Coordenadas : 12 ° 07′03 ″ S 96 ° 53′42 ″ E / 12.11750 ° S 96.89500 ° E
El Territorio de las Islas Cocos (Keeling) ( Islas Cocos Malay : Pulu Kokos (Keeling) ) es un territorio externo australiano en el Océano Índico , que comprende un pequeño archipiélago aproximadamente a medio camino entre Australia y Sri Lanka y relativamente cerca de la isla indonesia de Sumatra . El nombre dual del territorio (oficial desde la incorporación de las islas a Australia en 1955) refleja que las islas se han conocido históricamente como las Islas Cocos o las Islas Keeling .
Islas Cocos (Keeling) | |
---|---|
Territorio de las Islas Cocos (Keeling) Pulu Kokos (Keeling) ( Malayo de las Islas Cocos ) Wilayah Kepulauan Cocos (Keeling) ( Malayo ) | |
Lema : | |
Ubicación de las islas Cocos (Keeling) (marcadas con un círculo rojo) | |
Estado soberano | Australia |
Anexo por el Reino Unido | 1857 |
Transferido de Singapur a Australia | 23 de noviembre de 1955 |
Capital | Isla Oeste 12 ° 11′13 ″ S 96 ° 49′42 ″ E / 12.18694 ° S 96.82833 ° E |
Pueblo más grande | Bantam ( Isla de origen ) |
Lenguajes oficiales | Ninguno |
Lenguajes hablados | |
Gobierno | Dependencia administrada directamente |
• Monarca | Isabel II |
• Gobernador general | David Hurley |
• Administrador | Natasha Griggs |
• Presidente de la comarca | Seri Wati Iku |
Área | |
• Total | 14 km 2 (5,4 millas cuadradas) |
• Agua (%) | 0 |
Elevación más alta | 5 m (16 pies) |
Población | |
• Censo de 2016 | 544 [1] ( sin clasificar ) |
• Densidad | 43 / km 2 (111,4 / millas cuadradas) ( sin clasificar ) |
Divisa | Dólar australiano ( AUD ) |
Zona horaria | UTC + 06: 30 |
Código de llamada | +61891 |
Código postal | WA 6799 |
Código ISO 3166 | CC |
TLD de Internet | .cc |
El territorio consta de dos atolones formados por 27 islas de coral , de las cuales solo dos, West Island y Home Island , están habitadas. La población de alrededor de 600 personas consiste principalmente en Cocos Malayos , que en su mayoría practican el Islam sunita y hablan un dialecto del malayo como su primer idioma. [2] El territorio es administrado por el Departamento de Infraestructura, Transporte, Desarrollo Regional y Comunicaciones del gobierno federal australiano como un territorio externo australiano y junto con la Isla de Navidad (que está a unos 960 kilómetros (600 millas) al este) forma el Indio australiano. Agrupación administrativa de los Territorios Oceánicos . Sin embargo, los isleños tienen cierto grado de autogobierno a través del consejo del condado local . Muchos servicios públicos, incluidos los de salud, educación y vigilancia, son proporcionados por el estado de Australia Occidental , y se aplica la ley de Australia Occidental, excepto cuando el gobierno federal haya determinado lo contrario. El territorio también utiliza códigos postales de Australia Occidental.
Las islas fueron descubiertas en 1609 por el capitán de barco británico William Keeling , pero no se produjo ningún asentamiento hasta principios del siglo XIX. Uno de los primeros pobladores fue John Clunies-Ross, un comerciante escocés; gran parte de la población actual de la isla desciende de los trabajadores malayos que trajo para trabajar en su plantación de copra . La familia Clunies-Ross gobernó las islas como un feudo privado durante casi 150 años, con el jefe de familia generalmente reconocido como magistrado residente . Los británicos anexaron las islas en 1857, y durante el siglo siguiente fueron administradas desde Ceilán o Singapur . El territorio fue transferido a Australia en 1955, aunque hasta 1979 prácticamente todas las propiedades inmobiliarias de la isla todavía pertenecían a la familia Clunies-Ross.
