Related Christmas Island Favorites Tips

Favorite thing: POLITICAL
Christmas Is is administered as an overseas territory of Australia, directly governed by the Federal government based in Canberra as a shire through an appointed Administrator.

It however, follows Western Australian education curriculum but confusingly vote together with the Northern Territories during elections.

(Laws were passed most recently to re-define Christmas Is as non-Australia proper so that the Australian government could dispatch would be asylum seekers to the island and keep them there from entering Australia while their asylum pleas are being investigated. A new & large detention centre had been built to house them)

Christmas Is was administered by Singapore until 1958 before Australia took over, after a temporary stint as a separate crown colony of the UK.

There is NO indigenous inhabitant. The island was discovered on Christmas Day 1643 by Captain William Mynors but was not settled till 1898 following the discovery of high quality rock phosphate. The need for workers saw the arrival of Chinese and Malay workers from Singapore and Malaysia and this led to the present day mix of Chinese-Malay-European on the island. Many of the Asians have since become Australian residents. (Many of the Chinese and Malay though, still have relatives in Singapore and Malaysia)

The island was briefly occupied by the invading Japanese from 1942-45.

GEOGRAPHY
At just about 135 sq km, do come prepared for the Tropics with an average temperature of 25C and 80% humidity. The wet season is from Dec-Apr. Sea swells can be spectacular during this period but make snorkeling/diving opportunities hellish.

63% of the island is National Park and it is home to a number of endemic flora & fauna.

Phosphate mining is still an important livelihood on the island, alongside with tourism. (There is an annual Birdweek in August)

All residents stay in the NE area of the island around Settlement-Kampong-Taman Sweetland-Poon Saan-Drumsite-Silver City.

Fondest memory: USEFUL WEBSITES
CHRISTMAS ISLAND TOURISM ASSOCIATION
ISLAND EXPLORER HOLIDAYS

OTHER INFO
Malay, Mandarin, Hokkien (a type of Chinese dialect) and English are common languages on the island.

The Australian dollar is used. There is a WESTPAC Bank (and a post office) but there is NO money-changing facilities. Credit card is however, widely accepted.

The "Islander" is the island's only newsletter and is available for A$2 an issue.

The time zone of the island is GMT+7 (that is, one hour behind Singapore and the same as Jakarta's)

You CAN drink the water from the taps. They are safe for consumption.

Australian visa regulations (& airport taxes) apply for visitors.

(Little curio: There are 2 islands in the Pacific Ocean, also named Christmas Island. One of them belongs to the island nation of Kiribati, and is now renamed Kiritimati. Not too sure who owns the 3rd)