Speaking of Christmas Island, there are actually two islands with the same name, one is kiribati's lagoon island in the Lane Islands, with a total area of 600 square kilometers, of which the land area is 388.4 square kilometers, which is the largest atoll in the world by land area, named after Captain Cook's first landing on Christmas Eve in 1777. The other is Christmas Island, 360 kilometers south of the Indonesian island of Java, which is now an overseas territory of Australia and is also named after the discovery of the island by Captain William Menas of England on Christmas Eve in 1643, and the Australian Christmas Island is also the largest proportion of Chinese in the world after Singapore.
Christmas Island, 360 kilometers south of the Indonesian island of Java, is now an overseas dependency of Australia.
The undersea peaks rising above sea level next to the Javan trench
Christmas Island (10°30′S, 105°40′E) is located 1600 km northwest of Australia, near the Indonesian island of Java, with an area of 135 square kilometers. Unlike the tropical coral reefs of the Cocos Islands, another Australian overseas territory, Christmas Island is a rock reef in the Indian Ocean, the top of an undersea peak, with its highest peak, Mount Morey, at 361 metres above sea level, while the highest of the Cocos Islands is only 5 metres above sea level.
Located on the edge of the Java Trench, Christmas Island has the longest seafloor drop in the world, reaching up to 5,000 meters long, while some of the steep walls are just 20 meters from the shore. Christmas Island has an 80-kilometre coastline of mostly cliffs, coral reefs around the island, crystal clear waters, about 13 shoals, more than 60 dive sites, the largest one is called Flying Fish Bay, which is also the only port and population settlement on the island.
Christmas Island has an 80-kilometre coastline of mostly cliffs and reefs.
Christmas Island is surrounded by coral reefs, crystal clear waters, about 13 shoals, and more than 60 dive sites
Christmas Island has a tropical marine climate, with warm waters all year round and spectacular coastal coral reefs home to more than 575 species of tropical fish.
Christmas Island has a tropical marine climate, the waters are warm all year round, and the spectacular coastal coral reefs are home to more than 575 species of tropical fish, but there are no stinging creatures (i.e. poisonous box jellyfish) and whale sharks are often seen when diving between November and May. There is also a landscape "not seen anywhere else in the world", and that is the annual Christmas Island Red Land Crab Migration, which is comparable in scale to the wildebeest zebra migration of the Masai Mara in Africa.
Every year, the Christmas Island Red Land Crab migrates on a scale comparable to the wildebeest zebra migration of the Masai Mara in Africa.
This egg-sized red crab, usually scattered in the island's tropical rainforest, every October into the breeding season, as many as 60 million Christmas Island red crabs collectively set out, a huge procession, from the rainforest wading through the city to the sea to mate and lay eggs, sir David Attenborough, the "father of nature documentaries", called it one of the greatest natural wonders on earth.
In response to the annual migration of red crabs, the roadsides of the main roads are usually fenced by the construction of culverts and "viaducts".
Home to the world's largest continental crabs, Christmas Island designates two-thirds of the area as a national park, and in response to the annual migration of red crabs, the main road is usually fenced by the roadside, and the red crabs are guided through the road area by building culverts and "viaducts", but there are still many red crabs under the wheels.
Every year after the breeding season begins in October, as many as 60 million Christmas Island red crabs go out en masse, wading through the city to the sea to mate and lay eggs.
Christmas Island that was "cut off"
Christmas Island is an overseas territory of Australia, but geographically closer to Asia, so it is a mix of cultures. Among them, the population of the island is about 1960 (2008), the proportion of Chinese is 63%, about 20% of Europeans, and 10% of Malays, which is one of the highest proportion of Chinese in the world after Singapore. The official language is English, but Cantonese is spoken among Chinese, with 75% of the island's residents Buddhist, 12% Christian, 10% Muslim and 3% of other believers.
Christmas Island is an overseas territory of Australia, but geographically closer to Asia, so it is a mix of cultures.