Nombre
Las islas se han llamado Islas Cocos (desde 1622), Islas Keeling (desde 1703), Islas Cocos-Keeling (desde James Horsburgh en 1805) e Islas Keeling-Cocos (siglo XIX). [3] Cocos se refiere a los abundantes cocoteros , mientras que Keeling es William Keeling , quien descubrió las islas en 1609. [3]
John Clunies-Ross, [4] que navegó allí en el Borneo en 1825, llamó al grupo Borneo Coral Isles , restringiendo Keeling a North Keeling , y llamando a South Keeling "los Cocos propiamente dichos". [5] [6] La forma Islas Cocos (Keeling) , certificada desde 1916, [7] fue oficializada por la Ley de Islas Cocos (Keeling) de 1955. [3]
El nombre malayo del territorio es Pulu Kokos (Keeling) . Los letreros de la isla también cuentan con traducciones al malayo. [8] [9]
Geografía
Las Islas Cocos (Keeling) consisten en dos atolones de coral planos y bajos con un área de 14,2 kilómetros cuadrados (5,5 millas cuadradas), 26 kilómetros (16 millas) de costa, una elevación más alta de 5 metros (16 pies) y densamente cubierto de cocoteros y otra vegetación. El clima es agradable, moderado por los vientos alisios del sureste durante unos nueve meses al año y con lluvias moderadas. Los ciclones tropicales pueden ocurrir en los primeros meses del año.
North Keeling Island es un atolón que consta de una sola isla en forma de C, un anillo de atolones casi cerrado con una pequeña abertura en la laguna, de unos 50 metros (160 pies) de ancho, en el lado este. La isla mide 1,1 kilómetros cuadrados (270 acres) de superficie terrestre y está deshabitada. La laguna tiene aproximadamente 0,5 kilómetros cuadrados (120 acres). North Keeling Island y el mar circundante a 1,5 km (0,93 millas) de la costa forman el Parque Nacional Pulu Keeling , establecido el 12 de diciembre de 1995. Es el hogar de la única población superviviente del Cocos Buff-banded Rail , endémico y en peligro de extinción .
South Keeling Islands es un atolón que consta de 24 islotes individuales que forman un anillo de atolones incompleto, con una superficie total de 13,1 kilómetros cuadrados (5,1 millas cuadradas). Solo Home Island y West Island están pobladas. Los Cocos Malayos mantienen chozas de fin de semana, conocidas como pondoks, en la mayoría de las islas más grandes.
Islote (nombre malayo) | Traducción del nombre malayo | nombre inglés | Superficie (aprox.) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
km 2 | mi 2 | ||||
1 | Pulau Luar | Isla Exterior | Isla de Horsburgh | 1.04 | 0,40 |
2 | Pulau Tikus | Isla Ratón | Isla de dirección | ||
3 | Pulau Pasir | Isla de arena | Isla Workhouse | 0,01 | 0,00 |
4 | Pulau Beras | Isla de arroz | Prison Island | 0,02 | 0,01 |
5 | Pulau Gangsa | Isla del Cobre | Banco de arena cerrado, ahora parte de Home Island | 0,01 | 0,00 |
6 | Pulau Selma | Isla de origen | 0,95 | 0,37 | |
7 | Pulau Ampang Kechil | Pequeña isla Ampang | Islote Scaevola | 0,01 | 0,00 |
8 | Pulau Ampang | Isla Ampang | Isla Canui | 0,06 | 0,02 |
9 | Pulau Wa-idas | Ampang Minor | 0,02 | 0,01 | |
10 | Pulau Blekok | Pond Heron Island | Isla Goldwater | 0,03 | 0,01 |
11 | Pulau Kembang | Isla de las flores | Isla Espina | 0,04 | 0,02 |
12 | Pulau Cheplok | Isla de la grosella espinosa | Isla de la grosella espinosa | 0,01 | 0,00 |
13 | Pulau Pandan | Isla Pandan | Isla de la miseria | 0,24 | 0,09 |
14 | Pulau Siput | Isla caracol | Isla de la cabra | 0,10 | 0,04 |
15 | Pulau Jambatan | Bridge Island | Isla de la misión media | 0,01 | 0,00 |
dieciséis | Pulau Labu | Isla Calabaza | Isla Cabra del Sur | 0,04 | 0,02 |
17 | Pulau Atas | Isla superior | isla del sur | 3,63 | 1,40 |
18 | Pulau Kelapa Satu | Una isla de coco | Isla Norte de la Cabra | 0,02 | 0,01 |
19 | Pulau Blan | Cayo Este | 0,03 | 0,01 | |
20 | Pulau Blan Madar | Isla de entierro | 0,03 | 0,01 | |
21 | Pulau Maria | Isla María | West Cay | 0,01 | 0,00 |
22 | Pulau Kambing | Isla de la cabra | Isla Keelingham Horn | 0,01 | 0,00 |
23 | Pulau Panjang | Isla Grande | West Island | 6.23 | 2,41 |
24 | Pulau Wak Bangka | Isla Tortuga | 0,22 | 0,08 |
No hay ríos ni lagos en ninguno de los atolones. Los recursos de agua dulce se limitan a lentes de agua en las islas más grandes, acumulaciones subterráneas de agua de lluvia que se encuentran sobre el agua del mar. Se accede a estas lentes a través de orificios o pozos poco profundos.
