
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