This feature, which is very different from the nearby island of Java and mainland Australia, stems from the fact that Christmas Island came under the jurisdiction of Singapore (the British Straits Settlements) for more than half a century. Although Captain William Menas discovered Christmas Island in 1643, it was not annexed by the British until 1888, then transferred to Singapore in 1900, and briefly occupied by Japan in the middle of 1942-1945. However, in 1958, on the eve of Singapore's independence (which became self-governing in 1959), it was ceded to Australia by the British under the Christmas Island Act 1958.
Christmas Island is rich in phosphate mines, and 25% of the island's residents are phosphate mining laborers recruited from Singapore and Malaysia. The figure is quoted from the map emperor.
Christmas Island is rich in phosphate (phosphate rock), in 1887 British naturalist Morley based on the British "Eglia" crew collected the soil and rock samples of Christmas Island, found that they are almost pure lime phosphate, so phosphate mining began in the second half of the 19th century, continued to mine for hundreds of years, in 1992 Christmas Island produced 270,000 tons of phosphate. The phosphate industry has also become the mainstay of Christmas Island's economy, which has made 25% of the island's residents a phosphate mining laborer recruited from Singapore and Malaysia by the Straits Settlement government.
In 1992, Christmas Island produced 270,000 tons of phosphate, and the phosphate industry became the mainstay of Christmas Island's economy.
Nauru, the "land of guano" in the South Pacific, made its fortune from phosphate mining, but Christmas Island did not profit from phosphate mining, but was coveted by Australia. As The rich resources of Christmas Island were jointly exploited by Australian and New Zealand companies, the Labour Front coalition government that was in charge of Singapore at the time was incapacitated, and under the collusion of Australia and the United Kingdom, Christmas Island was ceded to Australia, and Singapore received a compensation of £2.9 million. In fact, before Christmas Island was ceded, the Cocos Islands, which were originally under singapore's jurisdiction in 1955, were also ceded to Australia.
In 1914, the German cruiser Emden anchored on Cocos Island
During World War I, Australia sent more than 300,000 people to support the British in battle, killing nearly 60,000 people and suffering nearly 65% casualties, while its total population was less than 5 million.
To know that Australia was independent of the United Kingdom as early as 1931 under the Westminster Act, the United Kingdom, as the suzerainty of Singapore, instead ceded its own islands to the former colonial countries, this wave of operations will find it strange to many people. In fact, these behaviors may seem unexpected, but they are actually reasonable. Because although Canada and New Zealand, including Australia, gained independence, their main residents were all descendants of British Anglo-Saxons, and their relations with Britain were still good after independence, and they followed Britain in many international affairs, such as World War I and World War II.
When Singapore showed a tendency to become independent, the British ceded Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands to Australia.
In contrast, Singapore, its local residents are mainly Chinese, accounting for about 75% of the total population, the British do not have any national feelings with it, but the relationship between colonization and colonization, the reason why the Direct Jurisdiction of Singapore's Straits Settlements is only because of its geographical location. Therefore, when Singapore shows its tendency to be independent, it is not difficult to understand the British "riot operation".
The reason why Christmas Island was not included in the more distant java island, that is, Indonesia, was a Dutch colony before 1942.
In addition, the reason why Christmas Island was not included in the more distant java island, that is, Indonesia, was a Dutch colony before 1942, occupied by Japan during World War II, and then became independent in 1945. It is also this period of history that has caused the population and culture of Christmas Island to be dominated by Chinese.
Christmas Island is one of the Australian government's refugee centres for settling stowaways.
The island, which almost became An Overseas Territory of Singapore, was not self-governing as the Cocos Islands after being transferred to Australia, and Australia managed it by appointing a Christmas Island administrator, so a considerable part of the 20% of Europeans on the island were Australian government administrators. This difference also makes Christmas Island one of the Australian government's refugee centres for stowaways.
Australia is a remote, unknown and charming, luxurious paradise island.
This is Australia's Christmas Island, a remote, unknown and charming, luxurious paradise island.
Last issue in review: Cocos Islands: An overseas territory 2,200 kilometres from Australia that almost became Singapore's turf
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