Flora y fauna
Clima
Las islas Cocos (Keeling) experimentan un clima de selva tropical ( Af ) de acuerdo con la clasificación climática de Köppen ; el archipiélago se encuentra aproximadamente a medio camino entre el Ecuador y el Trópico de Capricornio . El archipiélago tiene dos estaciones distintas, la estación húmeda y la estación seca. El mes más húmedo es abril con una precipitación total de 262,6 milímetros (10,34 pulgadas), y el mes más seco es octubre con una precipitación total de 88,2 milímetros (3,47 pulgadas). La temperatura varía un poco ya que su ubicación está a cierta distancia del Ecuador . El mes más caluroso es marzo con una temperatura máxima promedio de 29,8 ° C (85,6 ° F), mientras que el mes más frío es agosto con una temperatura mínima promedio de 23,6 ° C (74,5 ° F).
Los datos climáticos de Aeropuerto de las Islas Cocos | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mes | ene | feb | mar | abr | Mayo | jun | jul | ago | sep | oct | nov | dic | Año |
Registro alto ° C (° F) | 32,2 (90,0) | 32,2 (90,0) | 32,7 (90,9) | 32,8 (91,0) | 31,5 (88,7) | 30,8 (87,4) | 30,3 (86,5) | 30,3 (86,5) | 30,1 (86,2) | 31,0 (87,8) | 30,9 (87,6) | 31,4 (88,5) | 32,8 (91,0) |
Promedio alto ° C (° F) | 29,8 (85,6) | 29,9 (85,8) | 30,0 (86,0) | 29,8 (85,6) | 29,3 (84,7) | 28,6 (83,5) | 28,1 (82,6) | 28,1 (82,6) | 28,2 (82,8) | 28,6 (83,5) | 29,0 (84,2) | 29,4 (84,9) | 29,1 (84,4) |
Promedio bajo ° C (° F) | 25,1 (77,2) | 25.2 (77.4) | 25.4 (77.7) | 25.5 (77.9) | 25.4 (77.7) | 24.8 (76.6) | 24.3 (75.7) | 24.3 (75.7) | 24.2 (75.6) | 24.5 (76.1) | 24.8 (76.6) | 24.8 (76.6) | 24.9 (76.8) |
Record low °C (°F) | 21.0 (69.8) | 20.1 (68.2) | 19.8 (67.6) | 22.2 (72.0) | 21.2 (70.2) | 21.5 (70.7) | 20.5 (68.9) | 20.8 (69.4) | 21.2 (70.2) | 21.3 (70.3) | 20.8 (69.4) | 21.2 (70.2) | 19.8 (67.6) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 154 (6.1) | 182 (7.2) | 231 (9.1) | 263 (10.4) | 205 (8.1) | 212 (8.3) | 220 (8.7) | 105 (4.1) | 86 (3.4) | 88 (3.5) | 97 (3.8) | 94 (3.7) | 1,937 (76.4) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 12.9 | 14.2 | 18.3 | 18.3 | 18.9 | 19.2 | 21.4 | 17.2 | 13.5 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 10.6 | 184.7 |
Source: Bureau of Meteorology[10] |
Demografía
In the 2016 census, the population of the islands was 544 people of which 75% are Muslim; and 69.6% speak Malay rather than English at home.[1] The population on the two inhabited islands generally is split between the ethnic Europeans on West Island (estimated population 100) and the ethnic Malays on Home Island (estimated population 500).
Historia
Discovery and early history
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.[13]
In 1825, Scottish merchant seaman Captain John Clunies-Ross stopped briefly at 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.[14] 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.[15] Hare had previously served as resident of Banjarmasin, a town in Borneo, and found that "he could not confine himself to the tame life that civilisation affords".[15]
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.[15] Clunies-Ross's eight sailors "began at once the invasion of the new kingdom to take possession of it, women and all".[15]
After some time, Hare's women began deserting him, and instead finding themselves mates amongst Clunies-Ross's sailors.[16] Disheartened, Hare left the island. He died in Bencoolen in 1834.[17] 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.[18]
On 1 April 1836, HMS Beagle under Captain Robert FitzRoy arrived to take soundings to establish 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.[19] Darwin's assistant Syms Covington noted that "an Englishman [he 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."
Annexation by the British Empire
The islands were annexed by the British Empire in 1857.[20] 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.[21] In 1878, by Letters Patent, the Governor of Ceylon was made Governor of the islands, and, by further Letters Patent in 1886,[22] responsibility for the islands was transferred to the Governor of the Straits Settlement to exercise his functions as "Governor of Cocos Islands".[20]
The islands were made part of the Straits Settlement under an Order in Council of 20 May 1903.[23] Meanwhile, in 1886 Queen Victoria had, by indenture, granted the islands in perpetuity to John Clunies-Ross.[24] The head of the family enjoyed semi-official status as Resident Magistrate and Government representative.[24]
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.[25]
World War I
On 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 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 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 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 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.
World War II
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.[26]
Allied planners noted that the islands might be seized as an airfield for German planes and as 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.[citation needed]
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 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 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 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 the only British Commonwealth soldiers executed for mutiny during the Second World War.[27]
On 25 December 1942, the Japanese submarine I-166 bombarded the islands but caused no damage.[28]
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.[29] They included some 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 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, the administration of the islands reverted to Singapore and it became part of the Colony of Singapore.[30]
Transfer to Australia
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[31] and the British Settlements Acts, 1887 and 1945, as applied by the Act of 1946.[20] The legal steps for effecting the transfer were as follows:[32]
- The Commonwealth Parliament and the Government requested and consented to the enactment of a United Kingdom Act for the purpose.
- The Cocos Islands Act, 1955, authorized Her Majesty, by Order in Council, to direct that the islands should cease to form part of the Colony of Singapore and be placed under the authority of the Commonwealth.
- By the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act, 1955, the Parliament of the Commonwealth provided for the acceptance of the islands as a territory under the authority of the Commonwealth and for its government.
- The Cocos Islands Order in Council, 1955, made under the United Kingdom Act of 1955, provided that upon the appointed day (23 November 1955) the islands should cease to form part of the Colony of Singapore and be placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia.
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".[33] The separation involved three steps: separation from 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 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.[34] 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 a small book[35] 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 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.[36] John Clunies-Ross now lives in Perth, Western Australia. However, some members of 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 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 the Clunies-Ross family: 229 voted for integration, 21 for Free Association, nine for independence, and two failed to indicate a preference.[37] In recent years a series of disputes have occurred between the Muslim and the non-Muslim population of the islands.[38]
Indigenous status
Descendants of the Cocos Malays brought to the islands from British Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, South Africa and New Guinea by Hare and by Clunies-Ross as indentured workers, slaves or convicts are as of 2019[update] seeking recognition from the Australian Federal Government to be acknowledged as Indigenous Australians.[39]
Gobierno
The capital of the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands is West Island while the largest settlement is the village of Bantam[citation needed] (Home Island). Governance of the islands is based on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955[40][41] and depends heavily on the laws of Australia. The islands are administered from Canberra by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications through 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).[42][43]
The current Administrator is Natasha Griggs, who was appointed on 5 October 2017 and 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 and Regional Development.[44] 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 the Cocos Islands, "so far as they are capable of applying in the Territory.";[45] 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 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 the members retire each two years.
Federal politics
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 the Northern Territory) and in the Senate by Northern Territory senators.[48] At the 2016 federal election, the Labor Party received absolute majorities from Cocos electors in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.[46][47]
Defence and law enforcement
Defence is the responsibility of the Australian Defence Force. There are no active military installations or defence personnel on the islands. The Administrator may request the assistance of the Australian Defence Force if required. The 2016 Australian Defence White Paper stated that the airfield in the island would be upgraded to support the RAAF's P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.[49]
Civilian law enforcement and community policing is provided by the Australian Federal Police. The normal deployment to the island is one sergeant and one constable. These are augmented by two locally engaged Special Members who have police powers.
Courts
Since 1992, court services have been provided by the Western Australian Department of the Attorney-General under a service delivery arrangement with the Australian Government. Western Australian Court Services provide Magistrates Court, District Court, Supreme Court, Family Court, Children's Court, Coroner's Court and Registry for births, deaths and marriages and change of name services. Magistrates and judges from Western Australia convene a circuit court as required.
Health care
Home Island and West Island have medical clinics providing basic health services, but serious medical conditions and injuries cannot be treated on the island and patients are sent to Perth for treatment, a distance of 3,000 km (1,900 mi).
Economía
The population of the islands is approximately 600. There is a small and growing tourist industry focused on water-based or nature activities. In 2016, a beach on Direction Island was named the best beach in Australia by Brad Farmer, an Aquatic and Coastal Ambassador for Tourism Australia and co-author of 101 Best Beaches 2017.[50][51]
Small local gardens and fishing contribute to the food supply, but most food and most other necessities must be imported from Australia or elsewhere.
The Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage worker operations. Tourism employs others. The unemployment rate was 6.7% in 2011.[52]
Contaminación plástica
A 2019 study led by Jennifer Lavers from the University of Tasmania's Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies published in the journal Scientific Reports estimated the volume of plastic rubbish on the Islands as around 414 million pieces, weighing 238 tonnes, 93% of which lies buried under the sand. It said that previous surveys which only assessed surface garbage probably "drastically underestimated the scale of debris accumulation". The plastic waste found in the study consisted mostly of single-use items such as bottles, plastic cutlery, bags and drinking straws.[53][54][55][56]
Importancia estratégica
The Cocos Islands are strategically important because of their proximity to shipping lanes in the Indian and Pacific oceans.[57] The United States and Australia have expressed interest in stationing surveillance drones on the Cocos Islands.[58] Euronews described the plan as Australian support for an increased American presence in Southeast Asia, but expressed concern that it was likely to upset Chinese officials.[59]
James Cogan has written for the World Socialist Web Site that the plan to station surveillance drones at Cocos is one component of former US President Barack Obama's "pivot" towards Asia, facilitating control of the sea lanes and potentially allowing US forces to enforce a blockade against China.[57] After plans to construct airbases were reported on by The Washington Post,[60] Australian defence minister Stephen Smith stated that the Australian government views the "Cocos as being potentially a long-term strategic location, but that is down the track."[61]
Comunicaciones y transporte
Transport
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands have fifteen kilometres (9.3 miles) of highway.
There is one paved airport on the West Island. A tourist bus operates on Home Island.
The only airport is Cocos (Keeling) Islands Airport with a single 2,441 m (8,009 ft) paved runway. Virgin Australia operates scheduled jet services from Perth Airport via Christmas Island. After 1952, the airport at Cocos Islands was a stop for airline flights between Australia and South Africa, and Qantas and South African Airways stopped there to refuel. The arrival of long-range jet aircraft ended this need in 1967.
An interisland ferry, the Cahaya Baru, connects West, Home and Direction Islands.
There is a lagoon anchorage between Horsburgh and Direction islands for larger vessels, while yachts have a dedicated anchorage area in the southern lee of Direction Island. There are no major seaports on the islands.
Communications
The islands are connected within Australia's telecommunication system (with number range +61 8 9162 xxxx). Public phones are located on both West Island and Home Island. A reasonably reliable GSM mobile phone network (number range +61 406 xxx), run by CiiA (Christmas Island Internet Association), operates on Cocos (Keeling) Islands. SIM cards (full size) and recharge cards can be purchased from the Telecentre on West Island to access this service.
Australia Post provides mail services with the postcode 6799. There are post offices on West Island and Home Island. Standard letters and express post items are sent by air twice weekly, but all other mail is sent by sea and can take up to two months for delivery.
Internet
.cc is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Cocos (Keeling) Islands. It is administered by VeriSign through a subsidiary company eNIC, which promotes it for international registration as "the next .com"; .cc was originally assigned in October 1997 to eNIC Corporation of Seattle WA by the IANA. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus also uses the .cc domain, along with .nc.tr.
Internet access on Cocos is provided by CiiA (Christmas Island Internet Association), and is supplied via satellite ground station on West Island, and distributed via a wireless PPPoE-based WAN on both inhabited islands. Casual internet access is available at the Telecentre on West Island and the Indian Ocean Group Training office on Home Island.
The National Broadband Network announced in early 2012 that it would extend service to Cocos in 2015 via high-speed satellite link.[62]
Medios de comunicación
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands have access to a range of modern communication services. Digital television stations are broadcast from Western Australia via satellite. A local radio station, 6CKI – Voice of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, is staffed by community volunteers and provides some local content.
Newspapers
The Cocos Islands Community Resource Centre publishes a fortnightly newsletter called The Atoll. It is available in paper and electronic formats.[63]
Television
- Australian
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands receives a range of digital channels from Western Australia via satellite and is broadcast from the Airport Building on the West Island on the following VHF frequencies: ABC6, SBS7, WAW8, WOW10 and WDW11[64]
- Malaysian
From 2013 onwards, Cocos Island will receive four Malaysian channels via satellite: TV3, ntv7, 8TV and TV9.[citation needed]
Educación
There is a school in the archipelago, Cocos Islands District High School, with campuses located on West Island (Kindergarten to Year 10), and the other on Home Island (Kindergarten to Year 6). CIDHS is part of the Western Australia Department of Education. School instruction is in English on both campuses, with Cocos Malay teacher aides assisting the younger children in Kindergarten, Pre-Preparatory and early Primary with the English curriculum on the Home Island Campus. The Home Language of Cocos Malay is valued whilst students engage in learning English.
Cultura
Although it is an Australian territory, the culture of the islands has extensive influences from Malaysia and Indonesia due to its predominantly ethnic Malay population.
Listados patrimoniales
The West Island Mosque on Alexander Street is listed on the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List.[65]
Parque Marino
In the 2021 budget the Australian Government committed $A39.1M to create two new marine parks off Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The parks will cover up to 740,000 square kilometers of Australian waters. [66]
Galería de imágenes
Aerial view of Cocos (Keeling) Islands Airport (ICAO code: YPCC).
Home Island.
Compass stand from the bridge of HMAS Sydney, which destroyed the SMS Emden, installed at Port Macquarie, New South Wales, in 1929.
A broadside view of the wrecked German raider Emden after her encounter with HMAS Sydney near Cocos Island. Seamen, shortly to be rescued by Sydney, crowd together on the vessel's clear end. In the foreground, several Sydney crewmen look on from her foredeck.
The last bombing raid of World War II by 99, 356 and 321 Squadrons is cancelled, 15 August 1945.[67]
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip arrive at the Cocos Islands, April 1954.
Prince Philip waves goodbye as he and Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by John Clunies-Ross, return to their ship from Home Island (1954).
Queen Elizabeth at a garden party held in her honour at Home Island (1954).
Ver también
- Banknotes of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
- Index of Cocos (Keeling) Islands-related articles
- Pearl Islands (Isla de Cocos, Panama; Cocos Island, Costa Rica).
Referencias
Notes
- ^ English does not have de jure status on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and in Australia, but it is the de facto language of communication in government.
Citations
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- ^ a b c Woodroffe, C.D.; Berry, P.F. (February 1994). Scientific Studies in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands: An Introduction. Atoll Research Bulletin. 399. Washington DC: National Museum of Natural History. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ "Dynasties: Clunies-Ross". www.abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 31 August 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ Horsburgh, James (1841). "Islands to the Southward and South-eastward of Java; The Keeling or Cocos Islands". The India directory, or, Directions for sailing to and from the East Indies, China, Australia, and the interjacent ports of Africa and South America: comp. chiefly from original journals of the honourable company's ships, and from observations and remarks, resulting from the experience of twenty-one years in the navigation of those seas. Vol.1 (5th ed.). London: W.H. Allen and Co. pp. 141–2.
|volume=
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- ^ Weber, Max Carl Wilhelm; Weber, Lieven Ferdinand de Beaufort, Max Wilhelm Carl (1916). The Fishes of the Indo-australian Archipelago. Brill Archive. p. 286. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
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- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Bureau of Meteorology. "Climate statistics for Australian locations. Cocos Island Airport".
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- ^ Pulu Keeling National Park Management Plan. Australian Government. 2004. ISBN 0-642-54964-8.
- ^ "Gleanings in Science, Volume 2". Baptist Mission Press. 1830. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
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- ^ a b c Commonwealth and Colonial Law by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. p. 882
- ^ "The Cocos Islands". The Chambers's Journal. 76: 187–190. 1899. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ S.R.O. & S.I. Rev. XXI, 512.
- ^ S.R.O. 1903 No. 478, S.R.O. & S.I. Rev. XXI, 515
- ^ a b Commonwealth and Colonial Law by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. p. 883
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ McKay, S. 2012. The Secret Listeners. Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 978 1 78131 079 3
- ^ Cruise, Noel (2002). The Cocos Islands Mutiny. Fremantle: Fremantle Arts Centre Press. p. 248. ISBN 1-86368-310-0.
- ^ "Imperial Submarines". Archived from the original on 21 September 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
- ^ Fail, J.E.H. "FORWARD STRATEGIC AIR BASE COCOS ISLAND". rquirk.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ^ Colony of Singapore. Government Gazette. (1 April 1946). The Singapore Colony Order in Council, 1946 (G.N. 2, pp. 2–3). Singapore: [s.n.]. Call no.: RCLOS 959.57 SGG; White paper on Malaya (26 January 1946). The Straits Times, p. 2. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Tan, K. Y. L. (Ed.). (1999). The Singapore legal system (pp. 232–233). Singapore: Singapore University Press. Call no.: RSING 349.5957 SIN.
- ^ 9 & 10 G. 6, c. 37
- ^ Commonwealth and Colonial Law by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. pp. 133–134
- ^ Commonwealth and Colonial Law by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, Stevens, 1966. p. 134
- ^ Stokes, Tony (2012). Whatever Will Be, I'll See: Growing Up in the 1940s, 50s and 60s in the Northern Territory, Christmas and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Tony Stokes. p. 238. ISBN 9780646575643.
- ^ Ken Mullen (1974). Cocos Keeling, the Islands Time Forgot. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. p. 122. ISBN 9780207131950. OCLC 1734040.
- ^ "Cabinet papers: The last King of Cocos loses his palace". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 December 2015. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
- ^ Kenneth Chen, "Pacific Island Development Plan: Cocos (Keeling) Islands- The Political Evolution of a Small Island Territory in the Indian Ocean" (1987): Mr Chen was Administrator, Cocos Islands, from December 1983 – November 1985.
- ^ "Lost in transition". www.theaustralian.com.au. 31 August 2009. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- ^ Herriman, Nicholas; Irving, David R.M.; Acciaioli, Greg; Winarnita, Monika; Kinajil, Trixie Tangit (25 June 2018). "A group of Southeast Asian descendants wants to be recognised as Indigenous Australians". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ^ WebLaw – full resource metadata display Archived 22 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2006.
- ^ Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. "Territories of Australia". Archived from the original on 16 December 2007. Retrieved 7 February 2008.
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.
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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.
- ^ "Commonwealth of Australia Administrative Arrangements Order made on 18 September 2013" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 18 September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2013.
- ^ "Territories Law Reform Act 1992". Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
- ^ a b Senate polling places:
- Home Island Archived 19 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- Home Island PPVC Archived 19 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- West Island Archived 19 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b House of Representatives polling places:
- Home Island Archived 19 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- Home Island PPVC Archived 19 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- West Island Archived 19 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine
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- ^ Maj-General J. T. Durrant (SA Air Force, Commanding Officer, Cocos Islands), watched by Wing Commander "Sandy" Webster (Commanding Officer, 99 Squadron), Squadron Leader Les Evans (Acting Commanding Officer, 356 Squadron) and Lieutenant Commander W. van Prooijen (Commanding Officer, 321 Squadron).
- This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document: "2003 edition".
Bibliografía
- Clunies-Ross, John Cecil; Souter, Gavin. The Clunies-Ross Cocos Chronicle, Self, Perth 2009, ISBN 9780980586718
enlaces externos
- Shire of Cocos (Keeling) Islands homepage
- Areas of individual islets
- Atoll Research Bulletin vol. 403
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands Tourism website
- Noel Crusz, The Cocos Islands mutiny, reviewed by Peter Stanley (Principal Historian, Australian War Memorial).
- The man who lost a "coral kingdom"
- Amateur Radio DX Pedition to Cocos (Keeling) Islands VK9EC